Assessing your assets, giving them the goods...

It's really amazing to me just how far a genuine smile (and maybe a wink) can get you in life, onstage, and especially, in New York City. You'll have to forgive me if I start waxing reminiscently about fast times and hard men and spandex and pleather in frosted tones because I just finished watching Show Girls so I'm still in the mindset of miss Nomie Malone (cue sound effect of hands doing weird cat-like choreography.)

(Thrust goddammit!)

And yet, Nomi is a perfect example for this post of a dancer who knew her assets: a wicked hyper-extension of the pelvis and some fine, fine nail art. I say this jokingly, but it seems to me that as strippers and teasers we have two kinds of assets: those that are specific to our gender and those that belong specifically to the performer. As a boylesker in a basic striptease, I'm taking off layer after layer of clothing and garments to reveal what? Essentially, my junk. Whether clad in some flashy spandex or a spiked up codpiece, the strip revolves around revealing what makes me male. What makes the number special, is my individual assets or personality I reveal during the number. Yesterday in class, I challenged the students to seriously think about what makes them each special as performers and how to reveal at least glimpses of those traits during their teases. Is it a smile? A specific body part or region? A thick mat of chest hair? Etc., etc. Whatever it may be, I know that when I'm in the audience I'm amazed most not only by a great number, but more so by a great personality, and there's just as many ways to showcase that as there are to take your pants off.

(That's right Burt, you showcase that chest hair!)