March 24, 2004 | _ Page 17

Velma puts the candy in your ass
Ladies lapping up new dance skills

By Lindsey Moen, The Link, Concordia
University

MONTREAL (CUP) — The basic rules of
stripping are as follows: one must remove
equal amounts of clothing from both the top
of the body and the bottom in even alterna-
tion. Taking onefs time and utilizing the
space around the subject are crucial. Always
be sure that props and costumes are easy to
remove. And, ladies, éye contact is a must.

The class is offered
as an avenue for
women to take with
their partners in the pri-
vacy of their own
homes. What Velma
teaches is not meant
for public display or
monetary gain.

A hot pink swath of fabric covers the glass
door to a makeshift studio where Velma
Candyass teaches Lap Dancing for Lovers.
Formerly the office of a dot-com company,
the sub-floored room looks onto part of the
downtown Montreal skyline. The studio is
three floors up from the store offering the
coursedJoy Toyz, which specializes in sexual
aids and workshops for women. Although
only meant to be a one-shot deal, due to
extremely high demand, teaching Lap
Dancing for Lovers has become a weekly
event for Velma.

“Iive been dancing since I was a kid,”
Velma explains. “You know, all different

types, jazz, ballet, whatever. I was always
interested in the vocabulary of this style of
dance and I have some friends in the erotic
dance industry. It might look easy, but it
isn’t!”

One day she started tossing in a few erot-
ic moves into the regular dance classes she
taught and soon students were asking to be
taught more.

“They started asking ‘Will you teach me?’
and I figured why not? I find that people
have a real curiosity and interest in explor-
ing sexuality.”

Although Velma Candyass is not her real
name, it certainly does fit the brassy red hair
and toned dancer’s body it accompanies.
Velma has the. sort of presence that makes
you want to hear stories of her magnificent
exploits, and not want to remember that she
must have an offstage life. Certainly this
zesty woman doesnit adhere to mundane
humanitiesda boring real name and perhaps
a childhood growing up in a little yellow
house at the edge of a small town.

It comes as little surprise that Velma is
described as a neo-burlesque and vaudeville
artist.

Terms coined decades ago, burlesque and
vaudeville are the fun precursors to the
modern striptease. What began so long ago
as a form of theatre meant to mock and
ridicule has now become a taboo dance form
tainted by degradation and exploitation of
women. Taken from the former angle,
striptease and lap dancing comes off far
more enjoyable and even, dare it be said,
empowering.

“Strippers are people no matter what,”
Velma said as a knowing smile crosses her
face. “My goal for this class is for women to
find something within themselves. I want
for women to feel safe and comfortable
enough here that they can express their sex-

uality.”

The class is offered as an avenue for
women to take with their partners in the pri-
vacy of their own homes. What Velma teach-
es is not meant for public display or mone-
tary gain. :

“Itis a huge thing for people to strip. The
class is for women only, so there is that com-
fort level and sort of solidarity.”

“Strippers are people
no matter what,”
Velma said as a know-
ing smile crosses her
face. “My goal for this
class is for women to
find something within
themselves. | want for
women to feel safe
and comfortable
enough here that they
can express their sex-
uality.”

What quickly becomes apparent in the
class is that stripping and lap dancing are art
forms. Grinding your hips as you slowly
crouch closer and closer to the floor burns
the thighs and calves like nobodyis business.
That is, if you have balance enough to get
past a knee squat.

Lap Dancing is not the only place you can
see neo-burlesque. Velma is also a member

of the Travesty Theatre company which has
put together several shows of this style. The
most notable being a show that, through the
collaboration of the Troupe, eventually
became The Dead Dolls Cabaret of Horror.
Appearing on stages around town, the show
turned out much like Velmaésassy, bold and
unapologetic.

“People say, €You canit do that!’ and we
just say, Watch us!i We certainly like to
push things.”

This is true for her work in dance class as
well. Velma says she likes to see the progres-
sion women make from the beginning of the
class to the end if they are pushed just so.

“I find the older women to be extremely
interesting,” says Velma of the difference
age makes for the women learning to lap
dance. “The confidence older women have
in themselves is profoundly stunning. Their
life experience and wisdom can make them
way sexier than the young little hotties.
They really are interestingsI should do a
documentary!”

Although each class is different, Sebastian
Yeung, owner of Joy Toyz, says that there
has been immense positive feedback. As
women leave the class, they glow with sexu-
al self-confidence and pride. Thanking
Velma as they go, these women do exude
power. Velma smiles and tells them to join
her for the next stage in rigorous lap-dance
trainingoshe is working on an intermediate
level class.

“Dance is an integral part of life, and there
is much more sensuality in life than we
would like to admit in civilized society.”

Lap Dancing for Lovers is for women 18
years and up. To register call Joy Toyz at
(514)845-8697 or visit www.joytoyz.com