"Things I Love"

Sex Magic Candle Spell

Whenever I get asked "what do you do?" at a cocktail party, it's always a crapshoot.  Since I teach seduction as a spiritual practice (and am proud of it), I never know what the response will be to my answer.  Recently I was standing near my dear friend Fabiola as she answered this question.  Her response? "Things I love". To this day I do not know if Fabiola works or has a job, nor do I care.  This weekend I realized that "things I love" is actually the most truthful answer I could give to this question. 

This weekend I hosted three events.  Otherwise known as: work.  My work = the things I love.   

The things I love are going back in time to a gypsy caravan with my iconic friend Veronica Varlow and about 30 other women. On Friday night Veronica took us on a tour of Sex Magic; tried and true ancient rituals passed down to her from her gypsy lineage that cast an unforgettable spell on everything we encountered. We anointed ourselves, we built a sex altar together, we blindfolded one another and fed each other juicy fruit, and we ignited our seductive spirits with a candle spell. See, I loved that.

Opera, Seduction and Burlesque

Then on Saturday I had the honor and privilege of hosting an evening of Opera, Seduction and Burlesque with my best friend and courtesan of the arts, ViVi La Voix. Under a red, sheer, bejeweled tent we had our bones rattled and our worlds rocked by Viv's epic and eternal operatic voice. We lounged on piles of red velvet pillows and were dazzled by compelling and unforgettable opera burlesque striptease vignettes. Tears were shed as we watched Tosca bleed, Carmen surrender, Butterfly choose, and Maria bless. Yup, loved that too.

 Brooklyn Goddess Salon at Sacred

On Sunday I got to step into the sanctuary that is Sacred Brooklyn Studio, and be pleasantly surprised by the group of 7 women I had planned for multiplying to 15 before my very eyes. I still have full body chills as I recall te potent sensual power that electrified the air as the women mastered the Queen's walk, and blessed every inch of Earth with every sensual step. Ahhhhhh. Love.

And now today is the day where I get to spread the love all around the world like I am frosting a cake. Today is the launch of my brand new online program - Your Seductress: Unveiled. It is a four week adventure in uncovering the seductress that lives within you. Yes, you. Every woman is a seductress. All she needs to embody it are exercises, reminders, information and some  girlfriends by her side. It is really that simple.  For years I have been receiving requests to put my work on an online forum, rather than just in a classroom.  Finally, this has seduced me, and I am ready for you. 

www.kittycavalier.com

I don't know about you, but personally I feel like a bubble that just sailed over the rim of an overflowing champagne glass. Wheeeeeeee! 

Click here to view a slideshow of this weekend's events

Embodiment Of The Arts

Embodiment.

It’s a word that get’s a little over-used these days, but just for fun, let’s chew on it a bit and let the flavor really sink in. 

Yesterday I was at a cupcake shop with my best friend and soul sister Vivi Le Voix, planning our June 1^st event “A Night of Opera, Seduction and Burlesque”. We were talking about what makes this event different from just going to the opera, or a burlesque show, or a class.  What we discovered is that this event is not just an observation of the arts.  It is a chance for a person to EMBODY the arts.

Vivi performing Tosca

One of the things I love about going to see a performance is that it opens my senses to a whole new experience.  However, sitting in an opera audience involves a lot of…sitting.  Hearing the different languages is beautiful but can cause the mind to wander. I always have the desire to know: what is the story behind the story? Ok, so this woman gets killed by this guy for the sake of her true love. Got it. But what was the writer really trying to express in telling that story through opera?

Similarly, when I see burlesque, it lights me up and changes my life every single time.  But it goes by so fast! I want to know, when one pastie is a different color than the other, why did the performer choose that? Was it a nod to the artist who wrote the song, like the way Carol Burnett used to tug on her ear for her Grandma at the close of every show?  Or is it a secret far more personal?  These things keep me up at night. 

Hey Sailor!
Photo by Beth Mayesh

When Vivi and I designed this event, we wanted to take these art forms that are often observed from far away and allow the audience to cradle them in their hands.  For example, have you ever stood 5 feet away from a real opera singer?  Your bones, your heart and your soul tremble at the vibrations of her voice. For most people, when they first hear Vivi sing, they get tears in the corners of their eyes and they have no idea why.  This is why we all love art so much.  It awakens us to a mysterious yearning that comes from a part of ourselves that can never quite be “figured out”. With all the things that can be figured out nowadays, this is a code we wouldn’t dare try to crack.  That, my friends, is a miracle in the flesh. 

The same goes for burlesque.  Watching a burlesque act is like witnessing an entire lifetime in three to five minutes. Burlesque uses the power of the physical body to manifest the most significant, intense emotions a person can feel.  The way the energy changes in the room when even a glove comes off of a forearm is like switching the channel on a television.  Whenever we get naked, literally or metaphorically, we are risking it all.  We are telling the full truth - showing up in our greatest vulnerability, which ultimately represents our greatest power. 

Nipples of Venus Cakerie
Photo by Beth Mayesh

On this evening that Vivi and I have planned, we intend to take you through a sensory tour of living art.  There will be Nipples of Venus Cakerie delights, beautiful wines and bubbly beverages to tease your taste buds.  Your ears will experience every sensation imaginable; from the lightest tickle to the deepest massage stroke by hearing opera up close.  Your eyes will take you on a journey of the heart with every conceal and reveal you witness.  Hearing the story behind each story will touch your very soul, and add a whole new layer of meaning to the experience.

Most of all, you will learn how to take this experience and apply it to every encounter you have with the arts after this one. Whether you are front row at a concert or reading “Poetry In Motion” on the subway, this experience will be something your body will never forget. 

We invite you to embody the arts with us, Saturday June 1^st. 

For a sample of what you will hear at the event, click here to listen to Vivi singing one of her favorite arias. 

Feathers are a Feminist Issue

This week I graduated my very first 6 week series, Sacred Seduction. This class prepares five students for one main event: performing a group Burlesque routine in a real NYC Burlesque show.

One thing you should know about me, is that I am a slut for rituals. Nothing gets me goin' like a good blessing or intention setting. Which is why I filled this class chock full of them, and made sure that throughout the entire series, we were all really clear about why we are doing this.

What always surprises me about burlesque, is that it is a dance, but it is so not about the dance. It is about freeing yourself, expressing yourself, and transcending any belief that you are too old, fat, pimply, dimply, flat chested, uncoordinated...or whatever other fill-in-the-dis-empowerment-blank that comes your way. It's about claiming it, right here, right now. These women are not dancing just because they like sequins and feathers. Some of them don't even like sequins and feathers. They are dancing for their Light. They are dancing for their own daughters, and for yours. They are dancing for every woman who has ever doubted herself, held back on her genius because of how she might be ridiculed.

Take Belle Du Jour, who is 7 months pregnant with baby Sebastian, dancing for every woman to know it is ok for a woman to be a Mommy, and hold onto her sassy sensuality. Or Glitzy Cougar, who is 58 years old, and has never felt more beautiful in her life. She is dancing for every woman who has ever put her sensuality on a shelf, or felt like she is resigned to a life of short hair and turtlenecks after she turns a certain age. Then there is Calla Lily Rapture, who is celebrating her birthday on performance night, and claiming every ounce of the gorgeous gift she is, unwrapping herself for all the world to see. We've got Ginger Altar, who after backpacking the length of India alone, describes this experience as the bravest thing she's ever done. And last but certainly not least, there is Madame Rouge, who after a lifetime of being afraid of exposing her delicious body, is tossing everything she's ever known about "supposed to" out the window, revealing her innate beauty with a gusto that just brings me to tears.

Every time I see a burlesque show, it changes me. The reason: burlesque requires you to stand in your most profound vulnerability, literally naked. And counter-intuitive to everything we've been taught, it is here that our deepest power lies. Burlesque is a dance of discovery, for the performer and audience member alike. Discovering that our power does not live in the hard shell we wear each day, it resides in the softness that lies behind it.

This Tuesday night, June 14th, the world will change. The Earth will not be the same after these women dance their Light. Come join us if you would like to bear witness to this extraordinary act of beauty, and have your world changed too.

click here for all the info