Saturday 10 December 2011

MONTREAL TORTURE GARDEN


Post Show 'Story Ov Thee I' Torture Garden Montreal
I opted to leave the blood on my face rather then ruin my make up to take it off.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF QUEER CULTURE ON THE FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION.

Searching back through some old files I stumbled upon this paragraph that I wrote about about 3 years ago .....

As the very existence of space exploration negates many archaic belief systems on which our society is founded, it seems only natural that Queer, Alternative and Underground cultures, whose members may or may not be defined by their sexual orientation, are embraced by the developing space community. These cultures have traditionally played pivotal roles in the emergence of new art forms, championed freedom of expression, challenged convention and been harbingers of social reform. May they continue to do so as Homo sapiens make the evolutionary step of moving off the planet, a time when discrimination in all its forms can be relegated to the dustbin of history, as we embrace diversity and unite to form a new humanity.

I don't recall writing it but I like it .... it was in response to a paper given by Frank Pietronigro at LESS REMOTE: The Future of Space Exploration – An Arts and Humanities Symposium, organized by Flis Holland and The Arts Catalyst inassociation with Leonardo and OLATS. Co-sponsored by IAA Commission VI; to run parallel to the 59 th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), SECC, Glasgow, Scotland

And I was there ... HA !!

Wednesday 2 November 2011

ORIGINAL 2004 PERFORMANCE 'SWINGING FROM THE CHANDELIER'

OMG Classic - Full Length Original Recording of 'Swinging From the Chandelier' my Jerwood Award Winning show from 2004 !! Complete with the birth of The Diamond Pussy, Blood Drinking, Naked Tap Dancing and more !! Starring Empress Stah as Dolly Diamante, Directed by Mark Tate, Sound by Zoe Hart, Costume Satya James.

Monday 31 October 2011

'Women in Circus' and the EasyJet Stag Do

A new book 'Zene & Cirkus' or 'Women in Circus' has just been published by Ivan Kralj, Director and Producer of The Red Room Cabaret in Zagreb in which I star, as well as producing the annual 'New Circus Festival'in the same city.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK, SHOW AND FESTIVAL.

So I was given a copy of this book upon leaving the show, as I am in it, and was reading it quietly to myself as I sat boarded on the plane awaiting take off, minding my own business, when my empty row is decended upon by 'Jimbo' and 20 of his drunken stag do mates, including the groom.

The guys were young and cuteish, totally up for anything, loud and cocky. I on the other hand had a slight headache and was feeling rather somber. Jimbo sits down and introduces himself, now I am not one for making polite converstaion on public transport, but I do offer him my hand and introduce my self as Stah .... What you will read next is a brief recollection of the events that followed ....

J. No Way your names not Star, is your name really star, hey guys this girl reckons her name is star

ES. It's true .... look here is my passport ... See it is actually Empress Stah Power and is signed in heiroglyphs.

J. I can't beleive they let you on the plane with this passport ... hey guys ... passport gets passed around ... OMG she is a skin head .... Power Stah ... Hey Power Star ... why have you got no hair in this picture.

ES. Becasue I'm worth it ....

J. So what do you do ??

ES. Have a look at the picture in this book .... this is what I do ... Yes it was the show i was performing in the Red Room Cabaret.

J. Face of increduality .... book is passed around .... is that really you ? Show me your tattoo. (identity is confirmed)

J. Will you marry me .... can we join the Mile High Club ?

ES. Sorry, No, Not a Chance ; ) ... with a very bemused countenance

Hilarious banter with arm and thumb wrestling and numerous marriage proposals ensues for the next 2 hours.

Apparently I made their weekend .... I was really happy when we landed : )

Thursday 27 October 2011

Favourite Show Pics from Last Week

Here a couple of recent snaps that I particularly like .... Taken at The Supper Club, London and Salon Rouge, Cambridge.


Thursday 20 October 2011

' THE STORY OF THE I '

In September 2011 I created a new piece of work for the 'Boderline Biennial- Survive the Apocalypse' month long event at 'The Abode of Chaos' in France.

George Bataille's 'The Story of the Eye' was the theme for the weekend of performances that I was involved in, and so I worked with imagery from the book as well the themes of Apocalypse and Chaos .... my favourite invention is the new eyeball butt plug that I can actually perform an aerial routine while it is inserted !!

Here is a documentary video of the whole weekend .... my show 'The Story of the I' along with an impromtu Interview, is featured at about 37 minutes in and I also appear at the end with a performance of the 'Queen of the Night'.

WARNING - Very Explicit Content and Adult Themes

THIS IS ..... CIRCUS !!

THIS IS .... CIRCUS!!

Naked covered in Gold Glitter on Aerial Hoop.

I am on at 2 mins .... Check it out !!

KOSMICA - POWER POINT PRESENTATION ON ZERO G EXPERIENCE

Kosmica is a free event curated by The Arts Catalyst in London and describes itself as bringing together the cosmically curious and culturally quirky space community for a social mix of art-space programmes - a film screening, performance or live concert with a short presentation, talk and debate about the alternative and cultural uses of space.

I made a power point presentation about my recent Zero Gravity experience, with Pictures and Video, the thinking behind the project and the thoughts about where it might all be headed.

The video below is the first 10 minutes of my 30 minute presentation. If you are interested in having me speak at your event please get in touch via the contact page.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

THE FIRST LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE IN SPACE

I have been bought onto this project in charge of Choreography and Performance Behaviour !!

Find out more about 'The Launch Project' and it's creator, Joshua Oliver, by clicking HERE

The First Live Music Performance In Space from JOSHUA OLIVER on Vimeo.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Empress Stah Floating in Zero Gravity

Ok so it is not the over arching grace of Deep Space ... More like crashing around in the confines of a tin can (read: Space Ship) ... but none the less here it is !!





Wednesday 25 May 2011

SUPPER CRAZY - Crazy Horse, Paris hooks up with Supper Club, London

Last night was the launch of SUPPER CRAZY, the newest and hottest cabaret in town and of course I was on hand to dazzle the celebrity crowd with my gravity defying aerial performance.

SUPPER CRAZY is the combination of The Crazy Horse Revue from Paris and the very best of Supper Club London's artistes, which is where I come in.


The Crazy Horse describes itself as thus -  "Since  1951,  the most  avant-garde cabaret in  Paris celebrates the beauty, raw talent and personality of the sensual dancers in an unimitable, sophisticated and glamourous way".


I saw the Crazy Horse show in Paris on my birthday in 2009 as the guest of Dita Von Teese, who has presented her beautifully crafted performances there on a few different occasions.  


My fabulous costume was made by the wonderful CLAIRE AHSLEY

I made it onto the pages of VOGUE



and the pages of  ELLE

FLOATING IN ZERO GRAVITY !!!

I Did It .... I Did It !!!!

Thank you to everyone who supported my Crowd Funding Campaign to go to Space !!
I am now one step closer to getting there .... having actually experienced weightlessness : )
I describe my experience as thus

Fun, Fun, Fun, hilarious, amazing, incredulous, disorientating, awe inspiring, mind blowing, mildly nauseating, levitating, flying, floating, crashing, spinning, twirling, giggling, laughing, FUN !!!


To see Gallery of Pictures CLICK HERE





RED ROOM CABARET - ZAGREB, CROATIA

The International all Star Cast once again descended on Zagreb to perform 3 nights of pure, unadulterated cabaret excess to full houses and rave reviews !!!


“Interesting, provocative, fun” (News from Culture, Croatian Television)
“Spectacular” (Objektiv magazine)
“Red Room Cabaret has brought top world performers to Zagreb” (24sata Television)
“Another impressive Red Room was filled out with thunderous ovations and shouts of enthusiasm. (...) This miraculous night will be talked about for a long time…” (Vecernji.hr)
“Because of them you will be seeing the world with different eyes” (net.hr)
“For two hours we have been riveted by a cycle of small performative miracles” (H-alter.org)

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE PERFORMANCES CLICK HERE


THE CHAMPAGNE CIRCUS @ HELSINKI, FINLAND

The Champagne Circus is a brand new event currently showing in Helsinki, Finland !!
Produced and curated by Missy Macabre and The Baron.
This has been and gone but check Here for upcoming events.

Friday 29 April 2011

PLAN B - The Human Canon Ball !!

If I can't get a Space Ship then I figured maybe you could fire me into the Stars !!

This photo was taken spontaneously on 'The Island', Helsinki, Finland while on tour with Missy Macgre, Baawo and Ophelia Bitz !!


The First Star of My new Galaxy !!

Mad Alan tattooed this Star on my heel - he donated £250 to my Crowd Funding campaign to send me to into Space !!

Monday 25 April 2011

'SAVE EMPRESS STAH FROM A LIFE OF VICE'

Empress Stah as 'The Starship Trooper' in the Red Light District, Amsterdam !!
"We are all living in the Stars, but some of us are looking back at the Gutter" - Empress Stah

Send Empress Stah to Space ... Donate today from £10

www.EmpressStah.com

RED ROOM CABARET - Zagreb, Croatia

After our triumphant sell out performance in 2010 ... We are back for 3 nights with another stellar line up of internationally acclaimed performers to entertain you like you've never been entertained before.


Tuesday 5 April 2011

PLATFORM FOR CHANGE - 'ART BEGGING' VIDEO

To Support my Fundraising quest to go to Space I made this little video with Shae Vulgaris .... It is Hilarious !!

Watch it ... have a laugh ..... be inspired .... Donate to the Cause by clicking the Widget Above !!

Saturday 26 March 2011

SEND EMPRESS STAH BACK TO SPACE !!

CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE TO TAKE YOU TO THE CROWD FUNDING PAGE !!

THERE YOU WILL FIND VIDEOS, PICTURES, INFORMATION AND REWARDS !!

* Find out more about the Birth of 'Stah-Lite'
* Watch the brand new aerial video 'Stah Ship Trooper'
* Learn about other Arts, Humanities and Culture in Space Projects
* Buy tickets for FREEFALL!  in San Francisco
* Click the DONATE button and become a Star in Empress Stah's Constellation !!

Saturday 19 March 2011

The Premier of Western Australia and Me !!


This article was run in the West Australian newspaper 1st March 2011

Colin Barnett may be State's supreme leader but he appeared to have met his match in Empress Stah, the ruler of the decadent underworld of burlesque performers.
In keeping with the adage that opposites attract, the Premier and the showgirl joined up at the weekend to mark the close of Perth's first fringe arts festival for many years.
The London-based Stah said it was 12 years to the day since she had been in Perth and it was nice of Mr Barnett to pop in to mark her anniversary.
Over the past three weeks, more than 20,000 people have crammed into the century-old Pearl Spiegeltent to see more than 150 performances at the Fringe World precinct in the new-look Urban Orchard in the Perth Cultural Centre.
Fringe World director Marcus Canning attributed much of the fringe's popularity to the atmosphere of the Spiegeltent, one of only a handful in the world.
Mr Barnett and Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi unveiled a plaque to mark the tent's purchase from Belgium for the people of WA with plans to take it to other events around the State later in the year. Lotterywest funded the $360,000 purchase through alternative arts producer Artrage.
"This will obviously tour regional centres and I hope it gets a lot of use," Mr Barnett said.
The fringe's success reflected the growing diversity of events in Perth to match the physical changes such as the sinking of the railway line and the waterfront redevelopment, he said.
His message to people who still used the "Dullsville" label was: "Open your eyes and see what's going on and take part."
Ms Scaffidi, who saw a fringe show at the start of the festival, said she loved the vibe of the Spiegeltent.
"Its design is so intricate and sophisticated and decadent," she said "The way it slots so perfectly into the Urban Orchard is like it was always meant to be here in Perth."
The Spiegeltent will be the hub of an expanded fringe festival to include venues throughout the city next February.

The Danish Theatre Journal - Warehouse 9 !!!

In November / December 2010 I performed at 'Warehouse 9' in Copenhagen, Denmark, a picture of my performance ended up on the front page of the Danish Theatre Journal - Teater 1.



'Warehouse 9' is run by the inimitable Miss Fish and Christian 'The Gentleman'. They ran a 3 part series of performances based around Neo/New/No Burlesque, funded by the Danish Arts Council. I starred in the show Neo Burlesque alongside Narcisister from NYC. The New Burlesque show was headlined by Dirty Martini and the No Burlesque by David Hoyle.




Wednesday 26 January 2011

MONA - The Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania

"In 2011 evolution will become revolution when the Museum of Old and New Art unveils its radical artistic and cultural agenda" - Moorilla 


MONANISM is the name of the opening exhibition and in the program is explained as this 

monanism  [moh-nuh-niz-uhm]
-noun

1. obsessive characterised by an inability to discriminate between normative public behaviour and display of immorality and alternating self-loathing and egoism.

2. a behavioural  disorder which, when observed by a representative member of a population (esp. Australian), elicits the epithet "wanker"

Origin:
            2010; by prothesis from onanism


The hotly anticipated opening of MONA happened on the 21.01.2011 and yours truly was there to add a smattering of glitter and fabulousness to the celebrations !! I performed my aerial show 'Roses are Dead' and of course 'A Gold Star' - with the 'Diamond Pussy' and the 'Bum Balloon. I was enlisted to perform at this event by the museum's director Mark Fraser who was headhunted for the job from Sotheby's and Brian Ritchie from The Violent Femmes.

MONA stands for The Museum of Old and New Art, affectionately known as The Museum of Sex and Death, which along with Taboo are amongst the favourite themes of millionaire owner David Walsh.

Now I know nothing at all about art or art history as my education was maths and science based so I am not even going to begin to tell you about the actual pieces being exhibited, rather I will shed some light on the thinking and reality of the whole project, as I understand it.

David Walsh is diagnosed with mild Asperges syndrome and is a mathematical genius, the locals refer to him as Rainman. He has a photographic memory and wins tens of millions of dollars a year playing Poker and takes home 40% of the TAB's annual profits by winning on the dogs and horse races using algorithms that he has devised - so he makes his money by gambling. All of the art in MONA is from his private collection.

The grounds that MONA has been built on is the Moorilla Winery Estate that the David Walsh Group bought in the 1990's on a headland along the Derwent River.  So now we have not only Sex, Death and Gambling and Taboo but we can add Booze to the equation : ) This might be a good place to note that I have not had a more drunk and enthusiastic audience in my whole career as I did at the VIP party on opening night, apparently they had been plied with absinth since 4pm. There is also a fully stocked bar built into the museum itself as it has been noted that some of the art can be more greatly appreciated after a few.

The architecture itself is another mind blowing feat as the museum is built underground, in excavated sandstone. The bottom level of the 3 story museum sits just 1 meter above sea level and will be prone to flood in the next 50 years, a fact to which Davids response is "It amuses me to think that in the unlikely event my building becomes an icon, in 50 years they'll be trying to work out how to save it.".

I have also decided that if I can't have my ashes sent into out of space then I want them buried at MONA which is also now a crematorium ... Well a sculpture of my cunt is already on the wall, along with 160 others mind .... so you know it makes sense.

OK so a little about the art then, my friend and sculpture Greg 'Humphrey' Taylor has his work 'Cunts: A Conversation' in there as part of the permanent exhibition and he has also been commissioned to make some new work, one of which is already in existence 'My Beautiful Chair', a joint project with Philip Nitschke, and includes a real life 'illegal' euthanasia machine .... apparently the church is outraged and this piece was the first to be vandalised on the second day of opening .... Greg was delighted by this fact as there was bets on as to which piece would be the first to go .... The Rotting Carcasses, The Shit Machine, and so on.


So that is it from me for now ..... here a few pictures that I took .... as for the rest you will have to find out yourself .... but here are some links to get you on your way.

MONA

MOORIL




The Entrance and it is Free. Free !!!



You can get there by the MONA ferry


Pro Euthanasia 


Me and My Cunt - Again !!


Saturday 15 January 2011

New Aerial Shows for 2011

I am super excited to have brand new costumes, shows and pictures ready for 2011 and beyond !!

The photographer for all the pics is my dear friend Stephane Grand .... I would highly recommend him if you are looking for someone to take your new images ... he has a full studio with aerial rigging options ... contact him on Facebook HERE



Show - Star Ship Trouper
Photo by Stephane Grand
Costume by Thom Ravnholdt

Show - Just Take Me !!!
Photo - Stephane Grand
Costume - David Mclaughin
Hair & Makeup - Viktoria Modesta

Show - Impermanence
Photo - Stephane Grand
Costume - Claire Ashley - Pickens
Hair & Makeup - Viktoria Modesta

Thursday 6 January 2011

The Only Way is Up !!

I have been looking forward to 2011 for a long time, not for any particular reason, I have just always had a sense that it is going to be amazing ..... and so it is that I proceed ......

To kick things off I am heading Down Under for 9 weeks of a Working Holiday ... which basically amounts to seeing friends and family and performing a few gigs for the folks back home.

The opening event for MONA - The Museum of Old and New Art - in Hobart, Tasmania is my first stop where I will be performing a world premier of my two new aerial cabaret acts alongside Philip Glass, Nick Cave, Amanda Palmer and more ....

http://mona.net.au/index.php

SPLORE CITY in Auckland, New Zealand is my next stop where I am on the line up with Kelis and The Cuban Brothers.

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/news/2010/10/splore-city-festival-2011-first-artist-announcement

FRINGE WORLD by Artrage in Perth, Western Australia is the last stop on the tour where I am headlining 'The Spiegeltent Spectacular', which is an extravagant variety show that changes every night !!

http://www.fringeworld.com.au/program-spiegeltent.html

So that is the work bit out of the way and seeing as how that is all spread out over 7 weeks I figured I had better plan something to do in between  !! So I will be spending my birthday week with my family and that is the same time as my mums birthday so I thought we might have a joint celebration in the form of a BBQ, Dads Cooking. I will visit friends around Sydney and stay with my starry nightmare Stella 'Sterra' Rim and perform an intimate gig at Hellfire, where I believe I will have Simon 'Duckie' Casson as my guest. I will spend a week visiting Lady Emma and Rob and family at their home in Wanaka - yes I know don't laugh - near Queenstown NZ and then I am kidnapping Lady Em and she is coming to Auckland with me for my gig there. I lived in Perth for 3 years so that gig will be a reunion with many dear old friends who I have not not seen or spoken to in over a decade as well as hopefully some training with my first circus troupe Bizircus. Bali represents the first part of the trip that happens when all the work has finished and is the beginning of the official holiday part of the excursion .... and so I begin March on a tropical island with my dearest friends Satya and Malakai who happen to be there be too : ) and then one last stop for my Nanna Power's 90th birthday party with loads of aunts and uncles and cousins and sisters and nieces and nephews .....

So stay tuned for more details as they unfold ....

And just in case you missed it the first time ... here is a link to a film of me flying 'LOOP THE LOOPS' with my Dad Steve Power in an acrobatic aeroplane, which is a WW11 Romanian Yak : )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6czWs_gnpws

XXX