Showing posts with label What's On Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What's On Magazine. Show all posts

10.06.2011

Girls' Day Out

Published in What's On, The Las Vegas Guide
October 4, 2011

If you decide to have your bachelorette party in Las Vegas, you’ve raised the bar. Far from being an oddity, your party will be one of hundreds of tiara-wearing, phallus- wielding, rowdy groups of women hitting the scene on any given weekend. How do you ensure that your group has the edge in attracting prime male attention?

Laura Croft’s Night School 4 Girls, currently enrolling at the Excalibur, is just the classroom to hone your bachelorette party skills. Though it’s called Night School, the 90-minute sessions start as early as 11 a.m., easily fitting between brunch and tanning by the pool. Tuition is more affordable than a pair of killer stilettos and offers you much longer-lasting benefits.

As fans of E!’s “Holly’s World” can attest, Croft knows a thing or two about partying, and she is more than willing to pass her wisdom onto you. Her faculty of trained burlesque dancers put together a curriculum full of sexy tricks and confidence- boosting moves to raise your visibility. Lucky attendees might even get a visit from the headmistress herself (check for updates about Croft’s appearances on Twitter @nightschool4glv) as she shares the dos and don’ts of nightlife and passes along valuable tips for keeping your night out from being a blowout.

The course itself—a combination of burlesque, striptease and pole- dancing—teaches a number of skills that will come in handy when hitting the clubs: Start the night posing for pictures using a showgirl stance guaranteed to highlight everyone’s assets; use “The Flapper” (along with a boa) to snag passing eye candy; turn a bar chair into a weapon of seduction with the “Cowgirl”; and, should there be a stripper pole nearby, ensure that your party knows how to strike a pose like the pros instead of winding up as the star of a humiliating viral video on YouTube.

The bride-to-be can learn a few tricks for the honeymoon suite as well. Instructors lead the class through a virtual striptease guaranteed to raise your man’s...blood pressure.

Not a size 2? No problem! There are no bullies at this school, only positive encouragement for women of all sizes and shapes. Classes also embrace all age groups (over 21 years old), so bring the mother-of-the- bride—or the grandmother, for that matter—because all the moves can be modified for comfort and ability. Alter egos assigned at the start of class ensure that even the terminally shy will be able to release their inner bombshells (and, of course, the option of downing a few shots at the Octane bar beforehand doesn’t hurt).

The class isn’t limited to impending brides and their gaggles of friends, either. Anyone in need of girls’ night out training can benefit. Facing a landmark birthday? Does your relationship need a little zing? Are you celebrating a divorce? Any occasion to get the girls together is reason enough to enroll. Throw on your comfy workout clothes (bring the heels, if you dare), and get ready to earn your degree in Sexy. The only thing you have to lose is your inhibitions.

Night School 4 Girls | Thur., 2 & 3:30 p.m.; Fri., 12:30, 2 & 3:30 p.m.; and Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 & 3:30 p.m. | From $39 | Thunder From Down Under Showroom, Excalibur | 702-597-7600
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10.11.2010

A Fairy Tale Life



It’s mid-afternoon, and a group of T-shirt-clad crew members are doing various checks on the set of Peepshow, Planet Hollywood’s fairy tale-themed burlesque show. Tonight, the stage will host glittering backdrops, sultry dancers and some of the best live vocals in a Strip production. For now, however, it stands exposed, bright overhead lights revealing signature props and the show’s giant, light bulb-covered logo, now dark. It’s a reminder that behind every story lies another, and it’s those stories we’re seeking today.


Peepshow’s three leads are taking a break from a photo shoot for our conversation, their casual demeanor in contrast with their full stage makeup and glittery costumes. To the right, male lead Josh Strickland, fresh from a stint on Broadway as Tarzan; in front, the diva-licous Cheaza (Chay-za), daughter of an Ikette and a mighty voice in her own right. And to the left, marquee darling Holly Madison, blonde curls and sweet lace at odds with the former Playmate’s sexpot appeal.

As with all fairy tales, our interview begins with Once Upon A Time…

What’s On: Once Upon A Time, I wanted to be a writer. I imagine Josh and Cheaza always wanting to be performers, but I can’t imagine this is where you thought you’d end up, Holly…

Holly: I wanted to be a famous Playmate…

WO: And you did it!

Holly: Yes I did!

Josh: I got my first microphone at 5, Fisher Price. It was awesome! And I have a photo of me when I was young, looking like little baby Elton John with a piano, so I’ve always kinda had [performing] in my blood.

Cheaza: My mom was a huge influence for me. I kinda grew up on the side of the stage. I saw my mom sing with Chaka Khan, Rick James, Charlie Wilson and the Gap Band, so [performing] was pretty much around me all my life. But sports were always my thing. If I could sneak off and do it, I wanted to do that.

WO: You guys are asked questions in interviews all the time that you probably don’t want to answer.  What is the one question you wish someone would ask?

Holly: I’d like to be asked about current projects more than my love life…

Josh: Everybody just outright asks me everything! I mean, I think I’d just like to be asked about my
family, my friends, maybe what things people may not know about me.

Cheaza: What more is there to you?

Josh: A lot. Get me in the bedroom…

Cheaza: Yeah, no limits is my little motto. Go have fun, try it all.

WO: What was your favorite fairy tale as a child?

Holly: Probably Cinderella. See, I’ve got my glass slippers…

WO: And your life would kind of echo that story.

Holly: True!

Cheaza: I love Tinkerbell. She runs things, has an attitude and she’s really little.

Josh: Mine was Little Mermaid. And that has definitely echoed my life [laughs]. What you don’t know is I’ve really got fins!

WO: OK, everyone. Name one thing on your bucket list.

Josh: There’s a lot of places around the world that I haven’t seen. I’d love to just travel and not care about anything else.

Cheaza: I’d like to have a holiday off with my daughter. I have worked every holiday since I’ve been in Vegas! She’s very understanding about it, but I would just love to have a holiday off. That would be awesome.

Holly: Probably just travel more.

WO: Holly, your image is so cute and sweet as cotton candy, but I think many people would be very surprised to find out you’re also a very intelligent woman.

Josh: She is smart as hell!

WO: I sort of picture you becoming a professor of French history someday. What else do you think people may have underestimated about you?

Holly: I think people just assume that I don’t really work, that I just travel and for me everything is really fun and games. They don’t realize how much initiative it takes [to do what I do].

WO: As we all know, fairy tales usually end with “Happily Ever After.” What does that mean for you?

Josh: It means so many different things. I’m so happy right now with what I’m doing, and my friends, and it’s just one of the best times of my life.

Cheaza: “Happily Ever After” would probably be just looking in the mirror, saying I’ve done my best and I’m happy with that. It doesn’t matter what people say or do, it’s what matters to you. Family. Love.

Holly: Just having a family and me being able to balance [both]. But work paves the way.
And work they must. As the three leads head back to pose in front of the now blazing Peepshow logo on stage, smiles in place, it’s clear to see that their lives are indeed the stuff of fairy tales.

Peepshow | Sun.-Tue. & Thur.-Fri., 9:30 p.m.; Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m. (dark Wed.) | $65, $75, $100 & 
$125 | Chi Showroom, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino | 800-745-3000

Published August 24, 2010 in What's On, The Las Vegas Magazine and on whats-on.com.