Nicholas' ASSC Post
On April 25, 1996

Serenity @ The Industrial Strip (review - 4/25/96)

A word of warning to the uninitiated: This is *not* an unbiased review! Quite simply, I am very much a fan of this remarkable woman and her dancing style.

As mentioned in my previous post, Serenity is back in LA again; this time performing for three nights at The Industrial Strip, in North Hollywood.

Casting my meager net as far and wide as possible, I was able coerce David (SaxBeat), the Rocket Scientist, and Armen (a personal friend and strip-club aficionado) to join me and Joanne (my lovely and very understanding wife) in welcoming Serenity for her first show. As an added bonus and pleasant surprise, David had invited Zbone to join us. This was my first meeting with the celebrated keeper of LA's finest strip-club web page and I was duly honored; finding him a true gentleman and a scholar (of strip-clubs, of course -- what else would you expect?).

Another unexpected addition to this impromptu ass-c gathering was that I got to reconnect with Bernadette; a stripper friend who used to dance at Bob's Classy Lady, under the name of Elizabeth, and now works as a cocktail waitress and private dancer, at The Industrial Strip. Knowing that she is as big a fan of Serenity's as yours truly, I had tried to get a hold of her earlier in the week; to have her join in the welcoming committee. Unfortunately, she had moved since our last meeting and I feared the connection might be permanently lost... Imagine our surprise when Joanne and I walked in and found ourselves warmly greeted by this gorgeous woman!

With the cast and crew assembled, we introduced ourselves and settled in for some stimulating and pleasant conversation as we waited for Serenity to appear. Those of you who recall my previous review of this great feature dancer, when she performed at Bob's Classy Lady in October of last year, probably remember my ranting about the pushed-back show time. Surprise, surprise... The very same thing happened again. (Is this like the normal modus operandi of all clubs and feature acts?) First, there seemed to be a discrepancy between the LA Times ad (which stated that the first show would be at 8:00pm) and the LA Weekly (announcing the time as 8:30pm). But the joke was on me, as Serenity did not make her first appearance until 9:00pm! Oh well... Being in good company and fine spirits, this delay did not bother me in the least -- which may be unfair to BCL (as I made such a point of flaming them for it the last time) but I've already warned you; this is not an unbiased review.

Serenity finally came on stage and, as usual, the wait was worth it! She danced to four songs, starting with a number that had her stripping out of an elegant gold dress. For the second song, she teased the audience in skimpy dance wear; slowly dropping her bra and ending it by peeling down her G-string. The last two song were done in the nude (barefoot too! :-). True to her usual unmatched professionalism, she came out smiling and played directly to her audience; always maintaining the appearance of thoroughly enjoying herself and looking like there was no place else she'd rather be. Energy was high and the dancing, as ever, absolutely spectacular! For those of you who do not know anything about Serenity; she has over 17 years of ballet training and has won the world championship for exotic dancing. Her expertise and experience were plainly evident. as she did one amazing dance move after the other. In sheer physical ability, she simply has no equal! (I'd have sworn that some of the moves she did on stage are not possible with the human body!) And this lady is not shy; if you crave gynecological close-ups, you won't be disappointed.

***News Flash!!! Even as I am writing this review, I just heard that Serenity will *not* be performing at The Industrial Strip tonight (Friday). Instead, she will go on stage at Bob's Classy Lady! Showtimes will be 7:30pm, 9:30pm, 12:00am & 2:00am. I have no idea of exactly what brought on this change but my best guess would have to be the small size of the IS stage...

(And now back to our regularly-scheduled programming...)

Whew!... The above is not a joke. I had just finished praising the great show last night and was about to go into my usual nit-picky gripes! While The Industrial Strip seems like a cozy little club with a comfortable enough atmosphere and lots of pretty girls (especially one particular cocktail waitress;-), my one complaint with the set-up was that the stage seemed way to small and narrow. The whole thing is arranged more like a fashion-show runway and, in my opinion, would discourage any adventurous performers from actually dancing. In Serenity's case, this small setting was obviously constricting and totally inadequate for her style of dancing.

My only other regret was that all four songs she performed to were fast numbers. My own kinky preferences lean toward slow songs, where the dancer moves seductively and seems to ooze out of her costume. I know for a fact that Serenity does this sort of show very well indeed and I was somewhat dismayed that she never switched gears after showing us her more vigorous, athletic moves.

But enough of nit-picking, this was still a one-of-a-kind act and I only wish that more dancers would take an example from Serenity and put some effort into actually dancing. Those of you who have never seen a *real* show (or pine for the by-gone days of yore when they were the rule rather than the exception) owe it to yourselves to see what all my hype is about.

At the end of Serenity's first set, Joanne presented her with a bouquet of roses and we had the chance to talk with her a while. She is every bit as terrific in person as she is on stage and we both enjoyed her charming company.

Due to the above news-flash, I will quickly wrap up my already way too long review and will try to post follow-ups over the next couple of days. Before closing however, I would like to say that, as an LA/ass-c gathering, this was a blast! Everyone present was terrific and I am taking this opportunity to publicly thank every one of them for their support. Thank you all; you guys made this a memorable evening for me, my wife, and (I am sure...) Serenity! In addition to the feature show, things just seemed to go particularly well last night. The mood was festive and upbeat and everyone obviously had a great time. (Although I am not really into lap dances, it was a cute to watch the girls keep offering them to Joanne:-)

Bernadette was an unexpected treat and I will miss not seeing her at Bob's tonight.

Until next time; this is your faithful reporter, signing off...

Nicholas' ASSC Post
On April 30, 1996

Serenity wrap-up:

As promised in my previous post, I went to see Serenity again on Friday night at, Bob's Classy Lady. The last minute change of venues was due to an unspecified dispute with the management of The Industrial Strip and was made possible due to a sudden unavailability of the scheduled feature at Bob's, Norma Jeane. I arrived at BCL at 9:30pm, to catch Serenity's second show of the night, and was met by a friend. Together, we chatted and waited during the usual half-hour delay before the feature performer actually made he appearance. (While the waiting is an annoyance, I must say that I'm getting used to it by now.)

Serenity certainly did not disappoint! She opened up with a "Southern Belle" theme; bouncing around to two rather fast-paced numbers and teasing the customers in the front row by playfully wrapping her legs around their necks. Like a true professional, she came out smiling and immediately established rapport with her audience; always maintaining the appearance of thoroughly enjoying what she was doing. While this opening was a bit on the fast side for my own personal tastes, her third number was deliciously slow and seductive -- just the way I like it. Starting out in nothing but a stretchy pair of stockings, she gracefully oozed out of them, one by one, making unusual figure-shapes and giving the audience an uninhibited and extremely intimate view. Not only is Serenity one of the most graceful and gymnastic American dancers I have ever seen, but she also makes it look easy and maintains a delightful sense of humor throughout the entire performance.

Those of you who are familiar with my sporadic posts, might remember that this is the very same show she put on last year, when I went with my wife (Joanne) to see her at Bob's in October. Far from being dismayed at the repeat performance, I found it to be the highlight of her current LA tour. Her "stocking" number is already my favorite and, judging from my friend's open-mouthed stare, I would have to say that he enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. When it comes to graceful floor-work, this lady has no equal!

After her show, I went over and talked with her a bit; thanking her and her manager for calling me with the information regarding her sudden change of venues. As ever, she was sweet and personable. My friend and I stayed around for another set, socializing with some of the house dancers while we waited.

For the next show, Serenity did a "California beach-girl/lifeguard" theme; coming out in a brief T-shirt, gym shorts, and blowing a whistle. The music was Beach Boys and, as is usual for this performer, the energy was high. At the end of the first song she stripped down to a hot-pink bikini and, by the end of the second, she was nude. Unfortunately, while the show was certainly choreographed and very professional, it had much too little actual dancing for my tastes and was more of an interactive/audience-participation sort of thing. As soon as she was down to her birthday suit, Serenity oiled herself up and passed out water pistols to the front-row patrons; inviting them to help in getting her thoroughly wet. Giggling and spreading her legs, she certainly presented her tormentors with an easy and tempting enough target! While playfully erotic and obviously fun for the crowd, I would have preferred to see even more of her uniquely graceful dancing style. (I know, I know... I sound just like a stuck record. But hey, the gentleman certainly knows what he likes! :-)

After the 12:30 show I was bushed, a little burned-out on clubs in general (...but I'm not whining, Kat!), and decided to call it a night...

In closing this account, I would like to touch on two points:

Firstly; I think that I should amend my previous, not-too-complimentary, review of Bob's Classy Lady. I guess that I was a bit hard on them last Fall, being eager to see Serenity and not really interested in all of the other stuff... 1) It looks like start-times for feature performers are arbitrary at best and, while mildly annoying, I've simply come to accept this situation as par for the course. 2) I still find the "ladies choice" promotions somewhat pushy but I've learned not to let them bother me so much and I fully realize that selling lap dances is the best way for the girls to make money. 3) After watching the house dancers at The Gentleman's Club and The Industrial Strip, the performers at BCL certainly stand out as better-than-average dancers (though that's not really saying much, since the "dancing" seems to no longer be a part of "exotic dancing..."). All-in-all, Bob's is really not such a bad place and I suppose that I could learn to lighten up a bit!

Secondly; with the opinionated slant on my reviews, I think that I should clarify where I'm coming from. Those of you who have been following ass-c for more than a year might even remember me as the photographer who posted all those "Call for Dancers" messages in the group, last Spring. I have no intention of starting that up again (...*very* limited success rate, RJ...) and, while work on the Exotic Dancer photo project does continue, I must admit that in the past few years my enthusiasm has taken a beating. The problem is that there are so few dancers out there who can actually *dance*-or even attempt to put on some kind of real show. Since the exotic dance industry is market-driven, and the patrons seem to prefer the physical sensation of a lap-dance, there is little incentive for the dancers to put any effort into their stage shows. This current state of affairs has basically reduced the stage to a meat-market; where the dancers simply walk out to display themselves, in the hope that a customer will notice them and order a lap dance. While I appreciate the fact that there is a lot of money to be made this way, I cannot help but lament the loss of the more visual and imaginative thrill of a well-done stage performance.

The only exception to this sad situation seems to be in Canada. A few years ago, Joanne and I took a trip to Vancouver and, while there, took in some shows at the better clubs. It was a thrill to re-discover what exotic dance could be like when done right. Unfortunately, even there the scene seems to be changing for the worse. We spoke to several of the best dancers and they all said that things were much better in the mid-80's and going down hill fast. It appears as though the aspects that inspired me to start my art project are quickly vanishing.

And this is why I am so thrilled to see a dancer like Serenity. With a show that is performance oriented, backed by the talent and experience necessary to pull it all off, she is truly like a breath of fresh air to me! While I fully realize that I am in the minority here, I certainly hope that some of you had the chance to see her and came away with something of an appreciation for what I have been ranting about.

That about wraps it up for me -- back to lurking...