Jeez Loueez - Breakin' My Heart/The Monorail Number

Jeez Loueez from Burlesque Hall of Fame on Vimeo.

There are performers who need all day to visualize and run through their act in their head before they manifest it on stage. There are performers who rigidly choreograph every breath and bead of sweat they'll be bringing to an audience. I'm not saying Jeezy ISN'T one of those performers, but there's a special subset of burlesque dancers who a producer could call ten minutes before a show, beg them to come out because someone cancelled, tell them their music has already been locked because of the show's theme, and they'd still manage to be the most memorable performer that night under those terrible conditions. The Honey Badger of Burlesque is on that short list.

There is a very specific reason I love this act. It's a classic number with some Jeezy spice sprinkled on it, which is charming and cool any way you slice it. Also,that multi-hued boa is amazing. She's competing for Miss Exotic World, which is a title I would say holds significance for the majority of people who follow burlesque.  Most performers who are accepted to compete in that category are doing acts they've walked through dozens of times.  They may change some stuff up here and there based on audience reaction, but they're mainly sticking to the script. At the 2:15 mark in this video, Jeezy pulls out a move she calls "The Monorail." What I didn't know until I talked with her months later was that she just decided to try it on the spot. The biggest burlesque competition on the planet, and she's up there doing improv.

Besides the ovaries it takes to create a new move in the moment, Jeezy has singing, acting and comedy chops in her arsenal, and you never know how she's going to deploy them, so see her every chance you get so you don't miss something great.