I first fell in love with Burlesque in college and have since been fascinated with the performers and Burlesque’s racy empowering side. Although anyone can participate in the tease, Burlesque feels to me like it’s for women by women. To give us a little more insight into this performance art and the ways that Burlesque is about more than just breasts and bums, we caught up with the well known and incredibly charming Burlesque performer, Boo Boo Darlin’.

Breathe Magazine: How would you describe Burlesque?

Boo Boo Darlin’: Burlesque is vintage striptease originating from vaudeville theater and satire. Burlesque is over the top entertainment! It can be over the top sexy, glamorous, humorous, cheeky, or even dark. It is open to whatever form of expression the performer desires and that to me is one of the most attractive things about burlesque.

What attracted you to Burlesque dancing? What was your first performance like?

I auditioned for Sugar Shack Burlesque in 2009 and after my audition RunAround Sue and Legs Malone asked me to perform in their show in Washington DC at the former Palace Of Wonders (now called The Red Palace). I was nervous and tremendously excited. Another attractive part about burlesque and probably one of the most important aspects is the audience that comes to these shows. Burlesque shows encourage the audience to be a part of the show, the more they express what they like with their cheers, claps and cat calls the more the performer will feed off and give back. So after a few minutes of being on stage my nervousness stripped away with each gown, glove or stocking peel. It felt so natural and so invigorating, and from that moment I was hooked. …

Last night Breathe headed over to the Charlottesville Ten Thousand Villages shop to hear CEO Doug Dirks speak about fair trade. Doug and his wife have been involved with Ten Thousand Villages in some capacity for more than 25 years, starting when they first went to Bangladesh. I was extremely touched by the level of his friendship with the people in developing countries who use the fair trade organization. He knew their life stories, struggles and valiant moments. Ten Thousand Villages overall mission is for all artisans to earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect and be able to live a quality life, according to Doug.

I knew what fair trade was, but only to a certain level. I knew that by purchasing something fair trade I was helping someone on the other side of the world, but I didn’t know the exact impact of my purchase. Here are some fun facts I learned about fair trade and Ten Thousand Villages while visiting with Doug and the C’ville store’s shop associates. …

Erin Brokovich gets things done. Hillary Clinton is in charge. Even the new boss on the Office, Nellie Bertram, doesn’t apologize for taking what she feels she deserves. These women might be intense and some people might be threatened by them, but their skin is thick and they get what they are after.

It seems as though examples of strong, assertive women are everywhere these days, but there are still tons of women out there who suffer from “doormat” syndrome. They let themselves be interrupted and they allow their feelings to be disregarded. They let themselves be victimized and they never seem to get what they want.

In a perfect world, I would end up somewhere in the middle of those two personality types — a modern, assertive, strong, yet gentle woman. An oxymoron? I don’t know, but I have discovered that finding the balance between lady warrior and shrinking violet is not necessarily an easy feat. …

I read a blog post not too long ago where the author talked about how she does a great job all day long of honoring her goals and eating responsibly and then some time after 8pm, she has this sudden insatiable urge to eat All The Things. (The post is funny and worth a read, check it out). I laugh-groaned when I read this because indeed I too am someone that is plagued with sundown munchies, but I never really put it into words. What is this urge about All The Things, and what can we do to combat it?

Over the last year or so, I’ve taken a two-fold approach. One is to have something that I really want to eat at night (and a very limited quantity of it actually in the house) and the second is to come up with a series of questions so that I am at least being honest with myself if I head back for seconds…or…

So the first part of this equation, the planned nighttime treat, is pretty straightforward. We don’t keep a lot of processed sweets in our house, so that has nipped some of the problem in the bud, but I found myself still pawing around (and occasionally doing something really sexy, like eating six-month-old chocolate chips out of the bag. You know, the grey ones).

No matter how much I tried head myself off at the pass by eating plenty of the right things and staying hydrated during the day, I would still find myself getting up like a zombie and heading to the kitchen to do the 3 minute fridge stare. Side note? That’s another funny thing about the nighttime snackies: we all look around our kitchen as if, between dinner and now, an ice cream truck might have manifested itself in our absence. Oh look! Things that I didn’t buy have shown up for just this moment! I knew all I needed to do was open the freezer 5 more times! …

This week our May issue will be hitting newsstands across the region. Look for the photogenic and smiling Sara Evans on the cover! Breathe had an exclusive interview with the country star where she dished about what it’s like to live on the road, from traveling with her family to those lonely nights where it’s just her on the tour bus. This month’s issue has inspiring stories to motivate you to hit the road and explore our region. Other feature stories in the May issue include …

Fitz and The Tantrums – (Live on KEXP)
Now that the days are longer and spring is in full bloom, I’m finding myself in the mood to grab my dancing shoes and go hear as much live music as possible. Maybe it’s because festival season is almost here and line-ups are being announced every day (if not minute, tweet tweet), and I’m finding myself chasing artists across the face and the space. It may be that I have a little bit of Spring fever? What ever the reason, I’m loving what I’m listening to and want to share it!

This week I have a few ladies (fellas too) shakin’ their tail feathers. Some of these videos are a little old. But still worth a glance and the artist are most definitely worth taking for a spin! (yes I did.) …

Mother’s Day is upon us, which is part of the inspiration behind this blog post. Although she lives in Texas and I live in Virginia, my mother continues to play an important role in my life. Most people who know us agree that I am my mother’s mini-me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My mother is beautiful, poised and wise beyond her years.

That being said, I have decided to honor her excellent mothering skills by sharing with you her top five rules to live by. She taught me these lessons from a very early age, and continuously reminds me of their importance. If not for these valuable guidelines, I am certain I would not be the woman I am today. …

“Hey, do you want to come out to the Pub for free pizza and beer?”

I looked up from my paperback copy of “Lolita” to see my roommate dressed in her game-day attire.

“Oh, no thank you,” I said thinking of the hangover and the bloat and the smoky bar and the drunk coeds. “I have to finish this book by Tuesday.” She shrugged and proceeded to rush out the door without so much as a “goodbye.” I didn’t have to finish the book.

In my later years as an undergraduate, I had gained a bit of a reputation among my peers for saying “no” to offers like that. It’s a wonder anyone invited me out, at all.

I suppose after the first few months of turning my nose up at her invitations, it no longer surprised my roommate that I would turn down a night of free debauchery at the Pub. Even though I knew that I’d be missing out on making some lifelong memories by avoiding such social outings, I also believed that I was protecting myself from rejection and ridicule and from somehow making a fool of myself. But, it wasn’t just invitations to parties and pubs to which I replied “no.” And, I eventually became more creative at finding new ways of saying “no.” I thought I was protecting other people’s feelings; it was admittedly a bit self centered. …

When I was in high school one of our poetry writing exercises was to write a Where I’m From poem modeled, I believe, after George Ella Lyon’s poem of the same title. I loved this exercise at the time, probably because it gave my 16-year-old voice an edge of highly coveted authority, but over the years it has stuck with me as something of a daily mental status update. I’ll pass something in the car, and my brain will automatically say, I am from the land where chicory and discarded wrappers tell their own stories on the sides of the road. These little quips ground me and comfort me, and importantly, never seem to leave me.

We traveled to Western North Carolina for Easter, something of an annual pilgrimage, to two of the farms that I really am from, and all weekend the little I Am From lines were popping up left and right in my mind. For me, this time of year is really about returning to something. We get excited to be going back to my aunt and uncle’s farm, to the places that I tromped around on in cowboy boots as a child, to the place that we said I Do, to a little nook in the mountains of North Carolina that you can look at every day and still get caught off guard by its beauty. Although we go many times throughout the year back to these places that have been home for us, there’s something about this time of year that carries a compelling reverence for the world anxiously blooming forward as it simultaneously calls us back. Although we don’t live in North Carolina anymore, it holds our hearts firmly and wholly, and getting into its mountains is a lot like secretly bumping knees under a table with your first true love.

In an explanation of her original poem, George Ella Lyon says, “Where I’m From grew out of my response to a poem from ‘Stories I Ain’t Told Nobody Yet’ (Orchard Books, 1989; Theater Communications Group, 1991) by my friend, Tennessee writer Jo Carson. All of the People Pieces, as Jo calls them, are based on things folks actually said, and number 22 begins, “I want to know when you get to be from a place. ” …

My family adopted a German Shepherd mutt from the pound when I was eight years old. Her name was Bailey and when we brought her home on a Sunday after church, she peed on my mother’s lap. She was just five months old.

The first time I took Bailey for a walk by myself, she pulled me so hard that I fell flat on my face. She dragged me about fifteen feet down a rocky, gravel driveway until my dad came running out of the house and stopped her. She and I got off to a rough start, but we were both babies, thinking we had our independence, fumbling and falling and hurting ourselves because we weren’t ready to have it, yet.

Bailey grew up fast. The loyal ward of three small children, she wandered only so far as the edge of our yard and always came back when we called her. When we threw a ball, she would chase it, though she would never bring it back. Whenever we ran, she would herd us like sheep and when we asked for “kisses,” she would happily oblige us with swaths of her tongue. After awhile, she didn’t even need a leash when we walked around the neighborhood, she just stayed by our heels.

Bailey never barked at delivery men or at other dogs, but she barked at my parents when they would dance in the kitchen to Harry Connick Jr. She was always looking out for us kids. And, she could catch a dog biscuit in mid-air or find one that we had hidden behind the chair; we tried to stoop her but she had a great nose. My mom called her the “Canine Vacuum Cleaner,” because she would eat everything we dropped on the floor; everything except broccoli.

When I was in middle school, I wanted her to sleep in my room every night. She would lay at the door and protect me from whatever spooky intruders I feared might be lurking outside. Of course, there were never any, but the security was a comfort to me then. …