Ivy Deavy has adopted a new name — Poison Poisson, after diving into the world of burlesque.
Deavy, 24, said she made a spontaneous decision and joined the Bourbon and Spice Burlesque troupe in April with no official dance background.
She said everything she has learned in the past two months is thanks to the founder of the troupe, who dances under the stage name Kerosene MisFortune.
For those who are new to the world of burlesque, Deavy described it as “somewhere between dancing and theatre. It’s sensual, comedic and dramatic . . . It’s about putting on a good show and having fun and making people laugh and feeling empowered as a woman.”
Deavy said burlesque dancing has helped her to not only empower other women but also build her own confidence in her body.
“I am not stick thin, I’ve got some curves but that is attractive, that is beautiful and that is real, right?” she said.
“I can get up there in my bras and panties, in my feather boas and just have a really good time and be admired and appreciated by people,” Deavy said.
“I think that is a positive message to women to spread a message of sexuality stemming out from a point of comfort in yourself, knowing yourself and being yourself.”
As an artist, she said she hopes that people can extract greater meaning from her dancing. She said she hopes burlesque will allow people to experience art and sexuality in nature of understanding the world through their senses.
“I am really trying to bring back people to hearing the world through their hearts and through their feelings as opposed to through a logical hierarchy,” she said. “To get back into their intuition.”
Deavy said she is constantly looking at ways to impact her world through her art and would like to pursue the life of an artist but it is difficult to make a living.
“You really have to commit to it. You have to put yourself all away. It’s not a life of luxury. It’s a life of a murder. Society refuses to pay for the artistic work we do so we have to agree to be slave to our crafts.”
Despite the challenges she faces as an artist, she said she will continue to pursue her childhood dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer.
She said she remembers seeing Cirque de Soleil as a child and still believes it is one of the most amazing things she has ever seen in her life.
“[Dancing is] something I’ve always liked doing and have wanted to do more of,” Deavy said.
“I am now 24 and working up my nerve to actually do this.”
