“We like the nightlife,” says burlesque dancer Cadince Voluptuous of the denizens of her Colorado Springs, Colo. home base. “We also love our great outdoors and the lifestyle that comes with that.”
Cadince Voluptuous
Cadince has good reason to love the nightlife. She adds her own glitter and lively musical beat to it as a member of the burlesque dance troupe, Peaks and Pasties.
“I used to come to the shows,” Cadince said. “Lola Spitfire, who is an inspirational performer and also teaches burlesque dance, encouraged me to join the next week’s workshop. I went. I fell in love. I could see myself blossom and grow.”
At that time in her life, Cadince was in need of a little nurturing. A relationship that should have been supportive had left her a little discouraged and depleted. “It made me feel ugly,” she said. The door to transformation was pushed open a bit farther by her sister, who was already performing with Peaks and Pasties as well as teaching.
“What’s wrong with you?” Cadince mulled over the question her sister confronted her with as Cadince resisted even joining a class. “What is wrong with me,” I asked myself too. The answer finally came to me: nothing was wrong with me as I was. I just had to overcome my fears.”
Cadince joined as soon as she turned 21. “I spent that memorable birthday with the whole group of burlesque girls. I’ve actually been doing burlesque since Oct. 16, 2010 and I love every minute of it.”
First Steps
“I was the girl at the back of the class doing her warm up stretches until Lola and Boopsie pulled me forward and put me right there, in the front row,” Cadince said.
She heard Lola telling her, “No one is here to judge. We are all here to be fabulous.”
“I just felt the other girls were so pretty and so comfortable. I was afraid of people staring.”
Confidence from the support she got and more words of assurance like, “You just need to break out of your shell,” brought Cadince from the back row into the spotlight. Decked out in glitter and costumes she matches to the Neo Burlesque musical beats she uses to create her dance moves. The whole look gives her energy to shine on stage.
“I’m not really a dancer,” she says. “Sometimes my memory trips me up, so I use some cues and a planned routine, but each of my dance numbers is a little different.”
From steps to stage presence
Her repertoire includes acts she created from every day inspirations as a mother with a day job and lots of interests.
“Funhouse,” based on the singer Pink’s music, was my graduation performance. I was still so shy I only took off my gloves and skirt.”
Another Pink tune and her act, “Why Did I Ever Like You,” saw Cadince’s “first time down to pasties and it was a “Twilight” homage,” Cadince said.
Other acts are called, “This Little Girls Gone Rockin’” (Alma Cogan) and “What the Hell” (Avril Lavigne) in which she comes out in a nun’s habit for a shock effect. Rihanna figures in an S&M act, and again “Pink in Bad Influence.”
Cadince’s youth and enthusiasm clearly features in her time on stage. “Let Me Be Good to You” (from “The Great Mouse Detective”), however is based on a 1960s-era song. It was submitted to the Colorado Film Festival. “We are hoping to be notified if it got in and if we can participate in July.”
The “we’ she refers to is the ensemble she turns to for feedback on choreography, costuming and life. Their group photos look like they are a lot of fun for audiences and you also get a sense of family.
“They are an amazing group of people there for you when you need them,” Cadince said. “Boopsie and I are makeup artists so we’ll answer a call for help and show up with our tool kits, but our troupe also has a mechanics, and electricians and a lawyer just to name a few occupations that help each other if we need them.”
That feel-good family vibe gives Cadince and her fellow performers a great feeling on stage and stretches into the community. “We do a lot in our community. There’s no room for haters in our lives. We spend some of our private time giving back lots and we love it. I’ve joined in on charity events such as The Trevor Project, the Buddy Walk and events at the Ft. Carson army base.”
Cadince Voluptuous with a Fort Carson soldier during her stop at the USO centers on the base. Photo contributed by Dragons and Dragoons
Cadence Voluptuous recently made an appearance at the USO at Fort Carson to sign posters and talk with fans.
What’s ahead?
Cadince is featured in retro style pictures on a plus-size model and pin up site, plussizepinupblog.com.
“It looks like I may also be part of the Broken Glass Photography, our photographer’s company calendar. He calls us “fluffy girls” and I’ll be dressed up inspired by Jean Harlow’s look.”
Cadince inhales. She exhales on her last comment on her upbeat career, “Oh, I’ll be dancing until I just can’t. I love burlesque.”
