Anya and Pea Earn Their Stars Together!

 It was a busy evening on the Dance Queens sim as Anya Nova and BabpeaVonPhoenix Bikergrrl presented mini-shows together... sharing the stage, thereby each earning their star pavers in the Walk of Fame.  With thanks to all who attended, they each presented four of their favorite dances on the Zhaza Zerbino stage.  It was exhilarating and so fun!  Congratulations to Anya and Pea for earning their stars and thanks for participating with this fun project!  Thank you for supporting Dance Queens, and for your ongoing gifts of sharing imaginative dance journeys with your audiences.  Let's take a look at the show!  Then read their interviews, that we may get to know them better.

THE SHOW

Anya - Cell Block Tango

   WITH:  Azdra, Maria, Resmay, Rosie, (Holly), DC, and Sass

Pea - Can't Play Dead - The Heavy

Anya - Anywhere Away From Here - Rag'n'Bone and Pink!

   WITH: Maria, Rosie, Resmay, (Holly)

Pea - C-Lekktor - Silence Remains

Anya - Don't Jealous Me

   WITH:  Maria, Rosie, Resmay, (Holly), DC, Sass

Pea - RuPAUL Cover Girl (Put The Bass In Your Walk)

   WITH: Adori, Ame, Azzy, Beebles, Diva, Melli

Anya - Where They From - WTF

   WITH: Maria, Rosie, Resmay, (Holly), DC, Sass

Pea - The HU - Sad But True

   WITH: Yours, DC, Sass, Niecho

THE INTERVIEWS

ANYA

1. How and when did you find Second Life?

In December of 2008, my real life sister introduced me to SL.  She was playing for a few months and one day called me on the phone and said "hey sis you have to check out this place". Both of us were really clueless about all SL had to offer at the time (her more so than me - next sentence. lol), we only saw it as a real life Barbie dress up game and were all about fashion. Unfortunately, she isn't part of SL anymore, decided to leave around 2010.  I should of taken her leave, but got too addicted. :)

My first experience in SL landed me at help island and I was there for two weeks because my sister didn't know how I was suppose to leave (hence, her more so than me, lol).   I wish that I had known about the modelling and dance world at that time, but I did learn how to sit on a piano and play.  Which this lady showed up at help island and started showing me things.  Then she said that you know that you can leave this place right? lol.  Anyway, I landed at a club called Midnight Reflections and stayed there until they closed, I hardly left that place until they closed down.  After that I started venturing out into SL, I owned a racing track, which is still around today (I am not on that avatar anymore, and not associated the sim, so I will keep it unnamed)..

2. How and when did you discover virtual dance?

I was introduced to dance during a visit to see performance at Noir Neverland - August 2020.

 3. I know picking is hard, but name a few of your favorite dances that you have ever created:

Cell Block Tango, Don Jealous Me, Taki Taki, Where They From (WTF), Already and Away...others and I know that I named more than a few.. :)

Walk of Fame - Cell Block Tango, Don Jealous Me, Where They From (WTF), and Away From Here

 4.  Did you have any mentors when you were learning to dance that you'd like to wave to?

Sweetlips55 Resident - she was my first mentor and started me off from ground zero.

BabypeaVonPhoenix Bikergrrl - attended her Dance Boot Camp

Mavrick Nightfire - watched as he created and was shown several concepts such as, formations, special effects, texturing, set building, and more.

Epic Dance School Instructors (Jana Christos, MinaAncio, Falbala Fairey, and Royal Shippe) - challenged me and helped me improve my mover formations and set builds.

 5. What is your favorite thing about virtual dance creation?

Shopping for the perfect outfit for the routine. 

6. What is your least favorite thing about virtual dance creation?

Searching for the perfect dance animation(s) to fit the song.

 7. What advice would you give to someone who is new to virtual dance?

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

8. What is your favorite food, favorite drink, and please tell us about any pets that you have.

I don't have a specific favorite food, however chicken is my go to; favorite drink - Ice Tea; and pet - a 13 month old Maltipoo - Jaxson

 9. What activities other than dance do you enjoy?

Since learning dance, I spend most of my time at my sim, most times I have squirrel moments and I am listening to music to figure out my next routine.

PEA

1. How and when did you find Second Life?

A friend in a chat group posted about it.  I was thrilled by the idea of becoming a mermaid and wanted to live as one, so I joined in 2008.  I came with my RL best friend Cath, who is now also my housemate in RL.  I could not wait to buy a sim and make it into a mermaid world, but I got bit by a vampire neighbour and joined Bloodlines instead.  Never did fully become a mermaid, but life under the sea is definitely for me.  I belong in the water. 

2. How and when did you discover virtual dance?

After two years as a vampire, I got bored of it.  One of my minions was in Gor and invited me there to be his fighting slave.  So it was in Gor that I met Gunner.  I had a gag avatar that was sold to him as a joke on May 10th 2011.  She was very fat, flat chested, flat butt, bald and wore silks.  She had perfect kajira manners.  I was sold to him sight-unseen by a friend.  When I logged in this gag alt of mine and went to the Gorean HUB, I expected this Master to run screaming.  Instead, he took me home and collared me.  The only thing he asked me to change was to get hair.  I was blown away!  He didn't care if I stayed fat, didn't care if I had a totally flat chest.  I knew this man was different.  So I stayed with him, so curious about him.  Turns out, I found him to be a most fascinating person.  I enjoyed talking to him.  We talked for hours every day.  He loved Gorean dance so I made a dance for him.  This was in January 2012.  I did Gorean dance competitions and exhibitions for close to a year.  Almost year after we met, Gunner relocated from Texas to Australia in April of 2012.  We got married three months after that on July 8th and have now been married for 12 years.  He inspired me to dance in Gor.  After a while, I wanted to do more with dance than Gor allowed.  I wanted to dance to a variety of music, build sets, wear costumes.  I found Dance Queens and from there, found troupes in mainstream dance.

 3. I know picking is hard, but name a few of your favorite dances that you have ever created:

This is "To Build a Home," a dance I made for Webby.  I can no longer do it, it is too painful.  I used to doubt life after death, was starting to doubt God, but some very specific and impossible things happened after she flew away that can only serve as proof of life after death and of an entity I call God.  I know there is definitely life after death.  It is real. 

4.  Did you have any mentors when you were learning to dance that you'd like to wave to?

Lady C and Diawa.  They taught me a lot and helped me. 

 5. What is your favorite thing about virtual dance creation?

 I love the music.  Picking a song, doing the choreography.  And the entire creation process.  We can go anywhere we want, every dance creation is a journey.  Creating it is the fun part.  I love building sets.

 6. What is your least favorite thing about virtual dance creation?

 I detest shopping in both lives and so I detest shopping for costumes.  I wish I had a personal shopper who would do it for me.  If I could afford it, I'd pay someone to shop for costumes for me.  I don't like waiting for MP pages to load, sorting through all those items to find one thing or worse, after all that unable to find what I want.  Having to demo 20 items, finding one that does not break... a huge waste of precious time.  And going to shops physically I really detest.  Waiting for everything to load... so boring!  I can't stand it.  And I really detest poorly rigged clothing that breaks.

 7. What advice would you give to someone who is new to virtual dance?

 Do not compare your work to that of others.  Comparing yourself to someone else is an act of violence against yourself.  It is an attack on everything that makes you YOU.  When we create a dance and perform it, we are sharing a peek inside our souls.  Don't contaminate this gift by comparing it to the souls of others.  Love your soul, be gentle with yourself, and love your dances... they are each a road in the journey of your dance experience.  If you see someone doing something you admire, learn to do it.  Watch others with admiration, take joy in their sharing, and make your dances so that you feel fulfilled with them. Remember, people who compare and feel they must grade dancers as who is the best, those people are missing something major in their real lives and are trying to compensate for it in SL.  Don't be like that.  Have gratitude in your RL and let dance be your way to share with others in SL, don't use it as a weapon to try to lord over others or hurt them, but rather as a gift of sharing the soul. 

8. If you have your own dance troupe, please tell a little bit about it, and its history.

 Paul, Gunner and I own Elysium Cabaret since December of 2012.  We started it because I wanted a place to dance at with few rules.  I don't like limitations.  We do a show every Friday at 6pm SLT and then a matinee the last Saturday of each month at 1pm SLT.  Our venue is The Empire Room on Copperhead Road sim.

 9. What is your favorite food, favorite drink, and please tell us about any pets that you have.

 I love Chinese fried rice, mixed, with lots of veges and mixed meats in it.  And I LOVE MSG!  I am addicted to Pepsi Max and coffee.  I have two cats, Diva and Trouble, and two dogs... Whippets... Gracie and Boomer. 

10. What activities other than dance do you enjoy?

 There are activities other than dance?  I used to be a pirate.  I do like roleplay.  I used to race giant snails and do roller derby.  I LOVE zombies and play video games, Fallout 4, Dying Light and Subnautica.  I watch a lot of educational films and videos.

 11. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I love life and love Dance Queens.  I love people and like seeing them happy and having fun.  Be good to one another.  Be kind.  Share your toys.  Don't keep your light under a barrel... a candle loses no light from lighting another candle.

THE CEREMONY

Congratulations to Anya and Pea!  Our Walk of Fame continues to grow.  We hope it will remain for a very long time, certainly as long as we have the Dance Queens sim.  Thank you for participating with this project.  Thank you for sharing your imaginative creations with all of Second Life... gifts from your soul.  We wish you many years of dance fulfilment and look forward to what gifts you will create to share as time goes by.