Stand back , it’s the Danger Doll!!

For some reason that escapes me right now…It seems articles featuring the fairer sex do quite well, I can’t really explain why this is, but I am sure there is reason “or two”

I’ve been quite lucky to meet some fairly unique people over the course of my life thus far, and this interviews subject is another refugee from the Auto salon scene back in the day…. Someone who’s found that fancy panel work, a set of spinners and having correctly aligned headlights can open all sorts of doors.

Ladies and gents…..It’s the Danger Doll.

Warning- Possible NSFW content

Hello Stranger… Guess you better introduce yourself for those who don’t know you, I’m assuming this applies to none of Christchurch…

Well hello there! I’m Bonita, aka Danger Doll! Other alias’s I seam to have been given over the years are Bon Bon, B, and of course Bonita Banana (yup stuck with that one my whole life)!

I hail from the deep south (don’t hold that against me), grew up in Dunedin and currently reside in the shaky city of Christchurch! I hit the big 3-OH this year and I don’t plan on slowing down in my old age!

I pretty much run my life at full pace, working in the beauty industry as a Makeup Artist and also in hospitality as Restaurant Manager at a funky lil spot in Christchurch, and around that I perform Burlesque, Cabaret, Sing and dance, teach burlesque and makeup artistry, bit of part time modelling, enjoy a wine or three, vodka and tequila are also top of the list, recently started playing with fire, love tattoos, oh and I’m a petrol head from wayyyyyy back! Then there’s hanging with my amazing friends, strutting around in my awesome collection of shoes (my baby’s), bedazzling costumes, oh and sleep…sometimes!

What the hell is Burlesque?

Well, there are varying definitions, but burlesque was basically a comic imitation of a serious literary, political or artistic form, at least in the beginning. These shows used comedy, parody, sexuality and music to defy the established and/or conventional way of looking at things. This was back in the dark ages, where it was very much pushing the boundary’s of what was acceptable!

Part one of a performance was genually composed of women singing songs and performing dances, interspersed with comedy from male comedians. Part two was a miscellaneous collection of acts and sketches including, contortionists, jugglers, ventriloquists, wrestlers, acrobats, etc…. The show’s finish was a grand finale, often a one-act musical performance. There were many fans, but also many protestors who felt that burlesque was corrupt and immoral……(oh the horror!!) In the 1920′s and 30′s the legal and social crackdown on burlesque eventually lead to the legendary raid on Minsky’s in Manhattan, and to their gradual downfall of burlesque in general. By 1937 Minsky’s license was revoked and burlesque performances in New York City were banned altogether. Burlesque struggled to survive after that, and eventually faded out completely, and it wasn’t until the mid 1990′s that burlesque crept back out of the woodwork and quickly began to build momentum again.

Neo-Burlesque (or “New Burlesque”) is the revival and updating of the traditional burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional Burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; Neo-burlesque acts can be anything from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem. There’s is also still the circus and acrobatic aspect in Neo-burlesque, and it is defiantly a talent to be removing items of clothing while hula hooping or riding a uni-cycle!!!
As with the earlier burlesque, neo-burlesque is more focused on the “tease” in “striptease” than the “strip”. Audiences for neo-burlesque shows tend to be mixed gender, age, race, and class. We get a hugely divers range of people to our shows and we love it when they truly appreciate the art forms that is in front of them! (its ok to clap and hoot when the reveille is taking place!! In fact it helps!)

How did you get into burlesque

Well, back in the day I use to sing all the time! Classically trained vocals, I studied music all thru school, the reason I moved to Christchurch from Dunedin was to continue my music studies at the Christchurch Jazz School (back in 99), then I was in a band, we gigged around Christchurch for a while, then silly of me I let a dumb boy influence me into kinda giving it all up! (girls, follow your dreams, don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you want!!), end rant…anyway…..haha……so I had a 7 year break from doing anything performance related!! Then last year I was lucky enough to meet a young lass, who has now turned into one of my best friends, Sophia Lee, we became great friends and she asked me if I knew anyone who could dance….?….. I said what is it for, cause I can dance……she was putting a little troupe together to perform a cabaret number at the Mobsters Ball in Christchurch, as part of the Living Dolls, I jumped at the chance and that was the beginning of me getting back into performing! Since then I also joined Christchurch’s Premier Burlesque Circus Troupe which is Ayla’s Angels Burlesque and we perform around Christchurch and the south island on a regular basis.

I was also lucky enough to be chosen to perform this year at the Miss Burlesque New Zealand competition in Wellington! I was stoked to be awarded ‘Miss Congeniality’, it was a great experience and got to meet some amazing performers! AND landed myself front page of the Christchurch Press Newspaper! That was a good day!!!

My plans for the future are to keep working hard on routines, pushing my limits and taking any opportunity to travel to perform for shows or corporate events! This year so far I have performed in Melbourne at the Melbourne fetish awards, Carousel Cabaret in Wellington and was the opening act (burlesque routines) for the Calendar girls opening in Auckland. My ultimate goal is to get to vegas and/or have my name in lights!! Dream big I say!

Whats the difference between that and stripping?

Ahhhhh the million dollar question!

The main difference between burlesque and stripping is the idea of the tease. Stripping is simply about revealing nudity, whereas burlesque is an entertainment art, based around dance, musicality and the art of the tease. For instance, in the time that it would take your normal strip-act to have removed the entirety of their clothing, I may have only just finished peeling off my satin glove or stocking. Despite the fact that every audience member has their bare hands on display for all to see, the tension built up by the tease, the anticipation of catching a glimpse of a naked wrist, palm, fingers, or a leg…….mean’s every audience member is spellbound!

Burlesque also evolved alongside vaudeville and cabaret, so it has an entertainment focus that is missing in stripping. Burlesque is often light-hearted, involving comedy, parody or theatrical elements. And of course, modern burlesque celebrates real women with real bodies. If you’re looking for vintage glamour, sophistication, spectacular entertainment and a little bit of fantasy, see a burlesque show!

Who does it?

Women of all shapes and sizes! There are no rules in that department! All you need is confidence and ability to put yourself out there! It’s a HUGE buzz! Anyone can do it, there are so many different aspects to burlesque, so no matter your fitness, there will be something that suits everyone. From using props like fans, parasols, feather boas, chairs, balloons etc….there are no real rules!! Except undies must stay on and we wear pasties (nipple covers usually with sparkles and tassles) to cover the important bits!! hahaha

For me burlesque is about confidence and being at ease with your own body and character! So what ever the routine or whatever props you use, here’s what id recommend.

3 things I like to teach my students is to look confident!! (fake it till you make it!), keep your head up and shoulders back, walk like a lady and be graceful in movement, and don’t forget to engage the audience with eye contact and a smile

How do you plan a routine? how many hours practice are involved?

There’s a few things that I do when planning, I think about what the costume will be, colours, layers, props, accessories and all that. Then I find my music, this can be tricky to find something that works, but a little perseverance usually gets me there. Then after I have those things planned, I can then start nutting out the routine! Some routines I can put together pretty quickly, but others can take hours apon hours of choreography and rehearsal till I’m happy!

What about your other business interests?

Well growing up with my mum being in the beauty industry, It was only natural that I also went down that path. I have my own Makeup Artistry/Beauty/Styling Business here in Christchurch (https://www.facebook.com/Bonita.Monique and www.bonitamonique.com) I love doing weddings and makeup for photoshoots and creative stuff! I did have my own set up in Merivale prior to the earthquake, but after the Feb quake I decided to just move everything home, so now I offer mobile services for makeup/weddings/shoots etc and any beauty stuff I can do from home.

Talk about your background in the car scene a little- mr2, e 4, s15 etc

Me and cars have a long history!! Basically, here’s the quick version…..got into cars, started to drag, loved to drag, LOVED to beat the old guys in there v8’s!! that was always a highlight! HAHA. Then got into shows, running events for Girlspeed, mega cruises, fundraisers and all that jazz, then got into drifting and became NZ’s first and only female drift judge! Met some fricken awesome people in the car scene and made some great friends from all over NZ! And now I have myself a dirtbike to entertain me in the summer

And here’s the long version!

Well my first baby was a 1979 Mini Clubman (aka mini lee!), in a spectacular baby poo mustard colour! It got quite the rev up when I had a 1275 motor dropped in, extractors, flared guards, 12’’minilite rims, it was lil racecar on rails!! Loved that car….but killed it……too much power for the lil bugga!! Haha
After that was the introduction to turbo vehicles I got myself a tidy wee GTX hatch which I did some nice wee mods to. {GTX8U} haha that was so cool back then!! That was also when I started to get into the car scene, taking up drag racing and also became the South Island Co-Ordinatior for Girlspeed NZ.
After the GTX came the mighty MR2, {MR2PWR} this car was on steroids and gave me no end in trouble! Running a turbo big enough to swallow a cat, stroked to 2.2, extra injectors, HUGE boost it was no wonder I melted the crap out of it! Oh and of course chromes……you couldn’t have a car in Christchurch without chromes
Then there was also the R32 GTR which I co-owned with my ex at the same time as the MRpoo, this also gave nothing but greif, but when it was on….it was ON!!!! Boom!
So after I killed the MR2, I got myself a Evo 4 – RS, {M1SEVO} which started off pretty well, until I put a monster clutch in it, which it didn’t really like all that much. So after 4 engine rebuilds I handed it over to Jon from Spec Performance who finally got the mix right, and finally turned the lemon into a reliable car!!! Who would have thought! its now running around somewhere over whanganui way, keep an eye out, she’s not hard to miss, white with fuchsia and silver metallic flakes in the paint!
Then the drifting bug kinda hit me, and I thought it was time to try out some of this rear wheel action that was sweeping the country! Got my hands on a very nice S15 Spec-r Silvia and brought her down from the land of drifting, whangarei and the king of NZ drift Mr J Rood. I LOVED this car, used it for drag, circuit and drift. She got new plates {I DOLL I} and was a cross between mongrel drifta and pretty slightly girly car…..ok well not really! She was my trusty stead, never once failed me!!! Then got asked to start judging for Drift South for many seasons and even guest judged for D1. Unfortunatly my trusty steed was recently stolen unfortunately by some arsehole bastard L but karma is a bitch and will bite hard.
So after the thief dilemma, I was at a pause to which direction to go…..i didn’t want something boring……but the way the roads are in Christchurch now, it’s really not a fun time to own a lowered car!!! So for the first time, I now have a semi sensible car, which I feel really quite grown up in!! got myself a tidy 4 door BMW, but of course I couldn’t let it be just standard. She’s got nice 18’s, tints and kit, so for now she’s my new trusty steed! And I can actually take friends with me, without having them to squeeze around a roll cage! Bonus!!
Almost forgot, I also got myself my first dirtbike at the start of last year. KTM 200exc. So in the warmer months (cause I really don’t have fun on it in winter) you can find me down at the river or cruising around the countryside with some of my mates!