28 Hours Left of Indiegogo to Milan Fund!!!

!!!!THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! That’s me shimmying in gratitude & appreciation! We met the Indiegogo Goal over the weekend !!! There are ONLY 28 HOURS left to donate. I know there are things on my to do list I’ve been trying to get to for a few weeks now. So, this is a gentle reminder that if you were planning on giving, you only have hours left to do it. Gah head and get it out the way  because airline prices have gone way up since I researched 45 days ago. This is the last update and I truly just wanted to take the time to say Thank You for helping me to practice the lessons of receiving as well as asking. These are concepts that I understand intellectually, but that make me feel truly outside of my comfort zone in practical application. The encouragement & support I got during this campaign has pushed me through another level of growth. For that I will be eternally grateful. So, Most Humbly & Sincerely, THANK YOU, Essence & The Milan Burlesque Awards Fund Team

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ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She’s been published in two anthologies: Pros(e) &  Johns, Marks, Tricks & Chicken Hawks.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

INDIEGOGO TO MILAN

INDIEGOGO TO MILAN

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

I REACHED MY GOAL OVER THE WEEKEND!  And there are still 4 days left to give!

Every share, dollar, newsletter mention, interview, tweet, hug, cheer lead, etc, etc, etc made it happen.  I THANK YOU SOOO MUUUUCH!

I am going to be re-locating to my new website soon!  Head over to http://www.theessencerevealed.com to get a sneak peek

Much Hugs, Essence Revealed

Gratitude Filled Link-A-Palooza

Hey, hey, hey, Whew! Thank You all SO Much!!! With the donations that were given in person (Yes, I will come get the donation if you don’t like doing the online thing) and online, I am about halfway there with about a week to go! If you could find a spare second to let people know it’s happening, I’d be so even more grateful than I already am (if that’s possible). Support has come from some unexpected places. This weekend I performed on the Robin Byrd (of Debbie Does Dallas & Cable Access fame) Live Show & was given much love. I could write all day about the people who have shared the link and helped me get the word out but I know you have a life to lead so here’s a short list: Jimi of Gureje in Brooklyn hooked up some fashions so I can be fly in Milan. Thanks to Corset Magazine The Go To Magazine For All Things Sexuality) for including me on their blog. Twanna Hines the Funky Brown Chick, I thank you so much for the shout out. Amy Jo Goddard (Justin “Bringing Sexy Back” Timberlake endorsed Sex Coach) big thanks for your support. She has a really cool FREE CALL CLASS TONIGHT April 23rd by the way! Abiola Abrams, Dirty Lola, Yolanda Shoshona, Miles Maker (while deep in pre/production of a new film project), The Sweet Spot Crew (Team No Sleep), Sweet Lorraine , Eric Perl (the man with the camera cranking out the videos!  Who is avail for hire!!!), Swirl PR, The Toy Closet, Andrea Plaid, Guy Routte (You know why!) Brown Girls Burlesque, Red Umbrella Project and WAAAAY too many more to list. Thanks So Much to EVERYONE who has supported this effort by giving, sharing or info on travel in Europe! Only 8 days left. If you are planning on giving please do. We’re on the anchor leg;-) People have been so generous with me that I decided to pay it forward on my blog: http://essencerevealed.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/where-to-donate-in-3-great-ideas/ Have a Great Rest of the Week! Thanks for reading Link-a-palooza! MILAN BURLESQUE AWARDS FUND Essence ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She’s been published in two anthologies: Pros(e) &  Johns, Marks, Tricks & Chicken Hawks.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

Call Your Mom!

Boston (Photo credit: Bahman Farzad)

I found out about the bomb at the marathon because a friend posted a link about it on my Facebook page.  My parents are visiting the states from Barbados.  They’re in Boston right now where I was born and raised.  One of my best friends lives in Boston and does the kind of work that could bring him to the marathon. Another high-school friend from there is a photog and could be there covering the event.  I still have friends that could potentially be at work near Copley also.  Heck, I’d just been there for a gig on News Years Eve and walked around at a parade before heading to perform at the party (a now eerie memory).

All of these people flashed into my head at once.  I called my parents first even though I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be anywhere near there. “Oh, we just got back from BJ’s,” my Mom’s voice assured me.  I sent a double text to two close friends, put a post on fb & then clicked around to check on some people.  Thanks to the power of social media, I knew all my people were alright in just a few short minutes.

It got me thinking though, were they not alright, I would have been a hot mess.  I don’t really like talking on the phone.  I’m a text-er. So, my Mom was recently giving me a hard time about calling so seldom.  I haven’t spoken to/visited one of those friends in a long time.  In New York, life is moving so fast.  I am moving so fast.  I am in love with almost everything I’m working on right now so I can get in the zone and stay there 12, 16 hours without pausing.

But yesterday served as a good reminder to me that I have to do better about connecting with my real life friends and family.  My heart goes out to everyone who was down there.  To even bear witness to something as awful as that has got to be painful.

Boston Skyline (Photo credit: brentdanley)

Why does it so often take some senseless tragedy for me to remember these things?

The moral of the blog (a note to self) is: Forget all the criticism about how the story is covered.  Who did what right and/or wrong, etc. etc. etc. and Call your Mom and everyone close to you as often as you can while you can!

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She’s been published in two anthologies: Pros(e) &  Johns, Marks, Tricks & Chicken Hawks.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

Female Empowerment

When I was an undergrad I became a Sexual Health Advocate.  Honestly, I think this is where my interest in helping people talk freely about sexual topics began.  We were put through training and sent off on campus to do various workshops with different groups of fellow students.  It’s there that I met Amy Jo Goddard.  I secretly had a crush on her and her girlfriend at the time.  I don’t know that I ever told her that.  Hey, Amy Jo, if you’re reading out there, yes, it’s true .  I got to lead workshops about safer sex, sex toys, contraceptive options and I even owned my own plastic speculum which I used in workshops about GYN exam related topics.  We gave people tools to use when communicating about sexual topics with new partners.  We taught  facts and stigmas around STI’s.  I even got to teach people how to put a condom on with no hands.  Yes, I’ve been talking about sex with strangers for a while now.

I wasn’t studying anything having to do with human sexuality.  I just was very interested in freeing myself from a very strict up bringing & healing as a sexual abuse survivor.  I was fascinated by the fact that so many people seemed uncomfortable talking about sexual topics.  Volunteering and community service was at the core of who I was.  This was a perfect fuse of all these things.  Amy Jo however was actually studying Human Sexuality.  ”How cool was that!” I thought.

I had the opportunity to work with her in a play she wrote, produced and directed called Vulvalution.  It is one of my favorite projects to date because I got to play a very butch character named Blue, *b-boy stance* .  I think it was around that time that she  had a book called Lesbian Sex for Men coming out.  We lost touch soon after that I believe.  Then the Facebooks happened and re-connection happened and lo and behold she was a full-blown sex educating star-uh!  She’s even been endorsed by Justin  ”Bringing Sexy Back” Timberlake.  Whaaaaat?!?!  Needless to say, this is a totally biased plug but a totally honest evaluation:  Amy Jo Goddard is doing the dern thang.

She has a free class coming up April 3rd at 8pm EST:

Coming Home to Your Sexual Self… When You Didn’t Know You Had Left

Free Call on Wednesday, April 3rd with Amy Jo Goddard, Sexual Empowerment Coach
Register here.

It can happen so easily — when sex falls to the bottom of the priority list, when the relationship plateaus, when you look in the mirror and can’t remember when the last time was you had amazing sex, powerful orgasms, deep intimacy, and truly satisfying pleasure.

Or when something happens with a partner and you feel knocked off your center, disconnected from your sexual confidence and power.

Could this be you right now? Is it possible that you’ve left yourself somewhere along the way… perhaps without realizing it?

My friend and colleague Amy Jo is a sexual empowerment coach who does amazing work with women and couples on their sexuality and relationships. And she’s offering a free 75-minute call, no strings attached, for people who feel like they’ve gotten off track sexually and want to find their way back home to a place of radical self-love, authenticity, and openness to all the pleasure, abundance and rockin’ great sex that life has to offer. It’s called “Coming Home to Your Sexual Self… When You Didn’t Know You Left.”

What a great topic!  To get on the list for this free call, go here. Come home, beautiful! It’s time!

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

Burlesque New York to Milan

Indiegogo.com Page

I decided to apply to the Milan Burlesque Festival.  I did it mainly because I’ve always wanted to go to Milan.  I really didn’t think I’d get in, so it never dawned on me to think about HOW I’d get there.  So, when I got the e-mail that I got in I did a little happy dance then thought, “Oh well, too bad, I have to decline.”  I told a few close friends & supporters and they all said, “You have to go.  Do a crowd funding campaign!”  My brain got busy telling me how I couldn’t do that because it wasn’t for a charitable cause or a life changing invention or a huge production, etc.  I am doing this despite those voices.  I DESPISE asking for help.  Yes, I know there has to be give and take flow in life but, but…  I’m a multi-tasking Taurus who will burn the midnight oil if I have to because I know, I’ll get it done.  Enter fears here.  Enter trust issues here.  Enter control freakishness here.  Yeah, I know I have baggage and can label many of them quite clearly.  They are not designer!

Yet, here I am with 36 days left in a 45 day Indiegogo.com fundraising campaign.

I am asking if you can give and/or share the link and help me spread the word?  It would be so appreciated.

This video is especially for my New Yorkers :

Please & Thank You

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

Brown Girl’s Burlesque: MAR 21st – MAR 23rd Phili, DC, NY

BGB All-Stars Spring A-Shaken-A-Ning from Brown Girls Burlesque on Vimeo.

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.  Help Essence get to the Milan Burlesque Awards!

Minneapolis Burlesque Festival

Source: etsy.com via Essence on Pinterest

I took part in my second burlesque festival this month – The Minneapolis Burlesque (MBF).  I headed off to the Twin Titties in the dead of winter all for the love of burlesque.  It was -30 degrees with the wind chill factor the first day I arrived.  This turned out to be alright.  MBF had organized for us to be picked up directly from the airport and a place to stay.  Knowing I’d be in a cozy home later made me feel warmer from the start.  The temperature rose to 8 degrees one day, man did that feel balmy!  When I landed in NY the 25 degrees we had going on dern near called for flip-flops as far as my body was concerned.

The Thursday night kick off show went off with a bang.  Everyone looked like they were having such a great time on stage.  A green room area with two large that screens were set up.  Every night of the festival participants could enjoy snacks back stage and cheer each other on.  Good thing too because every show was sold out.  There were just standing room only tickets available.  I got to hang out and chat with performers whom I’ve admired from the interwebs since starting burlesque.  I think I managed to not be a creepy fan girl.

I’d been to Minneapolis once before with Brown Girls Burlesque.  I was excited to see all of the performers who I’d met at our Soul Train vs. Solid Gold show.  I stayed with the lovely and talented Josephine Belle and her girlfriend.  They were the ultimate hosts.  I truly can’t say enough thanks to them for making me feel so welcomed in their home.  I’m excited to get to show Josephine a great time on the east coast when she comes to NY to perform in The Brown Girls Burlesque All Star Shows later this month.

Friday night brought more great performances as did the early Saturday show.  A visit by His Purple Majesty may or may not have happened .  I performed in the late show Saturday night.  It was so much fun on the stage.  The audience clearly came to see burlesque and loves it.  My second festival has truly spoiled me.  One of the best things was being able to see such a mix of classic and neo-burlesque all in one festival every single night!

The facade of the Central train station in Milan, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Next up for me this festival season is heading to the Great Burlesque Expo in Boston to perform at the Main Event Saturday night.  A few months later I’ll be heading to Milan to compete in the Milan Burlesque Awards.  Well, with a little help from my friends.  I’ll be launching an IndieGoGo Campaign March 8th to help me get there.  Please do give or share when you see it!

Source: thepinupnoire.tumblr.com via Essence on Pinterest

Vibrator Review

I’ve been living in NY for quite some time now.  This is my first vibrator review.  Anytime I wanted to get a new sex toy I’d just dip into one of the many sex shops open all hours of the day and night.  At an erotic poetry event that I had performed in recently I met Janine.  I mentioned to her that I was doing a show called Shades of Burlesque and Shades & Friends.  I also half jokingly mentioned that I’d love to review products for quality assurance purposes only, of course.  She will be selling her goodies at both shows AND I got a product to test out.  Ya know, because I care about the people that deeply

This is the first time I’ve had one delivered to my door via mail.  It was really nice to have a discretely packaged toy handed over to me.  I loved having that secret from the delivery person.  The toy I got was called the Heavenly Heart.  It is Water Proof people!  Fun, fun, fun!!!  I thought the heart design was really nice.  Let’s be honest, not everyone wants a phallic looking toy.  The ten speed/pulse pattern options are a definite win in my book.  Sometimes, a lady likes to meander towards the road to the big O for a bigger, more intense pay off so to speak .  It takes a double A battery which is easily found everywhere.  I’ve had vibes with watch batteries and that it not as convenient to replace quickly.  Ever had that awkward moment when the battery dies mid session?  No?  Only me.  Fine.  I hear tell there are even  rechargeable vibes out there.  Sounds like a great idea, right?

The only cons I can come up with is that the battery is not included.  I opened the box ready to do my *ahem* work and alas no starter battery was in there.  Luckily,  I had an extra double A battery on hand or I would have had to raid a remote control.  The other con is that I thought that some of the pulse patterns could use a bit more power.  However, that is a personal preference, isn’t it?  It may be the perfect intensity for others.

Go check out the Toy Closet to find the Heavenly Heart vibe and more!

As I mentioned earlier The Toy Closet will have tables of goodies on sale at Shades and Shades & Friends on Feb 15th & 16th at WOW Cafe Theater.  Get tickets in advance for $15/$20 at the door.  Showtime is 9pm for both nights.

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.

Year in Review 2012

Welcome to Lucky 2013!

I don’t know about you but at the end of every year I think “Wow, that went fast!”  What did I do in 2012…  In the effort to do things differently and be kinder to myself, I decided to blog a personal year in review 2012 .  Then I thought well good.  That’s done.  But should it be shared in a blog?  I got all in my head about it:  who the heck besides you and your mom cares?

So, I decided that I would simply go ahead and do it and invite all of you to do the same for yourselves.  Forget about what didn’t happen in 2012.  Lucky 2013 is upon us.  What are we going to go after this year?  No resolutions for me to share.  I will not be making any resolutions this year like last year.  I do have goals that I have decided to share with only myself and my absolute 300% supporters.

Big THANKS to everyone who I worked with this year.  You all made it a very exciting ride!  I appreciate every interaction.  Because very little is accomplished as a lone island.

What I did do in 2012:

Performed in my first burlesque festival – The 10th Annual New York Burlesque Festival.

Voted Audience Favorite at the Bowery Burlesque Pageant.

Nominated for Best Burlesque Performer at the Glam Awards.

Will be heading off to perform in the first annual Minneapolis Burlesque Festival at the end of the month.

I went to my very first Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend to watch and be a volunteer escort to Legend Jean Idelle and have subsequently been involved in a Burlesque Legend’s Calendar and tribute show at the new Slipper Room.  The proceeds from this project will be used to help our burlesque legend’s get back to BHOF this year.

I was blessed with the opportunity to teach Sensual Dance & Booty”twerk”aerobics all over the country including a few universities.

Traveling to perform was one of my favorite blessings in 2012 which I did solo, with my Brown Girls Burlesque sisters, Sweet Spot (Sabrina Gilbert & Ainsely Burrows’ erotic poetry event) and Women, Sex & Desire (Gesel Mason’s modern dance conversation piece).

Not only did I reach my one year Blogaversary here on WordPress in 2012 but was humbled by the fact that 29,000 visitors came by to check it out.

My writing was published in Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com & 21stCenturyBurlesque.com.  Book wise, I was published in Audacia Ray’s  Red Umbrella Project’s 2nd publication Pros(e) which came out of an 8 week Becoming Writers workshop taught by Melissa Petro.  Contracts were mailed in to be included in David Henry Sterry’s upcoming anthology Johns, Marks, Tricks & Chickenhawks which is the sequel to the New York Times best seller  Hos, Hookers, Call Girls & Rent Boys.

Directed by Mimi McGurl, the solo theater piece which jumped off this entire creative project called Essence Revealed was premiered at the DC Black Theater Festival.

Looking at what we did do often times puts what didn’t get done into a better perspective.  What did you get up to in 2012?  We have a brand new 2013 to complete more.  Happy Lucky 2013!

ESSENCE REVEALED - Essence Revealed is first generation Bajan born & raised in Boston.  She got her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MA at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.  Her writing has appeared places such as $pread Magazine, Corset Magazine, BurlesqueBible.com and 21st Century Burlesque.  She now performs & teaches nationally and internationally both solo and as a member of Brown Girls Burlesque.  Her favorite thing to do besides reading is to lay on the beach in Barbados to rest up for a night of calypso dancing.