An idea for a tap dance striptease solo had been rattling around in my mind since my very first beginner burlesque class with Jacqueline Furey. I had been telling myself to wait, to get a few more classes under my sparkly belt, but in the end, I gave in to the internal nagging and enrolled in Lila Luxx’s Headliner Act Development Course.
If you’ve read my bio, you’ll know that my mother was a ballerina. When I got a burlesque name, she decided that she also needed one, to protect her identity from potential scandal and named herself Bella Marshmella. When I was a child, Bella Marshmella danced in an adult tap class and the first performance I can recall seeing her in was an item to Chattanooga Choo Choo. To 5 year-old Ruby, this was the absolute height of vintage sophistication, so I just had to satirise it in my debut.
In my muggle life, I work in the railway industry, so a railway themed act, seemed an excellent transition from my day walker life to Ruby Corvette: the syncopated sweetie pie!
I intend to write a blog explaining the costume creation process so I might leave any further act development explanation for later. Let’s just see some photos of the night!
Some photos by David Gatt:
And some from Raw Bones:
And you can see a snippet of the act in this compilation with the other soloists from the night:
If you’d like to see footage of the whole act, send me a message on my Contact page!
Developing a solo with Bombshells was such a great experience and I am so grateful for all the support I received, especially from my burly godmother, Lenore Noire who gave me a multitude of pep talks, and my parents who sent me roses wishing me “chookas”!
And true to form, because I have massive fear of missing out, I also danced in Cello Bordello’s Tap n Tease number that night which was a tribute to Debbie Reynolds:
And to finish off my reminiscing, the very first poster featuring my stage name! (Photography and poster design by KTB)
Featured image photography by David Gatt
Ruby Corvette 