Making her mark on the burlesque scene with her classic striptease performances and pinup looks, Ginger Valentine brings sexy back with a vengeance. Recently, winning the crown, Queen of Burlesque, at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival, this vivacious mover-shaker is not slowing down. I sat down with Ms. Valentine recently at the Belmont Hotel with photographer Jarrod Fresquez to learn more about the sultry bombshell.

Valentine started out as a ballerina, but was always attracted to the Striptease. “There is something liberating about being a stripper” says Valentine of her vocation. Valentine danced with a local burlesque-inspired dance troupe before becoming a soloist in 2008. Initially, she worked as a freelance commercial writer to make ends meet. “When you find your true calling, everything falls into place” remarked Valentine on meeting business partner Missy Lisa and taking on performing full time. Together they produce the Ruby Revue and the Dallas Burlesque Festival as well as run the Ruby Room Studio offering burlesque classes to the public.

Burlesque changes you. It changes the way you walk, the way you sit, the way you stand, and more importantly, the way you feel as a woman. It gets you in touch with that part of you that is all woman. There is empowerment here. Not the kind of bra-burning empowerment, but the virile, sexy sort where you celebrate that part of you that makes you women. Taking Valentine’s class at the Ruby Room Studio, Bumps & Grinds, is sure to help you channel your inner sexy stripper and transforms your body along the way. Another practice that helps calm Valentine’s nerves while performing with the Ruby Revue or at a big competition is yoga. The breathing techniques help her slow everything down in order to focus on her performance. “Pharmaceuticals of the brain are the best kind” says Valentine of the benefits of yoga.

Inspired by the 50’s and 60’s strippers of yesteryear, Valentine, puts a modern twist on an old profession. She takes an athletic approach to her training that includes, eating well and exercising often. She holds 3 to 4 classes a week at the Ruby Room Studio and practices regularly with the Ruby Revue. The well executed burlesque numbers come from hours of practice and a must if you want to be a Ruby Revue performer. “We believe in putting in the work for our fans” says Valentine of the troops work ethic.

“I’d dedicate my life to tits and ass” remarked Valentine when asked what would you do if you won Queen of Burlesque at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. Her candor is refreshing in the world of sequins and pasties. Feminine, poised, sexy, and intelligent all come to mind when I think of Ginger Valentine. She approaches performance with the same tenacity she does in living, to be her personal best. “Keep it positive, keep your ego in check, and remember a sense of humor” advises Valentine. This sexy bombshell is a stellar performer you definitely don’t want to miss.

Classes with Ginger Valentine at The Ruby Room Studio:

INTRO TO BURLESQUE w Ginger Valentine | Monday 7:30p & Thursday 6:30p
BALLET BASICS w Ginger Valentine | Wednesday 6:30p
BUMPS & GRINDS w Ginger Valentine | Wednesday 7:30p
STRIPTEASE TECHNIQUE w Ginger Valentine | Wednesday 8:30p
MORE INFORMATION HERE: Ruby Room Studio Schedule

Next Performance with the Ruby Revue in Houston at The House of Blues: Back to School Special – Houston Edition Friday, October 8th at 9:30pm

Follow Ginger on Twitter: @Ginger_Lee

Like Ginger on Facebook: Ginger Valentine

All photographs by Jarrod Fresquez

“OK, you get a choice: You can either wear high heels, or you can wear bikinis. You can’t wear both.” – Courtney Kerr

Lula B’s relocated from the Greenville Avenue spot it occupied for 18 years to Deep Ellum. LuLa B’s East, Cool Stuff for Cool People, begs a closer look.

Inside you are delighted by the thousands of square feet of awesome found. Around every corner, Mid-century modern furniture, complete with lighting and decor. The 80 vendors occupying this funky and cool space seem to live together in snapshots from the past.

The mosaic table with glass topped benches would add that funky touch missing in your sunroom’s story. I am in love with this retro leather chair, perfect in a den for reading.

Your bar lacking that certain something, oh Lula B’s has what you need. From the sexy cut out to the vintage vinyl, you can’t go wrong here. Neon is making a comeback and will add the ambiance with that kitschy touch.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an invitation only preview of The Goss-Michael Foundation new space. Goss-Michael has now taken up residency in a renovated warehouse on Turtle Creek Boulevard in the Design District, just steps away from the Dallas Contemporary.

The new Goss-Michael is four times the size of its original location, and hopes to inspire a provocative dialogue around such issues as mortality, death, and sexuality through their exhibited works of famed British artists. These artists include Michael Craig-Martin,Tracey Emin, Angus Fairhurst, Damien Hirst, Jim Lambie, Sarah Lucas, Adam McEwen, Jonathan Monk,Tim Noble & Sue Webster,Richard Patterson, Marc Quinn and Rebecca Warren. Michael Craig Martin said about the new location, “This space changes the balance of everything in Dallas. Everything will have to adjust to what happens here”.

Click here to see exhibit images on StealingKitty’s Flickr page.

The curation of the new location is what sets Goss-Michael apart. Aphrodite Gonou’s curation of the space is masterful, as she immediately challenges your ideas about death and mortality upon entering. Sarah Lucas’s New Religion, a neon coffin, is strategically placed in the center of the room.

Adam McEwen’s Obituaries offer you a glimpse of how your life will be summed up once you have passed. These are 7, 40×29 inch newspaper like prints depicting obituaries of living celebrities. In the end, we are summed up in a page, our successes and our failures. This work lines the wall of the room where neon light radiates against their headlines. We are all going to die.

As you walk through, you are summoned to a much larger room where Damien Hirst’sSaint Sebastian Exquisite Pain (2007) floats in blue hued liquid. This is a bull with spears coming out of it. There is a strong sense of defeat and death in this work. The piece communicates an erotic value that was lost on me as those large, dead, cow eyes spoke more of death and defeat than sex and eroticism.

Just across from this work is Marc Quinn’s Mother and Child (Alison and Parys), a sculpture that depicts a woman with severe deformities with a baby lying against her body. The body of the woman is shown with no arms, malformed legs and feet, and has the face of a man. This communicates strength and courage against all odds. This large sculpture sat among war heroes in Trafalgar Square. The juxtaposition of Marc Quinn’s piece inspires a much needed sense hope and strength against the defeat of Hirst’s pain.

Sara Lucas, Pepsi & Cocky (2008), sits on the right side, a sculpture depicting two dancer legs straddling each other that are both tired and sexy. Looking on, a large photograph of Lucas sitting with a skull between her legs hangs on the wall. The objectification of women and stereotypes begins to take hold.

Next to this piece is Angus Fairhurst, A Couple of Differences Between Thinking and Feeling (Solo) (2003, bronze). The large gorilla has lost its arm, which is lying in front of the piece. Fairhurst was trying to illustrate the instincts that resided inside of him. He was a gentle man and the idea this large gorilla was his internal self has you questioning the idea of societal norms and rules we all obey in our lives.

Tracey Emin, Hurricane hangs on the wall in direct view of the gorilla. The painting depicts violent sex. The placement of this painting with the gorilla is like a punch in the face as you exit the large gallery space.

As you make your way back up towards the front, Emin wants you to feel her pain even more with, Fuck Off and Die You Slag, in neon hanging above in the large entrance way. The sign is written in cursive, which gives you the sense that it was a quick note left on a bedside of a scorned lover. Throughout the collection Tracey Emin’s pain is obvious. She doesn’t have the subtleness of Lucas, who speaks more of objectification and the plight of being born woman. Emin has the pain and abuse that some women get by just being women.

In addition to the two gallery spaces, there is a projection room and long hallway. This is where my favorite works from the collection were displayed. Tim Noble and Sue Noble’s work, The Joy of Sex, line the hallway. These are simple drawings of the couple in various postures of pleasure. The drawings are graphic in their depiction of sexual acts the two enjoy with an up close and personal view. We are reminded by the curator that these works are not pornography because they are not to objectify rather celebrate. I celebrate this hallway, in my way, as it will forever be remembered as the “porno hallway”. There is no pain or death in this area, only the celebration of sex and the joy we all feel in the throes of passion.

In the projection room is Tim and Sue Noble’s Dirty Narcissus (2007), which is a sculpture of fingers, hands, and penises, which when lit; project a silhouette of two faces in profile on the wall. These are not the silhouettes grandma has in her den that is for sure.

The hallway leads to the full kitchen Goss-Michael offers and on the wall facing you is Noble’s The Sweet Smell of Excess (1998) in sparkling neon beckons you to indulge in its spirits.

The Goss-Michael Foundation feels more like a statement about art than an art space. It is doing it’s best to provoke the Dallas viewer out of their seat and into the world of this kind of Modern art. What will Dallas say in response? Will we follow suit like good little toy soldiers, or will we find a way past the noise and start a new dialogue about art and its place in society today? Time will tell.

Fearless comes to mind when I reflect on an recent hot, summer day spent with Ashley Compton in a large warehouse with photographer Jarrod Fresquez and make up artist, Courtney Crush. The photo shoot captured Compton’s aerial ability, illustrating her strength frame by frame.

Compton impressed us all with laser focus, which was humbling for the voyeurs as the Texas heat began to kick ass. Her flexibility thanks to her yoga teacher training at Dallas Yoga Center; Compton currently teaches yoga at the Ruby Room Monday thru Thursday as well.

Compton young in years, still enjoying her 20′s, but old in soul, wants to challenge herself and give back to the world. In January of last year an earthquake unmercifully ripped through the most impoverished nation of the western hemisphere. Prior to the formidable upheaval of Haiti, unemployment rates stood at 70%, growth in infrastructure was at a mere crawl and health and education lacked significance.

Measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale, Haiti’s earthquake left little in its wake and cities of tents sprung up over night. A year has come and gone and over a million refugees remain left without adequate shelter, food, or access to water. In response, Off the Mat has chosen Haiti for this years Global Seva (selfless service) Challenge. Ashley Compton is ready for this challenge.

Each participant works toward a base fund raising goal through grass root efforts of community outreach and engagement intended to enrich leadership skills and strengthen the participant’s drive and commitment to providing service in Haiti. Those who actualize financial goals will spend two weeks of Spring 2012 in Haiti working hands-on with the organizations funded by their philanthropic enterprise. Focus in Port au Prince, alongside the Haitian Relief Organization, will be allotted to rubble removal and waste management.

In conjunction with Fountains of Hope and Peasants of Fondwa, participants will aid in the installation of water filtration systems in the local orphanage and school. In an effort to promote sustainability and create jobs through micro-loans, education and literacy are nourished.

The last few days in Haiti will be dedicated to the children of Jacmel. Participants will lend their brawn to the construction of a children’s center and their creativity, patience, and encouragement to the children themselves as personal growth and education are nurtured through art.

Compton’s fundraiser to raise the $20K needed for the ‘Off The Mat’ seva challenge, Skatey For Haiti will be held later this year. This is not going to be just your average party, it is going to be, ‘a totally rad, badass skating/skateboarding party at a 50,000 sq ft warehouse in the Design District’, according to the website.

You can also donate here. Ashley Compton is an impressive young woman with a vision to help make the world a better place. Helping Haiti is the right thing to do.