Sexy weekend: Dirty Dolls Burlesque Revue performs Friday and Saturday

 One of the most important things in the Dirty Dolls Burlesque is stage presence

ARE YOU looking for a Friday night full of fun and sexiness? The kind that you’ll always remember because you watched lovely ladies doing sultry stripteases complete with aerial and circus acts and fire performances? Look no further than the Dirty Dolls Burlesque Revue’s upcoming performance on Friday night at Eclipse Savannah.

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dirty Dolls founder Mary Contrary about herself, her group, and their upcoming performance.

For starters, the Dirty Dolls Burlesque Revue was established in 2013. Up until then, Mary had been a Go-Go dancer for five years.

Mary says that she had been dancing her whole life: earlier in her life, she developed an interest in burlesque. She did her first event in Pensacola, Florida, and she got booked at a big event there, and she fell in love with it.  

“I was living in Savannah by performing there first. And I didn't really see any other burlesque. So I just decided I needed to start it myself,” Mary says. “So we were the first and longest-running troupe in Savannah, and just been doing it since then. I kind of got my feet wet in Jacksonville, because no one in Savannah was willing to have the show. They were like, 'We don't know what the hell this is.' So after about a couple of months, maybe a year of building my name in Jacksonville, then I came back to Savannah. And I was like, Listen, you guys need this. And I was right.”

Mary’s stage name originated from an elementary school game where her class had to name a country. Her first name is actually Mary, and Contrary was a suitable stage name. As she got older, she realized that she wasn’t the typical burlesque dancer that most people would think about. Furthermore, Mary said that there are a lot of things about her that don’t fit the mold.  

In regards to the other doll’s stage names, Mary says that the ladies came up with names that resonated with them. For example, “I think it just depends on the person. Like, one of my main performers used to be my ex-girlfriend, and she came up with hers. It's half of her grandmother's first name, and then half of her last name. So she kind of like kept that because she wanted to have her last name in there. She's the last child and won't have any more kids. So she's like, well, you know, this is how I carry on that name. I'm not going to do it through children that I can think of this way,” Mary explains. “And then I know other people just find something that resonates with them, and they go with it.”

One of the most important things in the Dirty Dolls Burlesque is stage presence. Mary says that skill is paramount. Even if someone isn’t the best dancer, as long as you can connect with the audience, you’re an entertainer.

Mary has booked girls who are incredible with their costumes and they’re super graceful. Most importantly, they are able to connect with the audience and get the crowd into their performances.

All of the Dirty Dolls make their own outfits for their shows and rhinestone their outfits if need be. Mary said that it’s hours upon hours of work.

“And I try to have it so that people have different styles in the show. So I don't want everybody to just look like they're doing a black leather thing, or everybody doing like a super glamorous thing. Like I want to have variety and the acts and in the music,” Mary says. “And like everything that I put on stage, I don't want it to just be the same note over and over and over. So you know, it's cool, because I've gotten to watch girls' styles kind of develop. You kind of get your own personal look. Oh, this is what I'm known for. This is how I present myself on stage. This is, you know, my signature thing that I like to wear.”

At Eclipse Savannah, four dolls perform alongside Mary. The dolls also perform at Totally Awesome Bar and 201 Lounge. Mary says that she would like to get a formal stage show in the future where five or six dolls are able to perform, but she has to find the right space first.

Mary makes it clear that while the shows are more sexual than regular burlesque, they are not gentleman’s club experiences. There are no lap dances or anything of the like. What the dolls do is more performance-based instead of completely sexually driven, and their performances are edgier and more interactive.

One thing that Mary has learned from being the founder of Dirty Dolls is resilience. She says, “It's not easy. People always want to be a full-time performer. And I'm like, oh, make sure that you're prepared for that. It's yeah, resilience, for sure. And then also, I knew I was gonna have to do a whole bunch of different jobs with this, like keeping all of this together. But there are a lot of things that I was probably like, ‘Oh I didn't know I was gonna be doing that.’ So I know how to edit music. I know how to edit videos, I know how to edit photos, and I can do all the photoshoots in my own home so that I don't have to find the space to do that. Which is really handy when I have new girls on the fly. I have to just do a pop-up photoshoot for them. I had to learn video editing, which is a nightmare. I have to do social media. I put together my own merchandise and literally everything by hand in addition to putting together my you know, costumes, all that stuff. And then also, you know, managing fifteen girls and personalities and all that and writing schedules. But I think that that's probably a very common thing that any small business owner runs into. I didn't know it was gonna be this many different things.”

Being that the Dirty Dolls do revue shows, the girls practice on their own time. They each have their own choreographies. Having this structure helps their shows be more interactive. When there isn’t choreography, the dolls are able to interact with the crowd and play around. Mary said she feels like people enjoy that part of the show. Other shows may not have the same kind of interaction with their audiences.

Before shows, the dolls stretch and try on their outfits to make sure things fit right. Going through their music before shows is crucial because the dolls need to know what to do with their songs.

Incorporating the different acts that the Dirty Dolls do is based on availability. After learning when the dolls are available, Mary checks to see which doll has a certain skill. She then sees if the venue allows said skill, and then she moves forward accordingly. She has to be sure that the venue she plans to do a performance allows the skill. All of the venues do not allow aerial and circus acts and fire performances. She said that currently, only one venue accommodates fire. She hopes to find a venue that will allow all three of their acts.

Typically, the dolls start out by doing one number at a venue. Once everyone is done, they reset and then they all do another number. Mary said that they flow straight to the end. Depending on how the crowd is, the ladies will stick around and take pictures with everyone after the show.

Mary is hoping that visitors are entertained and enjoy their upcoming show. She is confident that she will make someone’s day because it’s something that she’s been doing for the past ten years.

“People ask off of work because they want to make sure that they can make it and just like knowing that I can brighten people's day just by doing something that I also love to do is really pretty cool,” she says. “I think that that's how entertainment should be: you shouldn't get into entertaining people if that's not your main goal. If it's like, I want to make money, that's not the right reason. You should get into it because you want to entertain people. When people tell me that was so inspiring, or I just love that, it's the best thing ever. You know, it's so great. I like dancing and I like making them happy, and somehow I managed to combine the two.”