One lost interview and a limo driver’s missed moment
I must’ve hit the wrong button or something because I didn’t record one of the interviews I did at the Taboo Naughty But Nice Sex Show this past Saturday. That’s too bad, because Chris had an interesting story – he moved to Vancouver a few months ago and immediately started working for Phat Cat Limousine.
In other words, he’s there when stagettes get out of hand. Not bad for a kid from a small Okanagan Valley town, Penticton (pop: 30,000). When I moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg lo these many moons ago I worked the graveyard shift. At the post office. Believe me, there were no stagettes happening there.
Corsets, choreography, and cabaret culture
I did record my chat with Dani, though.
She waitresses at Maxine’s Hideaway* in the city’s West End. Maxine’s offers burlesque shows featuring the Candy Girl Cabaret dancers (Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) and the Oh, Boy! Cabaret dancers (Thursdays and Sundays).
Taking the footwork skill level up a notch is co-owner Leigh Torlage (wouldn’t “Legs” Torlage be an even better name?), a professional choreographer with credits that include the movie version of Chicago. She also teaches at Harbour Dance Centre in Vancouver. The dancers practice seven days a week, assures Dani, stopping only to eat nuts and spinach: “They’re very talented girls and boys.” The show has really started to take off in the last six months, she says.
Dani: The staff participates. It’s a show lounge, it has a show environment. The dancers are constantly crossing our paths. Some of the staff actually do get up and sing for certain numbers.
Me: What do you wear when you’re staff?
Dani: We’re in the process of getting our uniforms. We will be in corsets and white-collared shirts and fishnets.
Me: So, sexy but classy.
Dani: Yeah. Old-school cabaret style. A little bit burlesque-Chicago feel. Definitely more of a jazz Broadway production.
Me: There’s a lot of burlesque in town. How big is the market?
Dani: I think it’s definitely coming back in. It gives a woman class without taking her clothes off and being sleazy. It’s sexy, it’s provocative, but it’s giving the woman power. We have professional dancers, full choreography, very talented people putting on a great show, exploring their sexuality in an old-school cabaret feel.
Me: Sounds like you’re reading that off a cue card.
Dani: No! Thought that one up. I’m in my head thinking, “Oh I hope I say the right thing.”
Me: Could I bring my parents?
Dani: Absolutely.
Me: You don’t know my parents.
Dani: We get the older crowd, the younger crowd. We get a lot of stagettes.
Stagettes, the magic word, and West End parking
Me: The magic word! Here’s the most important question: Is there parking?
Dani: There’s parking because it’s right by the beach.
Me: When I think the West End, I don’t even want to go near it at night. There’s no parking. Do you live there?
Dani: I have.
Me: Did you live on a street with permit parking only?
Dani: Yes.
Me: Did you ever yell at a person for parking when he didn’t have a permit?
Dani: Yes.
Me: That was me!
Dani: I have gotten out of my car and gone, “You motherfucker! I had to wait four hours in line for my pass.” It definitely is a nightmare in that area.
Me: Ever since someone yelled at me I’ve been scared to go into the West End.
Dani: Aww. Well don’t be.
Me: But you just reinforced it!
Dani: But I sold my car, I don’t drive, I walk everywhere now. You’re safe.
Me: Ever lived anywhere else? Do you think something like Maxine’s, in a bigger or cooler city, would be more successful?
Dani: I have a big loyalty to Vancouver. I love this place, I love the rain, I love the people. I live in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Vancouver, and I still have faith in the city. It is a No-Fun city – it’s called that for a reason, the liquor licensing, and things are a little outrageous. But I have faith in the people, that they want their entertainment and want to go out and have their nightlife. I’m hoping with the Olympics the laws will relax a little bit and we’ll get this city boppin’.
* Don’t look for it – it’s not there anymore.
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