Q&A: Trixie Little

SEQUINED PASTIES, sky-high platform shoes and thigh-high fishnet tights don’t star in most women’s work wardrobes. But they’re the standard uniform for Trixie Little (nee Keri Burneston), a Baltimore-based burlesque performer. With her boyfriend/partner in crime Adam Krandell, aka the Evil Hate Monkey, she vamps it up in ”Burlesque-a-Pades„ on Feb. 14 at the Birchmere.

» EXPRESS: You specialize in neo-burlesque. Can you define that?
» LITTLE: To me, it’s anything that is set to music with lots of double entendre. It’s a type of dance and movement that really plays with sexuality.

» EXPRESS: So, you guys don’t take it all off?
» LITTLE: Most neo-burlesque people don’t. It’s a kind of flirting, saying ”I’m not going to; you can only see so much„ thing.

» EXPRESS: What can we expect from your parts of the ”Burlesque-a-Pades„?
» LITTLE: We’re going to be doing two new pieces. One’s a film noir-inspired one, and the other’s about forbidden love set to ”Total Eclipse of the Heart.„ It’s very ’80s-inspired. Before we did it, we watched a lot of dance movies. So, it’s a little ”Dirty Dancing„ and a little ”Flashdance.„

» EXPRESS: Does the act keep you in shape?
» LITTLE: We’re about being sexy, glamorous and super-strong. So, we train in circus acrobatics, and I do a lot of yoga. But there’s always a lot of champagne after the shows, so that doesn’t help.

» EXPRESS: What makes a song good for a burlesque number?
» LITTLE: It’s got to have something sassy going on. It’s important that the music have drama and something to punctuate the moves. We’ve done our act to ”Safety Dance„ and also to more classic things, like ”My Heart Belongs to Daddy.„ But it’s great to do something surprising.

» EXPRESS: Any recommendations if someone wants to do a bit of burlesque at home on Valentine’s Day?
» LITTLE: Too much is never enough, and that goes for everything you have on. With makeup, go way over the top so you feel like a drag queen. Everything you wear should be tight, short and sparkly. There aren’t enough sequins and rhinestones used in everyday life!

» EXPRESS: Where do you get show clothes?
» LITTLE: I often get shoes at Target, because they have good retro things for 20 bucks. Or fetish shops sell big platform heels. But for clothing, I primarily make things with my grandmother, who used to sew her own square-dance costumes. I like lots of rhinestones and reliable fasteners. This stuff has got to come off on cue.

» EXPRESS: So, that means a lot of Velcro?
» LITTLE: Actually, no — it gets stuck to fishnets. Zippers get jammed. Snaps are my favorite.

» EXPRESS: How do you dress when you aren’t bumping and grinding?
» LITTLE: I like color and wearing crazy, kitschy things like 1970s snow pants.

» EXPRESS: What’s the Baltimore space you and Monkey share like?
» LITTLE: We collect a lot of things. Our living room is painted red with a bullfight theme and lots of velvet curtains. Our bedroom is a tiki theme with all kinds of monkey tchotchkes — coconut monkey heads, a Chiquita banana cookbook.

Photo courtesy Gary Lee