I wrote a post on race relations in burlesque for pop culture blog Racialicious in August. It generated quite a bit of discussion and a little bit of controversy across the international burlesque world - and made me some friends too!

http://www.racialicious.com/2009/07/0...que-essay/

A tribute to Darren Hayes and Savage Garden, using the same collection of clippings and pictures that I had when I was a teenager (so they're at least 10 years old!). My mum did actually catch me in bed with that poster one time and said "I think you're ready for boys now", to my mortification.

This was first performed at the Star Rae Revue in August 2009 but I didn't get a video then.

Performed at the Star Rae Revue November 2009 as part of the Miss Burlesque Competition.

Ex/Rotic was developed with Vulcana Women's Circus and first performed at Island Vibe 2009.

This video is from my performance of Ex/Rotic at BITSFestival Sampler 2009 at The Joynt (28/11/09). There's a better video of this act from Island Vibe coming soon, but this gives a pretty good idea of the act.

Yay! I got profiled on there:

http://itssimplyburlesque.wordpress.c...erch-girl/

At Cabaret Burlesque I did an interview with Amanda Dell of ABC's 612 Brisbane to talk about my routine, and why I decided to fuse Islam and burlesque together.

http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/20..._breakfast

I post about being the Merch Girl, and about my creative journey in general, on my blog on Tumblr. It's holding up for me while I get my full site in action. Come by to see my creative process, some inspiration, and random silliness.

http://blog.themerchgirl.net

This was my debut for the Cabaret Burlesque competition in Brisbane, where I placed 3rd in the New Talent category. mmmcupcakes.

Originally the video was passworded to prevent fundy attacks, but demand grew after being on 612 ABC Brisbane this morning and I wasn't really up to continually approving people. I added a disclaimer in front - thanks Mark for doing it for me by proxy!

Tiara the Merch Girl - Cabaret Burlesque - Islamic Routine - PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION from Tiara The Merch Girl on Vimeo.

I've been working with theatre in small ways since school, but this is my first proper acting role on stage. It was for the Vagina Monologues 2009. SO MUCH FUN!! This role started off my burlesque/etc life really.

The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy (V-Day 2009 Brisbane) from Tiara The Merch Girl on Vimeo.