Vera Valentinaa: The Black, "Blonde Bombshell" of Burlesque!

For those of you that don't know, I perform under the monicker "Johnny Sparks" with Black Diamond Burlesque here in Sarasota, FL as the troupe's feature male burlesque entertainer. Burlesque is the art of strip tease and has made a popular comeback in the past several years due to popular artists like Dita Von Tease and the horribly done title film, Burlesque featuring Christina Aguilera and Cher. Despite the latter, our society has embraced the entertainment form and come out in droves to little clubs and big theatre to see this rare classic art form. Even more rare are the artist of color in this field. Enter Victoria Burwell, who dazzles the crowd as Vera Valentinaa (the extra "a" is for ass..."

Fast Facts About Vera Valentinaa

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Schoolin’ Life: Spelman College

Crayon Box Color: Goldigger Gold (with flecks of real gold in it.)

Instagram: @missveravalentinaa

Facebook: Vera Valentinaa

When I met Vera we were learning how to live the dream as theatre majors in Atlanta. Actually, we were partners on a huge class project in our Theatre Management Class. From our creative minds came the fictional, “EDGE Performance Ensemble” a non-profit performing arts org in Austin, TX that I must say we earned quite a nice grade on at the end of the semester. Now, lovingly known as the “Black, blonde bombshell” Vera is shimmying and shaking her way into the hearts of burlesque fans everywhere. 

Pat: So tell me how Vera Valentinaa came about?

Vera: It wasn’t on purpose, I’ll tell you that. After graduation, I came home and I was looking for a job in dance or theatre or something like that. As you know, St. Louis isn’t a Mecca for the performing arts. I went to STLauditions.com and saw that they were opening a new club and it was going to be all about burlesque slash pussycat girls type deal. They were looking for girls to dance and just be a part of the ensemble. So I auditioned and I became a member of the Hoochie Coochie Girls. Now, the original purpose of the Hoochie Coochie Girls was never to do burlesque- We were supposed to just dance and be pretty.

Pat: But that changed?

Vera: Yeah, it kind of progressed because the club didn’t want to pay the out of town dancers because they didn’t realize how much the out of town dancers were going to cost. So they asked us to start doing individual numbers. I started tap dancing as my solo, and then they wanted me to actually do more burlesque. I didn’t know if I wanted to do it, but then I saw Go Go McGregor…and she was a white girl…but she was amazing. She was very classic, in this all white dress and did this beautiful fan dance, almost a la Sally Rand. And after that I did my first full burlesque number, at the Jumpin’ Jupiter in Maplewood, MO in October 2011. Then it all fell apart from there and all the clothes started coming off.

Pat: So you have been doing this for about three years. I know you have a performance background prior to burlesque, how has that helped you?

Vera: I guess the previous dance training was a really big help. Most burlesque dancers, DON’T dance, they walk across the stage and take off a glove and then walk to the other side and take off another glove. It’s all about building a character and making strong choices, which I’m glad I’d already learned in school.

Pat: In your journey, how did  you solidify your character? What did you learn that taught you this is for Vera and this is not for Vera.

Vera: I thought Vera would be completely classic burlesque and just classic numbers, but there’s so much more to burlesque than just classic. While I love the classic style, it doesn’t always let you show off who you really are as a performer. I think it really had a lot to do with me-me personally knowing who I am and what I wanted to do. I wanted to incorporate tap and I wanted to do more dance with a little more spice, which led to me doing “Hot in Here”! [laughs] That was a collaboration between me and my mother…she wanted more layers. I told her there wasn’t enough music for that. Also, just knowing….me.

Pat: So you mentioned your mom. How do your parents feel about you doing burlesque?

Vera: My mom is ok with it…I won’t say she’s ecstatic. For obvious reasons…I don’t know but I ended up losing my job because I do burlesque. I think that’s her concern, the risk involved in what we do. I don’t invite my dad to shows, unless I’m not taking off my clothes. They’re ok with it, but they’re just concerned about the future. They know my ultimate goal is to open up a dance studio. How are parents going to feel about their kid’s dance teacher doing burlesque? At the same time, I’m working at a studio now and the artistic director there doesn’t have a problem with it, as long as the kids don’t know about it.

When I was working at a school shortly after I graduated, I told the principal and she was cool with it. All the teachers knew and they were interested. I kept it away from the kids, but they made their assumptions about what “Ms. Victoria” did outside of school. I find it so surprising that people who work for kids are more accepting than the ones that are working in corporate world. Either way, it’s not affecting what I do in the workplace.

Pat: A lot of people have a misunderstanding about the art of burlesque and often equate it to stripping. Your thoughts?

Vera: People fail to make the separation between the two. They don’t see how burlesque has more artistic merit. It’s turned into a theatre pursuit. There is still sexual roots, but I wouldn’t call it erotic. I wouldn’t call any of the performers “sex workers” like strippers. I’m not throwing shade on any girls that earn money that way though. I wish I could wear red bottoms every day and drive a Mercedes.

Pat: How far do you see your burlesque career going?

Vera: I’m going to shake it as long as I have it…As long as it’s not gross and disgusting. I love going to shows, I love working on the costumes, the photo shoots, the festivals…as long as it’s not affecting my well being and my health, I don’t see me stopping soon. I like it, I love it…I want some more!

#artsupportsart

Vera Valentinaa will be performing on the following dates in the St. Louis area:

Little Bo's Creepshow
October 4th
The Crack Fox
Downtown St.Louis, MO

HOLLERWEEN: A Hip Hop Burlesque Spectacular!
A 2nd Story and Blyre Cpanx Production
October 23rd
The Mad Magician
Downtown St.Louis, MO

There's always enough black to go around,

Pat