First of all, thank you for asking me to be apart of your blog! My name is Ruby Mimosa (http://www.facebook.com/missrubymimosa), I am one of the primary performers of The Atomic Bombshells (http://www.theatomicbombshells.com/), Brent Amaker & the Rodeo (http://www.brentamaker.com/), primary instructor at Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque (http://www.academyofburlesque.com/), owner and operator of the retail store The Burlesque Boutique (www.burlesqueboutique.com) (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Burlesque-Boutique-Seattle/119405591469032?ref=hl) . All of which are based here in the emerald city of Seattle! 

     I’ve been a burlesque performer for about 5 years now. My first show was at a beautiful venue called The Triple Door here in Seattle with The Bombshells back in the summer of 2007. I’ve never been more nervous and excited in my life; I thought my heart was going to pop!

     Well, Bella, I have always been drawn to the world of stripping. I loved being naked as a kid and i loved dancing – so those two went hand in hand from the start, haha! My mom put me in ballet at the age of four. I loved it, but being a short and stocky girl, i was always cast in little boy roles. Throughout my adolescence i branched out and took other classes such as jazz, tap, hula, and musical theater, competitive gymnastics, and diving.  

     I moved from Hawaii, where I was born and raised, to Seattle in June 2006. I was working for Betsey Johnson at the time and the girls at the Seattle store would always get dressed up and go to shows around town, mainly burlesque. Many clients of ours were performers, so we would go and support them and have a blast hooting at nearly naked women and men on stage. I was titter-pated!!
I will never forget seeing that show at The Triple Door in January of 2007 that BLEW my MIND!  -  Staring the International Burlesque Superstar Dita Von Tease & The Atomic Bombshells. I was absolutely captivated and knew this was my calling.
Long story short-ish, heehee, I called one of the gals in the bombshells, Miss Honey DeLuxe/ J. Von Stratton (costumer and fashion designer extraordinaire) that I had met at a rockabilly show one weekend. I gushed about how amazing she and The Atomic Bombshells are and asked her if there were any classes around town i could take, just for fun.  She suggested Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque. 

    It all went really fast from here… I found that the Bump and Grind class (which I teach now and have been for the past 5 years) fit my schedule best. After the end of the third class Indigo Blue, who is a member of the Atomic Bombshells and Miss Exotic World 2011, pulled me aside and asked if i had ever wanted to do this professionally. Already excited, and said it would be a dream…  The Atomic Bombshells were apparently looking for a brand new member for the troop. I was given Kitten La Rue’s (artistic director and choreographer of the bombshells) number and was told to contact her for more information.
It was hard, but a waited a couple days before dialing her. Once I did, we set up a private audition for the following week.
I walked in to a private studio with Kitten and Ivy – was taught some choreography and was told to do it. So, I did. We ended the audition at the coffee shop around the corner where Kitten asked me if i’d like to be the NEWEST MEMBER of The Atomic BOMBSHELLS!
I squealed with endlessly! Called my friends and family and told them the news.
It’s funny, I feel that the hardest part of was coming up with my stage name.
The rest is history I suppose… We, The Atomic Bombshells, travel the world together, I teach burlesque classes with the academy, and perform in and out of town weekly. Everyday I am so thankful for my sparkly tassel-y showgirl life!

      I am from Hawaii, where there is a lot of different ethnicity and body types. Buxom Tahitian, Samoan, and Polynesian ladies graced the island throughout. It was more my skin color that affected me growing up.  Because I was so involved in gymnastics and dance, I really didn’t get boobs until I hit my twenties. Being short and curvier in ballet was a bit of a challenge. I saw so many of my friends in class  sprout up, keeping their long and thin bodies. I, on the other hand, stayed at 5.0 ft. flat. I was sad that I wasn’t getting chosen to do pointe or couples dancing for our plays. Instead, I got to play the little boy roles and bullies… it’s funny and cool in retrospect.   

       Living in such a curvaceous culture is one of the ways we could all accept our curves. That is the beauty of Hawaii. Showing love and grace with all parts and movements of the human body, it’s truly heaven. I am so appreciative and glad i go to embrace that aspect of my home.  

     Making the human form bigger and voluptuous is one of the main ingredients to burlesque! Whether your are tiny or thin, it’s always fun to accentuate part of your self, making it look bigger and larger than life. Big costumes, big boobies, big booties, big tassels, big eyelashes, and big hair.
Having curves in my career is great. It’s appreciated and loved. Poise and grace are also a big part to the picture as well. Even if you have curves, there is still a certain amount of stage presences needed. Audiences, especially paying ones, don’t want to see someone on stage tacky, flat, and just plain boring take off clothes and do a thing. Connection with the audience, knowing how to move your body, what looks good on you, and just plain loving yourself will surely get people to love you. I love watching videos of Dirty Martini and Satan’s Angel. The bottom line, have fun… no matter what size you are!

     Oh, and if you happen to be in Seattle at all in November, The Atomic Bombshells will be performing at the beautiful and historic Columbia City Theater every Saturday in November! Hope you can check us out. (http://theatomicbombshells.blogspot.com/) & (http://www.columbiacitytheater.com/)