A sneak peak at this week's Shaken and Stirred Featuring Jesse Belle-Jones

Oh yes... the steamy heat of spring.... Here it comes darling! And this week's very special featured performer at Shaken and Stirred is none other than Seattle's very own JESSE BELLE-JONES! Joining her is our own hometown hero of haute-ness CREAMY STEVENS with the blushing debut of MARINARA STARDUST and the GoGo Goodness of EVILYN VINYL. As always our resident heart throb DJ JESS gives it to you just like you like it while Queens of the Goodtimes, RUNAROUND SUE and SCOOTER PIE give you more than you ever asked for! No Cover! Free huckleberry vodka shots brought to you after each set courtesy of 44 Degrees North Vodka!. GoGo starts at 930, Burlesque sets at 10 and 11 with our very special secret track at 1am. Bring your friends, your lovers and everyone in between to what Time Out NY calls "Your Perfect Wednesday Night."

What exactly happened last week? Well the exactitude has surrendored to the collective unconscious and what we are left with are the very wonderful musings of SCOOTER PIE:

"Shaken & Stirred was voted one of the top five things to do in all of New York City in this week's Time Out NY magazine! Guess the secret of "NYC's best kept-secret" is out.. We had a ball at the show this week, which featured the many charms of "the Asian Sexation" Calamity Chang, the S&S debut of the charming Charlie Gunn, double doses of my much-loved partner in crime Runaround Sue and yours truly Scooter Pie, and hot hot hot gogo courtesy of La Divina Gransparkle. Spotted in the audience were our good buddies Albert Cadabra and Danger Doll, keeping the party going all night. There were 3, count 'em, 3 birthdays being celebrated in the crowd by three lovely ladies who duked it out during our dance contest- I'm hoping to see the winner back on our stage again sometime soon! See ya next week, ladies n' gents- it's gonna be officially spring, so no excuses! Til then, party on, kids. XOXO SP"

And now a very sweet sneak peek at JESSE BELLE JONES:

1. What does Burlesque mean to you?
   

Beyond the textbook definition, burlesque to me is a performance outlet for my ideas and sensuality and sexuality, about the politics of the body, about images, both glamorous and grotesque, that I encounter in the world, and about creating a space in which both performer and audience can feel safe and confident about feeling sexy.

2. How did you choose your name?

Most apparently, it is an homage to Jezebel, a character from the bible, who was a fierce leader and ruthless politician who was in the unfortunate position of being a woman. She was executed for the latter of these crimes. More importantly (to me), however, I chose "Jesse" because of its gender neutrality. I play with the flexibility of gender in a lot of my work and wanted both feminine and masculine identities available to me.

3. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Danny Elfman is the only celebrity to whom I've written fan mail. I was OBSESSED with his work in high school. He never wrote back (the fool).

4. What are you reading these days and why?

I'm reading Tennessee Williams' memoirs right now. They're so juicy! My awesome friend and room mate read them and is lending them to me. I love the equal affection and disdain he seems to have for people. Plus, he was a huge slut and I admire that in just about anyone. :]

5. What is your favorite performance antecdote?

I started doing burlesque when I was still in graduate school. When I first began, I was teaching freshman level courses that comprised mostly of students too young to come to the bars where my shows were. I didn't consider that when I started teaching senior level classes that my students were a couple of years older. Within the first week of teaching my first 400-level Syntax course, a guy from my class showed up at one of my shows. I recognized him immediately. He either didn't recognize me through the pounds of makeup and drag hair I had on, or he was polite enough never to acknowledge the chance meeting.

6. Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku:
   

Let's just get naked

Go outside and make some art

The rest will work out

7. How can the people find out more about you?

I'm assistant producer/choreographer/dancer for my burlesque troupe: Sinner Saint Burlesque Review
I'm co-producer of the Seattle chapter of Naked Girls Reading: Naked Girls Reading Seattle

I'm the events coordinator the annual Seattle-based educational event: BurlyCon

People can friend me on Face Book
People can follow @JesseBJones on Twitter

BIO:
Navigating a femail body through academia and the world at large, Jesse Belle-Jones is one bluestocking bettie whose edgy antics and sultry grace will leave audiences scratching their heads, and panting for more.
With her strong dance background and academic approach, her stunning concepts and choreograpy both challenge and captivate. Jesse's acts are packed with tantalizing food for thought served up in a sharp, scintillating style that is gauranteed to keep her on your mind.
Jesse is co-producer of Sinner Saint Burlesque and the Seattle chapter of Naked Girls Reading and can be regularly spotted dancing at the Noc Noc, Burlesque Behind the Pink Door, and Oddfellows West Hall in her hometown of Seattle, Wa. She is thrilled to be a cast member of "Behind the looking glass: A burlesque Alice in Wonderland" as well as a member of the Seattle cast of "SHINE: a burlesque musical, " traveling with the production to the NY Fringe Festival in 2010. Jesse is also the Events Coordinator for the Seattle-based annual BurlyCon international education burlesque event.


See you Wednesday Sweethearts xoxo