Full Moon.

I’ve been a horrible blogger. I’m sorry. It’s not that I’ve been away or anything I’m just too damn busy. Oiy!

Life is good and I certainly don’t have any time to be lonely. I’ve got my friends squeezed into the cracks in my schedule and that pretty much leaves time for sleep. I went with Reid and Hank to the Mute Math concert the other night. I just adore Reid and Hank. They play music and they don’t try to fuck me.

I have million sweet and wonderful things to say about those two. But I’ll probably get busted for blowing smoke up their asses and then they’ll just make fun of me. I might do it anyhow. Hank had a BBQ on the weekend. It was a veggie feast with steak on top. Mmmmmmm. And then we went for gelato and saw Across the Universe. Oh I’m in love with that movie. I think I might go see it again, and again, and again.

So… I’ve been busy. But I do have one bar story to share before I immerse myself in business.

It’s Wednesday. But it’s not just any Wednesday- it’s welfare Wednesday. I know it as soon I walk into the bar. The room is packed with enthusiastic drunks nursing cheap beer. The full moon overhead adds another unpredictable factor into the mix. It’s going to be a weird night. We all know it.

The crowd is good for my show. They yell and cheer and hoot and holler. But they don’t tip. Whatever. I glide across the stage and twirl myself against the pole, gyrating my hips. After a quick peek to ensure everyone is sitting back I slam down into the splits. My stilettos just poke over the edge of the stage, scaring the local drunks.

Buddy in perv-row is staring at my feet. His eyelids are heavy from a long afternoon of drinking and his eyes are glazed. Without warning he leans in, full open mouth, and bites my toes! He drools on my foot, three toes in his mouth. I scream. But I can’t move fast enough. I’m in the splits. After what feels like a disgusting eternity I spin out of the splits and stand above him—yelling.

My foot is covered in slimy drunk drool. Ew! Buddy is confused. He looks dejected but doesn’t apologize. It’s too early in the day for the bouncers to be working and the DJ didn’t see it. Oh well.

A minute later I lean against the pole and see a fresh jug of beer snug up against the edge of the stage. If I angle it right…

I do. I slam back into the splits contacting my heel with the pitcher and knocking it into Buddy’s lap. Cause and effect. Don’t bite my toes.

Less than a song later another kid grabs my hat off the stage and puts it on his head. I’m not amused. I snatch it off his head and smack him. “don’t touch my stuff.”

I finish my set in the middle of the stage—out of reach. It was a long 18 minutes. And it’s only dinner time.

done with AB

I can’t believe it’s already the middle of September. I have no idea where 2007 has gone. But if the year has gone by this fast already I can only imagine how quickly the next six months are going to fly by. I have so much work to do.

It’s a huge relief to be able to finally talk about Stiletto Storm and our National Exotic Dance Championship. Fiona and I have been hard at work since February creating this project. It’s been a lot of behind the scenes work creating the contest format, rules, vision, and the foundation. But now the momentum has increased significantly. I’m on the hunt for sponsors and everything is coming together.

I’m so excited!

But for now I’m in Edson, AB for one more day. It’s been a good week, good company, and decent tips. This was my only week out of town this season. I have a production to run in Vancouver. I can’t be gallivanting around the country anymore. Really, I don’t want to be. I want to be at home, sleeping in my own bed and enjoying a limited social life. I’m happy working in Vancouver. I think I might just move into Mugs and Jugs (they wouldn’t mind right?)

The strip bars in Vancouver are great. There aren’t many left but they’re great clubs. I enjoy going to work at home. The No5 Orange is like a family. It’s always the same people and it’s nice to actually have the same coworkers week after week. The staff is awesome at all of the clubs. The Penthouse feels like an old theatre. It’s a totally stress-free week.

And it’s been really nice to go to work for the past year and NOT have anything thrown at me. Loonies do add up quickly. It’s not hard to make a couple hundred dollars in loonies. But it’s just annoying. Inevitably someone gets too enthusiastic and throws them too hard and it can sting. Most of the time it’s all with the best intentions but a coin impacting my ankle hurts. I have to constantly be wary of coins on the stage which can be dangerous.

I’m just done with Alberta. I’m going to go home tomorrow, visit my friends, and get cracking on find marketing partners for Stiletto Storm.

Stiletto Storm!!

I have a new project. I’m teamed up with another dancer, Fiona Phoenix, and we’re in the process of creating something incredible. It’s been taking a lot of my energy, and it’s going to take even more.

So… this is what I’ve been up to. We’re out of the closet now and hitting the ground running. I’m super excited!!!

The first story about our project appeared in the Vancouver Courier today.

Daring young women on flying trapeze
Exotic dancers plan Vegas-style circus show in July 2008

Sandra Thomas
Vancouver Courier


Friday, September 07, 2007


Imagine a performance similar to Cirque du Soleil, only sexier.

That's how dancer Ryann Rain describes the first annual National Exotic Dance Championship she's helping organize.

"Most people never see the types of performance these girls can do and they want to show off their skills," said Rain, who doesn't use her real name. "It's so empowering for everyone."

Rain says many exotic dancers have formal training. While she studied ballet as a child and Ukrainian dance for nine years, her business partner Fiona Phoenix, who's helping organize the national championship, participated in gymnastics for 20 years. The two recently founded Stiletto Storm Productions, and the show will be their first large project. Rain explains Stiletto Storm was formed to honour and protect the future of the "art and heart of exotic dance in Canada."

Rain promises the three-day, non-nude competition will be a burlesque-style show at the Vancouver Playhouse worthy of Las Vegas. It will include gymnastics, contortionists, tub shows and aerial circus acts.

"We'll be having a trapeze installed in the rafters," said Rain, who also took part in the third annual Exotic Dancers for Cancer fundraiser last March at the now defunct Drake Showlounge. "Some of the aerial acts are unbelievable."

Rain said she and Phoenix decided to organize a national championship after becoming disillusioned with smaller competitions they'd attended.

"They weren't very positive and not very empowering for dancers," said Rain.

She believes power must be returned to female dancers in an industry dominated by men. She noted the crowds visiting strip clubs are no longer mostly male, and the show is a result of that change in demographic.

"Since pole dancing has become so popular we've seen a huge influx of women at strip clubs," said Rain. "In Vancouver the number of females at a club is easily 15 to 30 per cent, and on a Friday night in Victoria it can be 70 per cent."

Rain feels despite the shift, most strip clubs don't cater to their ever-increasing female clientele. She believes the gap creates an opportunity for Stiletto Storm to step in. She added that while the championship show will focus on the women, men are more than welcome.

"I'm sure there'll be a lot of boyfriends and husbands tagging along," she said.

The show isn't scheduled until next July, but Rain is seeking sponsors now. She's concerned some corporate sponsors will be scared off by the stigma attached to exotic dancing. Money raised at the March fundraiser was initially going to be donated to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, but the society refused the gift. The society told event organizers some major donors deemed the source of the donation too controversial.

Rain hopes that isn't the case in finding sponsors for next year's national championship and looks for support from women's organizations, activists and business.

"This is a great opportunity for any corporate sponsors who would benefit from a large target audience of women between the age of 21 and 45," said Rain. "It's all about women."

For more information contact stilettostorm@gmail.com.

© Vancouver Courier 2007

Not-camping

What an amazing week!

I just spent the bestest week ever hiding out in Bamfield with a couple of friends, Reid and Hank. It was the best week of not-camping ever!! I laughed and I giggled. I wrote and I cooked. I snuggled up in bed listening to the waves and actually slept every night… all night!

We sat around the campfire and roasted marshmallows. We collapsed on the beach and wandered along the boardwalk. I kicked Hank's ass at scrabble and got slaughtered playing cribbage. I listened to the boys create music. I picked blackberries and drank wine. The food was awesome and the company was even better. I got tons of hugs and snuggles and was able to just enjoy being a girl. I had no idea what time it was for days. It was fucking amazing and totally perfect.

Pretty much I’m happy, energized and fantabulous!
I love those boys. They rock!!
Happy Happy Happy!!! :-)