Domina Effect

Even away from the lights of the stage, the feathers, the pasties and the catcalls, Mena Domina exudes seductiveness. We meet at a downtown coffee shop to discuss her troupe's upcoming performance at the Maria Benitez Cabaret Theatre and start chatting about burlesque's resurgence. She's wearing a floor-length black jersey dress, a vintage-inspired necklace and a raspberry-hued beret for a pop of color.

"I started out doing performance of all different kinds when I was a kid—theater, dance, visual art and all that stuff," Domina reminisces. With a background in belly dancing, her foray into burlesque came about when a friend in Arizona suggested it.

"She started talking about being interested in doing it again, and at the time, I hadn't really seen much of it—it hadn't really blown up quite as much as it has now—and it was like, 'That sounds cool.'"

Domina's first booking alongside her friend was at a 40-year-old's circus-themed birthday party. When her partner didn't show, Domina performed solo, and a seed was planted. A stint as one of the "token femmes" with Santa Fe's gender-based performance artists the Gender Offenders followed, and in 2007, she joined the burgeoning Zircus Erotique.

After founding member Tallulah St. James left town two years ago, Domina took the studded reins.

Zircus Erotique's shows aren't what you'd expect. Imagine a no-holds-barred amalgam of vaudeville, cabaret and black box theater, coming unapologetically together for a raucous night of mischief and fun. A recent incarnation included a "true romantic" named Rosalinda the Dancing Pig and guest-starred "the showgirl fakir" Marlo Marquise, who seductively performed with a bevy of machetes, at one point julienning a cucumber as the crowd went wild.

Last January, Zircus Erotique presented "Santa Famous." March's show ushered in spring under the birds and the bees theme. Their next installment, happening Saturday, ushers in the month with "Cinco de Mayhem" and features guest star Ms. Tickle, known in the circuit as "the mystical mistress of tease."

"We're in a little bit of a bubble sometimes here, so we don't get as many things coming though," Mena says, a fact that allows Zircus to be an experience of its own genus. "I have this nature of continually wanting to make things better and improve upon them," Domina says of her dual performer/producer role.

Perhaps Dita Von Teese is to blame, or the fact that everything old is cool again. The fact is, burlesque is back center stage.

"It happened with belly dancing too, and there are other pockets," Domina explains. "Something will get pushed back into the mainstream, and everyone starts to grab ahold of pieces, and you start seeing it on TV, movies, music…everywhere. I think usually things like that, they come to a peak, which may bring in more people in the community, and then it winds down. We'll still be there, but some might fall off along the way."

A quick Internet search reveals that burlesque as an art form was a terribly rich blend of music and comedy that experienced its heyday between the 1840s and the 1960s. Both transgressive and playful, it brought in a new era of sexual liberation, especially during the Victorian age, when proper ladies were expected to wear enough undergarments to fill a small storage unit.

For Domina, the current incarnation of burlesque is all about mixing it up.

"Originally in burlesque shows on vaudeville, there was a lot of variety, it wasn't just girls up there dancing," she says. "There's more male performers that are around now too, boylesque performers, so there are a lot of interesting things happening with that."

The naughtiness factor of it all, however, is still a common thread.

"There are some performers in New York that do stuff we couldn't allow on our stage here," she says. "They do stuff that I don't think we could put on a stage in Santa Fe without getting into trouble if someone caught us."

For Domina, the art of the tease is all about "making fun of something. There's always a punch line in there somewhere."

It's of note, then, that in this day and age, when provocative material is but a click away, burlesque is experiencing its second coming.

"It's interesting. I get different feedback from different people. Some say their favorite thing is the costumes," she notes. "It exposes something. I mean, almost everyone sees someone's naked body—even if it's their own—every day. Everyone sees that, yet it's still something that's kind of taboo."

Ultimately, she says, it's just about fun.

"There are so many different types of performers and acts that you can bring your spouse with you," she says. "It's not about whether you're attracted to men or women or neither or both or whatever."

Netting performers of all stripes and ages, modern burlesque is also about empowerment.

"When I got involved in it, I was of a different body type that I am now," Domina says, getting to the bottom of her coffee cup. "As a producer, I don't really care what people look like as long as their pieces are dynamic and interesting. We've had guests that are considered in the legend realm who are in their 60s and still performing; it's pretty inspiring."

Forty-one-year-old Zircus member Lola Brown, known for bringing in the Latin heat, agrees. This weekend's performance marks her two-year anniversary with the group.

"It's extremely empowering, and it's a big confidence booster," Brown tells SFR. "For me personally, it is a tremendous rush of gratitude and exhilaration. The thrill of being on the stage and being comfortable with your body and your experience—whether anybody else likes it or not."

Now backstage at the Lodge, Domina is about to go onstage as a guest star at a recent Jewel Box Cabaret show. The move is a way for the local troupes to support each other, encourage cross-promotion and keep performances sundry.

I ask if she still feels butterflies in her stomach, other than those caused by the tightening of a diminutive corset. "Yeah," she responds succinctly. "Every show."

"It's completely unpredictable," she says of the nervous rush, her mind obviously already in the performance. "Sometimes more for huge shows, less so for smaller shows," she continues.

Her name announced, attendees start roaring as her onstage persona takes over. It's show time.

Cinco de Mayhem!
Burlesque & Variety Show
8:30 pm Saturday, May 2. $15-$20
The Lodge at Santa Fe
750 N St. Francis Drive,
992-5800

Santa Fe Reporter