So … my name is BoDaisa Deviant … I am a Chicago based burlesque performer … with a background in classical dance … ballet … jazz …modern … etc … I’m from Chicago … born and raised … I grew up in the west suburbs … just a little bit outside the city … but … from Chicago … I wasn’t involved with dance until high school … I didn’t start dancing until I was fourteen … but I will say that I’ve always had an inclination towards the arts … I‘ve always been interested in music from a young age … I used to want to sing … become a singer … until I realized I can’t sing (laughter) … I used to write music … I used to write poetry … writing stories … before dance I was … very much into writing … that was my first passion … it still is … Yeah … short stories … poetry … mostly fictional works is what I focus on a lot … When I was young … I’m horrible with names so I cant remember authors very well … but I enjoyed reading young adult fiction … mysteries … thrillers … sci fi … werewolf … vampires … kind of thing … I was very much into the dark stuff (laughter) … Music … when I was young … I liked Michael Jackson … Janet Jackson … definitely were some of my favorites … especially Janet … I used to love dancing along to music videos … Alia … mostly the R&B … kind of hip hop when I was younger … As I grew  a little bit older … it kind of fanned off into house … jazz … latin … a little bit rock … all across he board … I just kind of absorbed it all … Seeing my first dance performance? … I don’t think I saw my first dance performance until I started dancing … so … about fourteen … I think before them I wasn’t really exposed to it … I believe the first dance concert I saw was Giselle … performed by the Joffrey Ballet … which I loved … It was classical concerts … then … of course … Joel Hall … I saw their Jazz concert … the company I have danced for … for five years … I saw them … I actually started training with them … that’s how I started my dance career … was through Joel Hall … I was involved in theater when I went to high school … because I also wanted to be an actress at some point (laughter) … I wanted … all of the theater aspects … I did theater for about a year or two … I didn’t really get involved in dance team or cheer … I wasn’t interested in that … it wasn’t where I wanted to go … I was more interested in the concert … the technical being on stage … performing in front of audiences … It was about when I was fifteen … I decided I wanted to peruse dance as a career … before that … I had no idea what I wanted to do … As a kid … my mind constantly changed … from one thing to another … The first time I performed … I loved it … but I didn’t know it was a career option … until I talked to a mentor at the studio … and she was instructing me through it … telling me what I needed to do … and how to prepare myself to take it more seriously … a year later I decided … yeah … this is what I want to do the rest of my life … so …throughout high school I was preparing myself for that … training hard … as much as I could … as often as I could … prepping myself to pursue it professionally … After I went to I high school … I went to collage for dance for dance … I only got through two years of school because of financial setbacks … Funny enough … after my second year of collage ended … I came back home … I hadn’t danced that whole summer … because I was severely depressed … I barely left my room for three months … just because of being forced to leave school … and having all my life plans shattered … and everything ruined … and then … relationship issues … and all of it … just kind of came crashing down all at once … and that just wrecked me emotionally … so I didn’t dance … I didn’t do anything for three months … I got back into it that fall … after my sophomore year of collage … and … that winter … I was hit by a car (laughter) … So … it was just constant turmoil … back … to back … to back … Yeah … I was crossing the street … going to work … I was at Macys at the time … it was 4:00 am … because I was on their support team … doing their early early morning shift … It was pitch black … and I guess he didn’t see me crossing the street because I was in my all black … in my uniform … and yeah … Wham … It was pretty bad … I had to use a walker for a month … I couldn’t walk on my own for a month … Miraculously … I didn’t break any bones … they were surprised … the paramedics … when they arrived … that I hadn’t broken anything … They said because of my dance training … and the flexibility and the strength that I acquired through that … that’s what saved me from any severe injuries … After that I spent the next few months … prepping myself … conditioning … getting back to where I was … It took a lot of work … a lot of frustration … a lot of patience … because I basically had to start at zero … from the beginning again … I couldn’t even lift my right knee … no … it was my left knee past my ankle (laughter) … It was that bad … and I had to retrain my muscles and get strong again … Eventually … I was able to get back to the point where I was … and surpass that … It was emotional … I’ve always been drawn to dance … since the first time I was introduced to it … and there have been other points in my live where I was pulled away from it … forcibly more often then not … it just set me into turmoil … it rocked my whole world upside down … because it was my driving force … so … when I’m separated from dance for a long period of time … everything falls apart … so … the fact that after three months of being … and after getting back into dance … after that … and having this thrown at me … not even being able to walk … it was … I can’t even describe it … it was like my whole world was ending … That was also my driving force … to motivate me … to come out of it … it pushed me to keep going … It took me at least four months … I don’t remember exactly … after a month … I was able to walk again without the walker … and then after that … it was just a matter of time … getting the muscle strength and the flexibility back in my knees and then my joints … So … I’m not going to lie … When … I was hit by the car … I was on the floor … my shoe flew off … my phone luckily landed right next to me … so I could call my sister … let her know what happened … passed out again … I woke up … the paramedics helped me up … the first thing I said … “How long is this going to take … I have rehearsal tonight” (laughter) … I have to go to rehearsal (laughter) … They’re like … “Um … I don’t think you’re going to be able to do that” I’m … “No … it’s really important … I have to be at rehearsal tonight” (laughter) … So from that second … I was already in it … even when I was in bed … having to use a … walker dying to get back into rehearsal … I’m like … “When can I go back … When can I go back” … I can’t sit here … I have to be there … I was with Joel Hall at the time … I had actually … just gotten into the second company two or three months before the accident happened … Joel … and everyone at the studio … my director at the time … Dwayne … who was heading the second company … all of them were very supportive … very concerned … constantly checking in on me … sending well wishes … hoping I’d get better … telling me to take my time … my sister relayed the message that I wanted to get back to the studio … and they would tell me … no … get your rest … heal … take your time to recover … even though I was stubborn (laughter) … Joel … he was very crucial during my recovery period … I would be in his classes and he would mentor me … and help me … and tell ways to help get my strength back … my flexibility … he was very big part of my recovery process … very supportive … I returned and was always trying to improve … was very driven … After that year … I graduated  to performing apprentice with the first company … and a year later I was granted full company status … with the first company … How would I describe the kind of dance we were doing? … Urban … Urban jazz … that’s my favorite … and we danced to house music … Chicago style house music … that’s our motif … It’s a mix … primarily a jazz company … but there’s elements of Ballet … Modern … even some Salsa Latin influence … A little bit of everything being pulled in … It’s a good mix of various styles … but … primarily … it’s an urban … street jazz … form … Where did we perform? … We did a show at the Auditorium Theater … with a live band … The Billy Strayhorn music festival … The Logan Center … Ravenswood … Just various locations around the city … I can’t think of all of them … We did a … some in Hyde park … I think it was the University of Chicago … All over the city … north … south … everywhere … We went to Indiana … I forgot what city that was … They went to Miami … I didn’t go with them for that trip … We recently went to Ohio for a performance … so … a little bit of traveling ousted the city … So … Actually … I got into burlesque because we were on hiatus … the company was on a hiatus from performing … It just really got to the point where I really just wanted to be back on stage … and just dance again and perform for an audience … I was looking for ways to do that … I found … Michelle L’amour … a friend mentioned a name … I looked her up … I found some videos … I was … “Oh … Maybe I’ll take classes” … I reached out to her … but I was also struggling … because I was broke … so I couldn’t afford it … So … Ok … “Maybe a little bit down the line … I’ll reach out to her ” … A few months later … it’s funny … I found … I saw an audition flyer from Michelle that she was looking for dancers … for a troop … So … I went to the audition … and I just so happened to get in … So that’s how I got my start … through her … 2016 I started dancing with a showgirl troop with her and few other Chicago dancers … Some of who’ve moved away now … That’s how I got exposed to the world of burlesque … and all of that … It was incredible … It was a shock (laughter) … It was so different from what I was used to … but it was also … so extraordinary … and I wanted more of it … It was totally different … we had rehearsals … because we had to learn choreography … the choreography for the group … In rehearsals … I learned a lot about her style … and her technique … the difference between performing in a burlesque show versus in a jazz or ballet show … There’s different nuances … different stylizations … The audience you’re performing for is different … There’s different reactions there … It’s way more intimate and personal where you’re not on pristine stage and staring out into a dark theater … You can actually see the people you’re dancing for … you’re interacting with them … you’re up close and personal … and they’re reacting to you …It’s more raw and authentic … It’s very different … and I had to get used to that … And also … just the movement … and how to present myself differently … to fall into that world … I think I discovered my fashion more once I got into burlesque … honestly … even now it’s still all over the place … I can be punk one day … and preppy the next … and bummy clothes … and really high … ritzy … Like … I’m all over the place … I don’t really know what my fashion is to be honest … But (laughter) … It helped me discover a new element of it … A more glamours side to it … a more feminine side … Usually if I’m feeling kind of down and a little insecure … I’ll put on baggy clothes or something that’s very inconspicuous … muted colors … If I’m feeling fun … flirty … spunky … or just very lifted … I’ll throw something together that … I don’t know … kind of imitates it a little … bright colors … cute outfits … jewelry … style my hair a certain way … I think in a way it does reflect my mood … probably more on a subconscious level … I don’t really think about it … it just kind odd happens … Performing burlesque? I absolutely love it (laughter) … It’s very much become my passion … It’s all I want to focus on … Sometimes when I find something that I love … I get very honed in on it … It’s all I want to focus on … It’s all I want to do … Right now … for me … that is burlesque … I want to explore more of it … especially because I haven’t had any official classes in it … I kind of just jumped into it … even with my dance background … There’s a different stylization … a different method to burlesque … as opposed to classical dance … You can have all the technique in the world … what have you … but … if you don’t know how to relate to people … or how to express yourself in a certain way … its not going to read … it’s not going to be the same … When I first got into burlesque … I had no idea what it was (laughter) … it took me a while to figure it out … I was googling and researching … and figuring it out … The reason I do it know … is … One … it’s a freedom of expression … it makes me feel free … and limitless … and empowered … because I can … there’s no limitation as to how I can express myself … through it … be it through the movement … the music that I choose … the costuming … whatever … I just feel weightless in it … apart form that … what I love about burlesque is how I reach out to other woman through it … When I first started … doing to … I was doing it just to perform … because I love performing … which I still do … But … there have been a few times where I’ve been approached by woman off stage … after I perform … after I do a set … They say how much they took away from it … whether it’s feeling empowered … or just seeing someone on stage feel confident … embracing her own feminine power … her body … her grace … her sensuality … all of that … and it … touches them in a way that I cant even explain … I love that feeling I get with people … and having a connection with them … even if it’s not through speech … If I can move them … just by being on stage … that’s my intention … that’s my goal … And I want to reach other woman and let them know that … it’s ok to embrace who you are … and to be comfortable in you own skin … especially in a world where woman are silenced and criminalized … and ignored … I just want them to feel that they can embrace their power … As far as receiving negative opinions? … Yeah … I’ve had opinions … both spoken and unspoken … when I say unspoken … I mean the audience members who give you dirty looks … or who make a point of blatantly ignoring you even though you’re right in front of them … they’ll pull out their phones … or turn their heads … or look disgusted … or you’re not what they want to see … I’ve had that … and I’ve had people … who … have expressed distaste towards what I do … because I’m taking off my clothes … and that’s all they see … I’ve had … all that negativity … it’s hard … to look past that … somedays are harder then others … and it really hits you … like … why am I doing this … if this is the energy I’m receiving back … at the end of the day … as long as I love what I’m doing … and I’m reaching out to those people who matter … that I’m making a difference in someone else life … that’s what’s important to me … So I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing … as long as … the passion is there … As far as social media goes … I try not to be a constant user (laughter) … sometimes … It’s addictive it’s so addictive … and so bad … I mostly use it for business … marketing and promoting … I try to limit myself to how much I use it … I say … I’m going to do this post … and get this promotion out … and I’m done … Sometimes I do the endless scroll and get sucked into it … If I notice a trend of that happening more frequently … I will delete it from my phone for a few days … or a couple of weeks … and I will detox myself from it … and it makes a huge difference … but yeah … social media is … I don’t know (laughter) … It’s this horrible … glamorous thing (laughter) … As far as which one I use … I mostly use Instagram … Uh … Facebook … I’m not a huge fan of … just because it … it seems like an empty void … nowadays … compared to what used to be … Instagram is more visually appealing … It has a better reach for me … as far as networking and connecting … as far as anything else … I don’t know … Twitter … Snapchat … I don’t know how to use it (laughter) … Back to burlesque … where do I perform? … I am independent now … I perform a lot at Untitled … Bordel … The Drifter … I’ve performed at other places … Simones … Heritage Restaurant and Caviar bar … I’ve performed there … I was at Uptown Underground before they shut down … I started performing there … last year … then they closed down later in the year … which is unfortunate … I’ve been to a few different places around the city … I’m trying to constantly reach out … and network … and get more under my belt … just expand … yeah … Have I traveled to perform … I did perform in New Orleans once last year … I kind of dropped the ball with that … because I was going to visit … and I wanted to perform … but I was also scared to reach out to producers … and I psyched myself out  … I did it last minute … I did get a gig down there … with Serena Hellfire and Lefty Lucy … which was a lot of fun … Outside of that … I haven’t done any traveling … but my goal for … I don’t know about this year … but definitely within the next year … is to travel more … and do more performances out of state … and that will be a lot of fun … In the near future … I see … creating new acts … definitely … I want to create more material … I feel that I haven’t had a chance to really do that updating costuming … like I said … reach out to more producers in Chicago … to get more expansion in this city … And then … Just looking into more traveling options … and seeing what I can book … in the midwest … pretty close to Illinois … just to start small … before I expand further out … Where would I really like to go … for work and travel? … I’d really like to go to Europe … I’d love to visit and perform there … Spain is like … the number one spot where I’d want to visit (laughter) … I want to really visit Spain … Italy … Paris … It would be really fun to take a tour … a European tour … and just visit and perform … overseas … Is it going to happen … I hope so (laughter) …