Burlesque anyone ... anyone?

A week ago I was assigned to shoot local burlesque troupe The Slippery Kittens. I swear this was an assignment. I had to wait on posting it here because the story had not run until yesterday. The group has been gaining quite a following here locally and this was their last local performance before departing for L.A. to compete in the semifinals of NBC's "Americas Got Talent." That was the whole crutch of the story. 

It was actually a tough assignment.

I had been told before that the club/bar they were performing at had really bad light on it's stage ... that was an understatement. With black painted walls and ceilings the handful of colored lights on stage made making a meaningful image almost impossible. 

However, knowing the light situation may be bad, I arrived early to meet with the performers and ask about getting backstage and try to come up with a decent image before they went on stage. 

I was invited right in. 

But to be sure everyone was at ease I announced to the whole group that if anyone was uncomfortable with me being in there, just let me know and I can leave now. I was basically greeted with a --'if you(me) are uncomfortable, it's your(my)problem'-- 

I was just being cautious.

Backstage at a burlesque show ... well, the situation was almost as difficult as the stage. Their dressing room consisted of a plywood room with black painted ceiling and walls except for one brick wall. The room, which was about 12 feet deep and about eight feet wide, held more than a dozen performers and had only one 70 watt tungsten bulb hung about five feet off the floor against the far wall right above the mirror.

I figured if I got my back to that wall I might be able to expose for a nice image. But the room was so cramped. One of the women suggested I stand on a beat-up table by the mirror ... so I did. 

I just hung out there as the performers would check their outfits and make-up before going on stage. 

It paid off. Just before they went on stage the three women above all came together for last minute checks and I had the image I was looking for.

We ended using the above image as our centerpiece for the package and used the performing images as secondary shots.

This will go down as one of the most unique assignments I have ever had.