Buonasera Lolita Golightly! How are you doing this evening my dear?
Buonasera!! I am doing great thank you! It’s such a pleasure talking to you!
The pleasure is all mine! I’ve been meaning to sit down with you for a little gurl talk for ages but now that you’re the brand new Miss Industry 2018 pageant winner, well the timing seems perfect. Are you still riding the high of winning?
Oh gurl!! I am on cloud nine! I still can’t believe that it’s happening to me!!
You can’t be that surprised though! You are quite the established pageant queen, including success on the national level! But was it special for you to win one the major pageants here in your adopted hometown of New York City?
Oh my God! So special! Thank you for saying that. I guess I have gone to nationals and I’ve done the pageant thing. It’s still hard for me to think I am a pageant queen. There is so much that goes into being one that it’s intimidating thinking about it. But I am super proud and grateful to be where I am now and having perfected my craft and most of all that people get me. It’s the best gift of them all. I am so happy to be holding this prestigious title. Just thinking about the girls before me, and those who graced the stage at Industry! Not to mention being a girl from Italy that came to the States about seven years ago, I mean… it’s a big deal!
Well you just stole my next question Lolita! I wanted to know how you wound up here in the Big Apple from your home country of Italy?
*Laughs* Well my background is I am a ballet dancer. I go wherever I find a job. I lived in Italy, Montecarlo and Germany before. So when I auditioned for Les Ballets Trockadero de Montecarlo I didn’t know yet that I was going to like New York so much to make it my adopted hometown!
How did you get your start in ballet? Were you attracted to dance right away when you were younger?
I started dancing at the age of fourteen. Not very young for ballet. I always wanted to dance but for my dad it was something unheard of. You know, coming from Italy, a very conservative country… so it took me a long time to convince him. But when I finally did I was hooked on the idea of becoming a dancer. I didn’t know what kind of dancer I wanted to be. I think I was dreaming of fame, of the stage lights, maybe tv or music videos. And I found myself at the barre! *Laughs*
Let’s talk about Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo for a bit if you don’t mind, How did your dance journey bring you to the world famous all male ballet company?
Well I wasn’t feeling artistically fulfilled in the traditional ballet companies I worked for before. And I wasn’t feeling comfortable trying to fit in the very traditional mold of a male ballet dancer. I am feminine and trying to act masculine all the time was a lot for me. Also, I always had wanted to dance on pointe (which is forbidden to men) and found female dancing so fascinating So I told myself, why not audition for the Trocks? And I was right! It was the best job I could find for myself.
What did you find so fascinating about the female role for ballet? Was dancing on pointe everything you were expecting it to be?
I guess I could just connect with it more. I like the idea of romantic and fragile princesses, swans, sylphs, all of it is so appealing to me. Being ethereal and vulnerable are qualities that a man cannot show. Or shouldn’t show in ballet. Pointe shoes are like heels: you feel so beautiful in them, they change the way your legs look but they hurt your toes and even though you can’t wait to take them off , you still can’t live without them! Dancing on pointe was even harder then I expected it to be.
The Trocks are one of the most successful touring companies in the world. What do you attribute to their long running success?
Their formula of mixing comedy, drag and technicality!
How many different countries have you performed in with them?
I lost count!! United States, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland…
So being a part of the Trocks brought you to New York City. What was it about the city that made you want to call it home?
Just the diversity of it all! The way how everything moves so fast. You get to do so much in one single day. And the people you get to meet. Not to mention the big drag community that it’s out here! It was almost a cultural shock for me seeing that drag was not only accepted but appreciated!
Not only accepted and appreciated but you can’t go two blocks with tripping over a half dozen drag queens these days!
That is true! It’s very hard to make a name for yourself in New York.
What made you want to delve into the world of pageantry?
I love to perform. I love to have a platform to do that and normally in pageants the stages are bigger then the normal bar-size stages. And of course I love the glamour aspect of pageants.
What was the biggest misconception you had about pageantry before you got started competing?
I thought it was just about looking pretty in a gown. It’s so not that! The work that goes behind that one moment on stage is a lot! You might be looking glamorous in a gown but at that point, you had already talked to designers, ran around the whole city to get hair, jewelry, arranged rehearsals, mixed music, and paid a lot of money! Competing in a pageant is mostly being an organized business woman!
And you don’t even get the business woman special like Romy and Michelle got!
Exactly!!
What was your experience like at Nationals for Miss Continental?
It was such a learning experience! I had an amazing time on stage! It was a great success for me. And I met all these beautiful people! However being my first time I stressed myself so much that I threw my back out a couple of days before and on the day of the interview I even threw up! You need a team of people to keep you sane otherwise you might end up like I did in Chicago!
Damn gurl! That is a LOT! In spite of all that, were you happy with how it all turned out for you? Are you looking to go back in the future?
I was really happy!! I made top 12 (it was a top 14 that year) my first time competing! So yes, I would love to go back but I will have to get bigger sponsors this time!
Is this where we plug your Venmo for any people who want to sponsor you?
*Laughs* Sure!! Great idea.
While we wait for the money to pour in, are you ready for…….THE LIGHTNING ROUND???
Yes!
Must have makeup item?
Red lipstickAnything glossy. My favorite shade is Dior’s Dolce Vita. But never applied without a nice lip scrub by Mac.
4am post drag food craving?
Omg always! Me and Gamma get dollar pizza after Industry at 51st. Best pizza ever!
WHERE IS THE BEST PIZZA IS ONE OF MY LIGHTNING ROUND QUESTIONS!
*Laughs* It tastes best when you are drunk!
Best part of drag?
I love everything about drag! The whole process of getting dressed! But I would have to say making new connection with other sisters.
Worst part of drag?
Removing the makeup after a long night and dealing with the drag tornado (the state in which you find your house after you left in a hurry)
Most surprising thing about you people might not know?
I am pretty much an open book.
Queen you would pay to see?
Courtney Act
Guilty pleasure?
Domino’s pizza when I am too lazy to cook.
Death row last meal?
Lascious Italian dinner cooked by mommy.
Last movie to make you cry?
Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe.
Netflix binge recommendation?
The Paradise. I really enjoyed that show.
Last one, most embarrassing song on your phone?
Oh dear!! Bodak Yellow by Cardi B
It was touch and go there from a moment but I am happy to say you survived the Lighting Round!
Yay!! I am glad
So in the meantime, where can people in New York see their new Miss Industry?
Well at Industry obviously! I am gonna have two bookings coming up! At Queen and at shows hosted by Tina Burner. And I have one Stonewall Invasion coming up. The last one was such a hit that they want me back!
Where can people find you on the interwebs so they can keep tabs on when those shows are going to happen?
My Facebook page, my Instagram and my Twitter and Trockadero.org to check on my dancing touring schedule.
What are some of your goals for the future as both a drag queen and as a dancer?
Perform more! Bring what I love to the stage. Inspire people and be creative. I am always working on new roles and hopefully I will get to dance them soon!
Well I think we have just about reached the end of the road here my dear but hopefully our paths will cross soon. Congratulations again on winning Miss Industry. Do you have any final words of wisdom to share with the WERRRK.com universe?
Just be true to yourself!!! It always pays off!! People will like you if you know what you are about and bring your best game to the table.
