Today we’d like to introduce you to Aurora Natrix.
Aurora, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m originally from London, England and moved to the States when I was young. Back in 2003 I was going to college and go-go dancing at an alternative goth-industrial night club. I was familiar with what burlesque was, but it was never anything I considered doing. I was approached by a friend and promoter about creating an act for a new monthly party they were throwing. I initially said no. A month later they called me up and asked again, noting that the main girl they hired had broken their leg and that they had no one else, and said if I hated it, they’d never ask me again. I begrudgingly said yes.
At the time there really wasn’t a burlesque scene happening locally. I didn’t have any idea what was out there, beyond Dita Von Teese, I didn’t know that the Neo-Burlesque Revival had been booming in cities like New York and LA for over a decade. YouTube hadn’t been invented yet so my points of reference were very limited. I set off to the library to research as much as I could. I found the movie Gypsy, and the series “Something Weird” which featured clips of vintage burlesque dancers bump and grinding in black and white, and I got to work! My first performance was in West Palm Beach at Respectable’s Street Cafe. It was probably terrible, but I had so much fun!
Shortly after I co-founded one of Florida’s first burlesque troupes with some other local performers, and we would perform about once a month. Although, burlesque didn’t really find a footing down here until a few years and many troupes later. Almost 15 years since, I am now a full time performer, have been producing burlesque shows for nearly half a decade, and have had some really incredible opportunities to travel the world due to my career in burlesque.
Has it been a smooth road?
Burlesque is an art-form that requires constant growth and re-evaluation. If you’re not learning and pushing yourself to work harder, you become stagnant.
By far it hasn’t been a smooth road, but the journey has been very rewarding.
In early 2008 I felt like things weren’t really going anywhere for me as far as burlesque was concerned, so I went off to NYC for a few weeks to re-focus. NYC was and still is one of the biggest burlesque meccas of the US. While there I took in as many shows as I could (sometimes two a night). I came back to Miami re-energized and excited to really focus on building a burlesque scene down here in Miami. Simultaneously a performer by the name of Holly Peno had moved to Miami from Chicago and wanted to create a troupe of her own down here. On a whim, I showed up to the casting call and it went so well that I became one of the founding members of Shameless Burlesque. Shameless really helped put burlesque on the map for Miami. We soon had performance residencies at some of the top bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Around the same time new troupes started popping up and it was quite common to have multiple burlesque shows a month.
I still felt like I was missing something as far as burlesque, so I decided to branch out. I applied and was accepted to my first burlesque festival in 2010 and it was an eye-opening experience. It’s easy for me to become complacent when I’m not challenged, but seeing so many phenomenal performers from all across the country in one weekend made me rethink things quite a bit. I really put my focus into growing and travelling more, and later that year I was submitted and handpicked from over a hundred applicants to join a US National Tour with the Pretty Things Peepshow. It gave me the opportunity to perform all across America, and while not totally smooth sailing, it was an experience that has helped shape me into the performer I am today.
My travels lit a fire under me, but at this time I was not even close to being a professional full-time performer. To pay most of my bills I was tending bar, and by 2012 had been doing so for about seven years. I’m not sure if it was the bar I was at, or the industry overall, but I was not happy with my job. During a particularly bad shift, I ended up walking out on my job. I decided it was time to give being self-employed a go as a full-time career. Drama Queen Boutique was born the very next day, and my own performance company, shortly thereafter.
Everything has been a learning process and although at times it was challenging and difficult, I’m happy with what I have accomplished. Since starting out I have been flown all over the US, and have performed in cities and festivals all over the world, from Stockholm to Paris, NYC to New Orleans, and from sea to shining sea!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Aurora Natrix – The British Invasion, founder and creator of the Ritz Glitz Revue, Drama Queen Boutique, and Wilder Burlesque story. Tell us more about the business.
One of my favorite things about this industry is how both self-powered AND empowering it is. Out of necessity, burlesque performers tend to wear many hats. I taught myself how to sew back in my go-go dancing days, and it’s become such an important part of my art-form. I take great pride in hand-making the majority of all of my costumes, down to creating the corsets, hand-dyeing the feathers, and painstakingly adorning each costume with jewels and rhinestones for countless hours. When people see performers on stage, I don’t think they quite realize the amount of time and dedication that goes into making those five minutes of magic. I am a producer, a promoter, a choreographer, a costumer, a mentor, and beyond. Although I went to school for Music Business and have my degree in that, it wasn’t until burlesque that I found a use for my degree. It’s been essential in mixing my own music, writing contracts, and proposals, and has been an integral part in my success, pushing me to treat this art form not only as my passion, but as my business.
Part of that business was the creation of my own production company. In 2013 I was referred by a friend to provide entertainment for a new venue. At the time locally there wasn’t a show focused on sparkly classic burlesque, so I took it as a sign to create the Ritz Glitz Revue. A year later we found our home at Stache (1920’s drinking den in Fort Lauderdale) and we just celebrated our 5th anniversary in business and 4th anniversary of our residency there. We’re at Stache the third Saturday of almost every month and you can often find hand-made burlesque accoutrements from Drama Queen available for purchase there.
Since starting, I have expanded to provide burlesque and variety entertainment for private parties, corporate events, weddings, and special occasions. I can create shows for any theme or party from 1920’s Great Gatsby through 1950’s-1960’s Mad Men era, as well as seasonal acts to cover celebrations for Christmas, Halloween, New Year’s, and beyond. Recently I teamed up with Avant in Delray to curate a dinner show, as well as the Wilder to provide a unique burlesque experience pop-up experience for them over the summer. I have also have a great on-going relationship with the craft cocktail drinking institution, Employees Only, in their Miami Beach location. There, you can catch me and other Ritz Glitz entertainers performing as part of their weekly Silky Sunday’s pajama party!
I’m so grateful to have built a career as an entertainer and producer, and I relish having the chance to provide elevated entertainment all across South Florida in some of the most incredible bars, theatres, and fine dining establishments. From where I started, I never dreamed that I’d have the opportunity to perform in some of the places I have. From the fanciest hotels, to yachts, mansions, and even a castle, it’s been a wild ride, and I look forward to seeing what comes next!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
If I could see the future, I’d play the lottery! It’s hard to predict where this industry is going but I have noticed over the years it tends to be cyclical. What I do hope is that live entertainment continues to be a mainstay of culture in our city, and that it grows. I’d love to see more supper clubs with burlesque entertainment and one of my dreams is to have a home for a burlesque show with a live jazz or blues band providing the soundtrack for a rhinestoned extravaganza! Burlesque had its first heyday in Miami in the 1950’s-1970’s, and we’ve been going strong with the revival, yet some people are still just learning about it so I believe our future is wide.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.auroranatrix.com
- Email: aurora@auroranatrix.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/auroranatrix
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/auroranatrix
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/auroranatrix
- Yelp: https://auroranatrix.yelp.com
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/RitzGlitzRevue/
Image Credit:
Terribly Girly Photography by Janette Valentine
Dyce Photography
Jose Estefan
El Tucán
Carol Tedesco
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