Off the bat, I’ve seen hundreds of awesome performances from dancers, with nearly every theme one can think of...but, I’ve never seen the A Clockwork Orange theme. What inspired you to choose the milk bar as a setting for your final performance?
There were quite a few scenes from A Clockwork Orange that I incorporated into this performance. The infamous Korova Milk Bar is one of my favorite scenes from the movie—it’s the first time you get a good look at all of the droogs, Alex included. I thought about how I could put that on stage and what better way, than to have my droogs pour milk all over me?
Is it coincidental that "Axel" is an anagram for "Alex," from the book/film?
Completely coincidental—quite funny how that worked out.
You ended up in a kiddie pool, covered in what appeared to be milk. Was this real milk? If so, how was the clean-up process? If not, what was it?
It was REAL, 100%, whole milk. I wanted it to look as real as possible and there weren’t any substitutes that would give it the effect that I needed. I used the kiddie pool, with the painted eye logo inside, to hopefully catch all the milk. But, it turns out, when you shake your ass with milk pouring down, it gets everywhere. Cleanup was pretty gnarly—I had milk covering dollars, costumes and my entire body. It took two showers to get it all out of my hair, but I felt like I could still smell milk for the following two days.
How many years (if any) before this one did you compete in competitions?
This is my first competition as a stripper and I have been stripping for four years. As I kid, I was in hundreds of competitions as a ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern and tap dancer—but, that was a long time ago. I have been a backup dancer and choreographer in the past two years of Miss Exotic Oregon competitions, so I figured I would give it a try for myself.
What other super dope themes have you used in prior performances and how do you go about choosing something that gets the crowd’s attention?
For my preliminary round, I did a number from the John Waters movie Cry Baby, as Traci Lords. I can’t tell you how many times I have had people tell me how much I look like her, so I thought that would be a fun theme to go with. With both my Cry Baby performance and my A Clockwork Orange performance, I obviously wanted to pay tribute to those movies, because they are some favorites of mine. Overall, I wanted to put choreography and costuming on stage that would be fun and captivating, visually. I wanted to put on a show that people would remember and walk away saying, "Wow, that was amazing," even if they didn’t understand the references or had never seen the movies before.
What advice do you have for dancers who are looking to win the finals at one of our events?
First of all, any dancer planning on winning one of these competitions needs to know how much hard work goes into putting on a performance. Come up with a theme that you know will be fun for you and your audience. And, have a blast with it—even if you don’t win, have it be something that you are proud of.
Since you’ve got our readers’ attention, what clubs, gigs, performances, Soundcloud rappers or overrated fast food establishments would you like to promote in print? Go nuts.
Big shout out to my club, Devils Point—this is where Axel was born and I am there every week, from Thursday to Sunday! And, a shout out to the Kit Kat Club, where I DJ every Monday night! I am hoping to be doing more performances, because it is something I love doing—but, at this time, I don’t have anything booked. DM me via @NicotineFiend_ on Instagram and I will be sure to cover your stage with real milk (if that’s what you are into).
Back to your performance—pole skill is obviously something that you possess. How long have you been dancing and what does it take to feel comfortable on stage?
I have been stripping for four years now. It didn’t take long to feel comfortable on stage, because I was a professionally trained dancer—in ballet, specifically—and, had been on many stages before. But, not with a pole and not naked, either, so it definitely took some getting used to. I have never taken a pole class—I just learned through being on stage, trying things that might be cool and watching the dancers that I work with.
What advice would you tell yourself, if you could go back to your first shift as a dancer?
I am not saying I did everything right on my first shift, but I don’t think I would have given myself any advice. I needed to learn how to work in this industry—with trial and error. I am proud of how far I have come as a dancer.
Lastly (and, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Exotic), which ending to A Clockwork Orange do you prefer...the book or the film? Will you be able to rehabilitate or will you go back to your old, ultraviolent ways?
Kubrick’s ending. "I was cured, all right." But, the old ultraviolent ways never truly die.
Be sure to check out our full spread (click here) of the Miss Exotic Oregon 2020 Finals.
