Ways To Express Love

Busy with burlesque

She’s only got a few hours to pack her suitcase for Newfoundland and Miss Jezebel Express is having trouble. So far, she says, she’s got it narrowed down to a pair of jeans, two T-shirts and one pair of sneakers.

And 10 glitzy dresses, four pairs of heels and lots of fake eyelashes.

It’s Express’s first trip back to what she calls her home province since 2007, when — having single-handedly established a burlesque scene here — she left for New York in an attempt to realize her dream of becoming a full-time burlesque performer.

“The best of almost everything I love is here: the best writers, the best dancers, the best theatre. I love it. It’s hard and it’s really expensive and there’s a ton of competition, but I’m totally in love with the city. I wake up and go outside and someone rollerblades past me smoking a joint; I’m like, ‘Ah, it’s New York!’” Express said in a phone interview, laughing.

Express is a native of Iowa (whose parents are both Newfoundlanders), with university degrees in English and dance.

She moved to St. John’s after receiving a prestigious Fulbright grant, with the intent of writing fiction and poetry about this province. She did — and continues to freelance for various websites and publications — and in the meantime, kept up with her dancing.

Qualified to teach dance and realizing there wasn’t much around in the way of burlesque shows, Express started doing them as part of Neighbourhood Dance Works fundraising shows and conducting workshops to teach others.

In 2006, she formed the province’s first burlesque troupe, The Purity Girls. Lead by Express and with character names like Miss Kitty Page and KeiKei DeMurre, The Purity Girls hosted shows around downtown and released their own pinup calendar.

“People in Newfoundland really didn’t know burlesque, so there was a long process of getting them familiar with it,” Express explained. “The first time I ever did burlesque in Newfoundland, I got up and took my gloves off for three minutes.

“That was something I think Newfoundland and St. John’s needed because it wasn’t an art form people were familiar with there, and it was something I needed. I think the city and I worked our way up to proper body burlesque at the same pace.”

When Express left St. John’s for New York, her pace got even quicker. She realized everything in the city, which has a large burlesque community, is bigger, louder and more sparkly.

Just Say I Love You, How to, To Say I Love You, Love You

. Just pick up a (nice) pen and jot it down. If you use a cute, pretty or tasteful piece of paper so much the better Text them Send them a modern equivalent of an olden day note. Let your thumbs do the talking. How hard can that be to type 8 letters? And this spontaneity will catch them off guard. In their inbox amongst all the dross and debris is a text which will catch them off guard and stand out for all the right reasons. So….. get to it Write it on a Cookie. Now this takes a bit more effort. If you can’f find a cookie get one of those cool cupcakes that are popping up everywhere and get your special 3 words piped on the top. Yummy for the tummy and food for the soul all wrapped up in one. Draw on Sidewalk. Return to your school days and write I Love You in chalk on the pavement. Let the world see what you mean. You’re in love and you are proud of how you feel. Write it on the bathroom mirror with soap. This is a much more private expression of your love but it is also more intimate too. Get a stack of Post it notes and use them. Line a wall with little stickies  and leave them there for her as a reminder of your true feelings. Draw on the windscreen of the car. This is especially nice if you go to the trouble of going over to where the car is parked and leaving your three little words as a surprise. Glow in the dark stars or stickers. Use these to write your glowing words of love on the bedroom wall. Very private a fun. Start a love book. Write down all the ways and times you think of your loved one and then, if you are too shy to tell them these things let them read your journal. Draft an advert and put it in a paper or magazine where you know that they are certain to see it.

10 easy ways to just say I love you without uttering a word. No need to choke over these three words. Just work your way through this list.

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