Chorus girls!!!

Our dance troupe had a rehearsal shoot not too long ago. These are by far my favorite. Don't we look lovely? Enjoy!

Femme Fatale

I've always maintained an interest in detective novels. Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy are among my favorite authors in this genre. Its motion picture equivalent is Film Noir which was at its peak during the 1940s. There's just something visually appealing about this genre. So for my latest photoshoot, I chose to dress as the striking femme fatale. I'm amazed with the results. I never wear this much make-up such that I almost didn't recognize myself. Plus, I'm always smiling. Here are a select few.

Posin' (updated)

San Francisco 1996: I was aboard the 24 Divisadero line reading a short novel on my way to work when two flamboyant gay men boarded the bus, looked right at me, and beelined in my direction. They sat at a seat directly in front of mine making eye contact with me. 

"Bettie Page," he said. 

"Excuse me?" I was taken back by the matter of fact tone.

"You look just like Bettie Page," he repeated.

We continued on a short conversation until we arrived at my spot. Before departing he said, "You should go into modeling. You have a beautiful smile and great legs." I seriously thought he was pulling mine because I've always had a complex about my legs, but I smiled and said thank you.

I had worked at a corsetry shop just off Castro, and I told my colleagues of the encounter. It was as if it were a moment of clarity. "*GASP* You DO look like her!" We proceeded to do a quick photo shoot with me wearing waist cinchers and corsets. The internet was still in its infancy and the shoppe's website still needed work. My co-worker uploaded one of the photos. It was my first modeling gig.

Modeling was something of a hobby that I'd do off an on. It definitely wasn't something I'd taken seriously. After all, it wasn't a real career for me. I continued on with my studies focusing on my teaching career. Sometimes I'd model for some aspiring photographer friends just so they could build their portfolio. I never thought to ask for copies of the images. But again, it wasn't important to me.

As I became more focused on my career, the requests for doing gigs were slim; mainly because I declined. I was just too busy with work. Eventually, the stress of the job caught up with me when students (male and female alike) become to obsessed to a point where they begin stalking, harassing, and one eventually leading to an assault. 

When you're thrown into a difficult situation, you start to re-evalute your life. Yes it was a horrible experience, but sometimes bad things need to happen to good people as a wake-up call. My job was my life. I stopped doing things for myself.

A very good friend of mine asked if I wanted to do a photoshoot just to get me out of my slump. "You do so much for others. Do something nice for yourself for a change." I thought, why not? It was a nice afternoon when I got all gussied up and began posing (and hamming it up) for the camera. 

My friends loved the shots and they encouraged me to continue modeling. I simply rolled my eyes and laughed. "I'm sort of a late bloomer at this point. I'm in my 30s!" I always felt like I was too late. My age, my body; I just can't compete with all the young talent.

So I slowly got back into it. I've lost most of (and continue to slowly lose) the weight I gained with Demian.  I've definitely gained a lot more confidence, but I know my body is a continued work in progress. Though I've accepted my hourglass shape and my firm round posterior, I know where to improve. I've invested in a waist cincher to help train my waist to develop that wasp shape. My swing dancing is helping me tone my arms and legs. I underwent extensive laser treatment to remove hair from my legs, underarms, face, and yes even the Brazilian (my time in the shower has been cut in half). And after years of research and questions, I've decided to go ahead with a breast augmentation at the end of this year. No, they won't be porn star enormous. I just want to be in proportion because right now, I'm far from it.

As of late, I've been getting emails from photographers asking to work with me. One of them even paid me.  I don't expect to make a living off of modeling. (Heck, I'm still teaching, but this time at the college level which is far less stressful.) In fact, I'm doing it more for myself and entering contests. If I win, that's great. If not, no big deal. Though I did come in 3rd place for one contest. It was nice to receive some accolades. I know more photo shoots will come along the way considering that I'm an active member of a 1930s-era chorus line.

I will continue to update this post as more shoots come my way. So in the meantime, enjoy some of the shots below.

Cheers,

Rose Red

Renaissance Lady

Since moving back to San Francisco a few years ago, I'd been thinking a lot about what to do with my future since it took a couple of dramatic turns. Then I asked myself, "do I really have to do just one thing?" There's so much I love doing, and I feel that if I settle on just one type of activity (i.e. career),  I'd have cheated myself on fully enjoying my time on earth. I consider my talents and wonder how I can put them into productive use simultaneously. Of course my career will always remain in education; I love teaching college, and eventually I will teach at the university level. However, I am not JUST a professor and scholar. I am other things; a linguist, a dancer, an artist and model who occasionally dabbles in music supervision.

Language
I've always wanted to be a polyglot and learn as many languages as possible. I speak three languages fluently (English, Spanish, Italian), and I have a basic knowledge of Japanese.  I know some phrases in Korean and Turkish, too, but not enough to have a simple conversation. Part of the requirements for a Ph.D. at Stanford is to complete two foreign language requirements. I could take the easy way out and just use Spanish and Italian, but I love a challenge; perhaps French and Portuguese.

Swing Dancing
I enjoy dancing; it is not only physically healthy, but it is also emotionally healthy. I'm always happiest when I'm dancing. Swing dancing is an umbrella term and most lay people have no idea that there are various styles and techniques: Lindy Hop (Savoy and Hollywood styles), Charleston, Balboa, Bal-swing, Collegiate Shag, East Coast Swing, Jive. I am able to dance all of them, but my favorite is Collegiate Shag. It's high energy and super fun. The problem is, not many people know how or are too intimidated to shag. We're trying to build that community.

Before I left Southern California, I was asked if I'd be interested in being part of a dance troupe. I had already committed myself to starting my life anew in the Bay Area and respectfully declined. I tried to find some troupes and inquired about one. However, one look at my heavily tattooed arms and I knew the answer was no. There were others that had auditions but the locales were too far away to be able to commute between home, work, and graduate school. Then a friend introduced me to a fledgling troupe looking for swing dancers. It's a 1920s-30s chorus girl troupe performing Charleston. I accepted the invitation once I learned their acceptance of tattooed women. I'm about two weeks into my practice with the troupe, and I'm absolutely thrilled.

Ultimately I would love to assist other teachers at various swing dance festivals; I already have the experience having assisted three different leads. I'd also love the opportunity to swing dance around the world. The additional language skills would come in handy here.

Art
Very few people know that I'm an artist. I usually sketch pencil to paper often transforming my friends' pictures into Día de los Muertos themed portraits. What I'd like to do is transfer my sketches to canvas and be able to paint a background with depth. I don't expect to make money off them, but I wouldn't mind having them displayed around local galleries. We'll see.

Portrait of my prima

Music
I don't make music, but I can make a very good compilation. One thing Dem complimented me on was my talent for putting good tunes together. I moonlight as a DJ from time to time, and yes, I've had a paid gig here and there. I'd like to be good enough to DJ larger swing dance festivals just so I can travel and dance for free. Swing dancing is always the main priority. My music library literally has several thousand songs. When you put it all together, it's mind-boggling to see how many songs you know. Most of my compilations consist of various swing dance music, rockabilly (original and modern), psychobilly, and 80s. Perhaps I'll just make several copies and sell them for dirt cheap. I've known some L.A. DJ's who've done the same. Hmm...we'll see.

DJ Rose Red. I need to do another shoot now that I have red hair.

Modeling
My first shoot ever was when I was only 20 years old. I had been living in San Francisco for barely a year when I was approached by two gay men in the Castro. They looked at me and said, "Bettie Page!" They encouraged me to do some modeling since I had "that look" so I figured, "why not?" I used to work at a corsetry shop and the owner often used her employees to model her products. I regret not having asked for those photos. I don't even think the store exists anymore as I've tried looking for it recently. Lesson learned. I occasionally shot photos with a few amateur photographers in the late 90s so they could build a portfolio, but then I stopped in favor of getting a real job. I'd never taken it seriously. In recent years, I was encouraged to go back into modeling and I'm finding that although I am older than the average model, I find that I have more confidence in front of the camera. I guess that comes with age. Once this dance troupe gets underway, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing more current pictures. Although I already have a photographer who wants to shoot me, he's been pretty lax, lately. I need to get his bum in gear.

Life should not be spent doing one thing. We live an average 80 years, and I just find it unfortunate that people spend most of that time doing the same thing day after day. Once retirement kicks in, what is there left except to just deteriorate and die? I've seen it happen to many good people who forget to enjoy life more. When I retire from teaching (which won't be for at least 30 years), I expect to live another 25 years after that. After all, I'm seeing all these original swing dancers living well into their 90s (and still dancing!). And that's what I will continue to do. Utilize all my talents from here on out so that I live a long, healthy, fruitful life.

Cheers!