The Divas want to send out a huge thanks to all of you who came out to support Velocity Dance Center at the Next Fest NW kickoff last Thursday! The whole event was pure FIRE. We met some fabulous new friends. We watched our fellow Leo, Robbie Turner, take control of the limelight and bring out all of our inner Divas. We saw some break-taking performances by Velocity birds and warrior princesses. We had chocolate bon bons melting in our mouths as Miss Kitty Baby shimmied all around the floor. We even had a last minute Kiki with Miss DonnaTella Howe. By the end of the night, everyone at the Cabaret was stunned.

Not only did the event bring together a wild group of performers and art junkies, but it also racked up funds to continue Velocity’s work in the dance community. By the end of the evening, Velocity Is Burning! had raised a total of $2,200. As if that wasn’t a large accomplishment, a Velocity enthusiast then decided to make a matching donation, bringing the final numbers to $4,400 in support of Velocity Dance Center and the art of dance in general. A huge congratulations and thank you to all who made that accomplishment possible.

If you didn’t make it or if you just want to relive the awesomeness of the evening, check out this video below. One of the favorites of the night were the absurd birds, a performance put together by Annie McGhee and Rachel Grant. Many thanks to the fabulous vounteer, Miz Liz Barlow, who caught them on video to provide laughs and squawks for all!

Check out the rest of the photos from the event on the Team Diva Facebook Page!

Besides our usual Diva event suspects, Miss DonnaTella Howe and Miss Kitty Baby Burlesque, we are super excited to announce the wonderful Velocity Dance Center artists that will also be performing. These performers have an impressive list of artistic ventures and have quite a night in store for everyone. Read more about all of the NEXT Fest NW 2012 Velocity performers that will be at Velocity Is Burning! below:

Alice Gosti Goes VOGUE

Alice Gosti goes VOGUE
Alice Gosti is a 27 year-old space transformer. Born and raised in Perugia, Italy, she is the daughter of the dynamic art duo Sandford&Gosti. She trained in her hometown at Ass. Culturale Dance Gallery with Rita Petrone and Valentina Romito, and graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in Dance from the University of Washington. In college she developed an interest in experimental film and installation. She is an emerging dancer/choreographer/performer/filmmaker. Alice has performed in works by Paige Barnes, Keith Hennessy, Carolyn Carlson, PB_TMOG, Bruno Collinet, Jane Comfort, Laara Garcia, Mark Haim, Tonya Lockyer, Monica Mata Gilliam, Tiffany Mills, Amy O’Neal, Fritha Pingelly, Jennifer Salk and Ellie Sandstrom. This year she has received – the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance 2012 and Dance Web Scholarship 2012 for ImPuls Tanz in Vienna. Alice’s videos have been presented in group shows in Seattle, Perugia, Cascia, Spoleto (Italy) and Tokyo (Japan). Her choreography has been shown in Italy, Germany and in the United States. Since 2009, she has been curating a quarterly series of restaurant cabaret/performances at the Pink Door (Seattle). In 2010 Alice created the Spaghetti CO. saga. 

Jacob Rosen Plays With FIRE

Jacob Rosen plays with FIRE
Jacob Rosen is a Cinematographer born and raised in Lewiston, ID. He recently lensed the 2012 Fly Film ‘CB’ Directed by Nathan Williams, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in June. His work has been shown at SIFF, Northwest Film Forum, and One Reel festival; along with fashion blogs, including Norway based Paranaiv. Jacob regularly collaborates with Seattle based choreographer Kate Wallich; they are currently in development on their third short film. He recently just finished filming video instillations with Seattle based artists zoe|juniper for their show at City Arts Festival. Jacob has photographed a number of full-length/short Films, Commercials and Music Videos, and has worked along side and mentored by filmmakers Lynn Shelton, Benjamin Kasulke, Dayna Hanson and Michael Ragen.

Maya Soto Unleashes Her Warrior PRINCESS

Maya Soto unleashes her warrior PRINCESS
Maya Soto has been creating/performing/teaching dance in Seattle since 1999, drawing inspiration from integrating a wide variety of movement styles. Maya teaches at Velocity dance center and directs a full time dance program at the Arts and Academics Academy, a public arts high school in White Center. Maya creates work both collaboratively as part of NWDS and as an independent artist. Her work has been shown in venues such as On the Boards, Annex Theater, the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, and the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Her work with NWDS has received support from Allied Arts Foundation and Walrus Performance Productions. Maya has danced with LeGendre Performance Group, Big Red Dance Company, Amy O’Neal and SANDSTROMMOVEMENT. Recent work has been featured in festivals including Seattle International Dance Festival, the BOOST Dance Festival, BAM Artsfair, Arts In Nature Festival and Juan De Fuca Festival of the Arts. She earned her BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts  For more info: sotostyledance & nwdancesyndrome

Annie McGhee + Rachel Grant Ruffle Their FEATHERS

Annie McGhee + Rachel Grant ruffle their FEATHERS
Annie McGhee and Rachel Grant are both independent dance artists living and working in the Seattle area.  In 2011, these native Southeasteners teamed up to form the collaborative partnership currently known as Pidge + Midge.  As a choreographic team, the two have created work seen at the popular series Modern Dance Behind the Pink Door,and recently premiered Sanctuary, a dance for seven women in Evoke Productions’ Full Tilt 2012.  Fueled by their shared interest in honest performative experiences along with a mutual appreciation for bird behavior, P+M have embarked on a mission to create alternate realities in a proscenium context.  Get ready to see them shake a tailfeather at Velocity Is Burning!

Alicia Mullikin Is Crowned the Raunchy Queen of the CABARET

Alicia Mullikin is crowned the raunchy queen of the CABARET
Alicia Mullikin holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington where was the recipient of The Outstanding Dance Major Award. Alicia is the artistic director and choreographer of Seattle Performance Collective, an experimental music and dance collaboration which recently performed in and around the Seattle area. She received an artist residency from Velocity Dance Center for the development of her work in The Bridge Project 2012. In 2009 Riverside City College of California selected her dance Breath Before Failure for adjudication in the American College Dance Festival at the University of Southern Utah. She has since been a guest choreographer for the Seattle Academy of the Arts and Sciences, BFA Concerts at Cornish College of the Arts, Kinetic Conversations at Riverside City College, and the Fontana AB Miller High School Dance Conservatory, California.

Mark our calendars for December 6th and RSVP for Velocity is Burning on Facebook, and buy your tickets online ASAP!

The fabulous Miss DonnaTella Howe and Miss Kitty Baby

Team Diva is once again proud to announce that our resident divas, Miss DonnaTella Howe and Miss Kitty Baby Burlesque will be shaking what they’ve got at the kickoff for Velocity Dance Center’s NEXT Fest NW Real/Time. These two ladies have been working it like the true divas since day one and always give it their all for their audiences. Sexy, sassy, and stylish, these gals know are always a cornerstone of any Diva event.

DonnaTella Howe has been a Diva pal and resident performer for quite some time now. Having met her at the annual Chez Diva Halloween Bash, we knew she would fit into the posse perfectly. She fit in so perfectly in fact that DonnaTella (AKA Michael) is one of the Team Diva family’s newest Diva Dwellers! DonnaTella Howe is one of the central cast members of the Lashes Cabaret show at RPlace. She has been a full time cast member of their weekend show since 2008. Most recently we had the pleasure of seeing her work it like a Diva at the crazy hilarious Queen’s Brunch that takes place every third Saturday of the month in Columbia City.

Shortly after meeting DonnaTella, she introduced us to Miss Kitty Baby. Ever since then, we have been diehard fans of this sassy, sexy, sailor gal. Not only is she just a hoot to watch, but she does it all for charity, donating all of her burlesque earnings to supporting elderly burlesque legends and troops overseas through her own organization The Pinup Angels. As she peels off those pom poms and twirls those tassles, everyone in the room just goes crazy for her. We are proud to have her back for yet another Diva event.

We know we are super stoked to be having Diva crowd favorites Miss DonnaTella Howe and Miss Kitty Baby back for more. They have always been some of the biggest crowd draws and never leave the audience disappointed. You just have to come and witness the showstopping energy that these two emit to really understand. So what are you waiting for? Come check them out in one placenext week to celebrate Velocity Dance Center’s kickoff for NEXT Fest NW 2012!

Event Details:
Date: December 6th / 8-11PM
Location: Velocity Dance Center (1621 12th Ave)
Tickets: $15 online / $20 at the door

Our fabulous Diva Dweller Michael (also know on Capitol Hill as the current reigning Miss Gay Seattle DonnaTella Howe) made the jump from renter to homeowner/lover this summer after his rent was jacked up by $100. Joe Fryer with King 5 News asked us gals if we knew anyone who transitioned from renter homeowner due to the rising rents in Seattle. We instantly thought about Michael. The best part of the interview is the bright red bathtub and the Drag closet that King 5 News showcased in the footage. You can also see Miss DonnaTella chat about the same tub from her cute summer interview with us gals.

Michael’s experience is very typical of many of our new Diva Dwellers. The rents skyrocket and they find themselves seriously considering home ownership as a very viable and cost effective option. Earlier this fall we featured Michael and a few other of our clients who recently made this transition »

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Below is the transcript from the interview:

by JOE FRYER / KING 5 News

Bio | Email | Follow: @joefryer

Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:56 PM

Updated today at 5:47 AM

Robbie Turner performs as Liza Minelli at Le Faux

Team Diva first met the infamous Robbie Turner just about a year ago when we went to go see our friend Jinkx Monsoon at her new posting in Le Faux Drag Show at Julia’s on Broadway. We had seen Robbie perform so many times, but meeting was a whole new experience. We finally were able to see the radiance that is the (wo)man behind the makeup.

There’s no doubt that Robbie Turner is a local Seattle celebrity. With his stunning performances ranging from Liza Minelli to Lady Gaga, you can’t walk across Capitol Hill without at least hearing whispers of his name. I mean, this Diva sure knows how to work a crowd! A founding member of Le Faux, Robbie has been performing there every Friday and Saturday for years, never disappointing audiences and always garnering new fans. At Pride 2011, he even put on a show-stopping Gaga performance that had crowds talking for months. When a top-notch performance is needed, there’s no stopping Robbie.

That is why we beyond excited to announce that Mr. Robbie Turner will be acting as our host and emcee for Velocity Dance Center’s kickoff event for NEXT Fest NW 2012, “Velocity is Burning“. Not only is Robbie’s energy and pizzazz perfect for the peeps at Velocity, but his skills as a performer mesh perfectly with the occasion. Come see Robbie rock the Cabaret on December 6^th – and maybe even keep a lookout for a little Liza!

Mark our calendars for December 6th and RSVP for Velocity is Burning on Facebook, and buy your tickets online ASAP!

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. Every year we host a get together for 30 or so of our FIUTS students, friends and family, or as diva Mia pal likes to say, framily (your friend family). The holiday is our time to enjoy some fabulous food and each other’s company. This year we decided to reflect on everything in our Diva world that we love and are truly thankful for:

1. Diva Dwellers and Divotees: They recommend us on Yelp, come to our events, tell their friends about us, promote us to their moms, and are the reason we LOVE real estate. Cause they are freakin’ awesome!
2. Garden Court Peeps: The DivaHQ is housed in the “garden level” of Coldwell Banker Bain Capitol Hill’s office. There a few other brokers who have private offices on our level. They make our life awesome. We help each other out in times of need, pick each other up when we are feeling down and, most importantly, celebrate each other’s successes. This environment is what keeps us going, knowing that our form of competition involves all of us working together to do our best and be our best every day!
3. Interweb Real Estate Pals + our Power gals from Real Estate Nerd Nuggets: These are our industry power peeps. They believe in elevating the client experience, the power of creative and effective marketing, and the importance of constantly striving to elevate the real estate industry that we work in. Just to mention a few: Linda Aaron, Heather Ostrom, Anne Jones, Kelly Mitchell, Debra Trappen, Chris Smith, Katie Lance, Sean Carpenter, The Geeky Girls, and many many more fabulous folks.
4. View of Capitol Hill: Seriously – our office location is awesome. We look out from our Macs to see a sea of fabulousness float by. In the summer time it is a parade of Trans sistahs mixed with lost tourists. We often get to see Miss Gay Seattle as she hustles to her Diva Dwelling for lunch. There is the killer view of the freaking Space Needle, the topless biker chic, Santas dragging gold reindeer and so much more. Oh how we love Capitol Hill!
5. Family: Our family is awesome. Our nieces, nephews and our cousin’s kids make having fun and playing games magical. Our non-biological family, or Framily, gives us an immense amount of support to go out there and kick booty!
6. Rosie the Real Estate Pooch: On Sunday, Rosie the Real Estate action dog, spent nine hours in the back of the Prius as we traveled all over Seattle. But she was a trooper. She makes the office fun, calms are clients, and is generally our funny little office companion.
7. FIUTS – International Students: Divas love our kids. Our international kids are awesome. In fact we are getting ready to host about 1o of them for our annual Thanksgiving Feast of Goodness.
8. K-Pop and Kikis: The Divas get their giggle on watching K-Pop (Korean pop music) and Scissor Sister’s Let’s Have a Kiki videos. They make it much easier to deal with those tough transactions and give us party inspirations.
9. Team Members: Seriously – we do not know where we would be without our Chris and Ricardo in the DivaHQ watching our backs and pushing us forward.
10. Each Other:  We Divas (Kim and Chavi) are getting ready to celebrate our 15th year being together as a couple. Yes – we are a real live couple outside of Divaland. And because of this we are also thankful for the passing of Referendum 74 which legalizes gay marriage in WA State. Two very very good reasons to be thankful this season!

Come kick off Velocity’s NEXT NW 2012: Real/Time festival with the holiday party to end all holiday parties, hosted by the fabulous emcee Robbie Turner. The gorgeous Alice Gosti goes VOGUE, filmmaker Jacob Rosen plays with FIRE, Maya Soto unleashes her warrior PRINCESS, Annie McGhee + Rachel Grant ruffle their FEATHERS, Alicia Garcia Mullikin is crowned the raunchy queen of the CABARET. Sponsored by Team Diva Real Estate.

The Divas have serious house trauma when it comes to their living room. But let’t go back a couple of years ago and talk about the five different couches we have owned since buying Chez Diva. The divas searched three years for the “perfect” untouched mid-century home in Seward Park. We were the place’s second homeowners, but thankfully the fabulous mid-century detailing had been untouched by a mad 1980′s renovation – including horrific granite and cherry colored cabinets. Well we found the perfectly untouched green shagged carpeted mid-century rambler in south Seward Park. And boy – was it untouched. Now Chez Diva has a new roof, kitchen, bathrooms, boiler system, floors, etc. You name it! But what it does not have is one fabulous living room.

Problem Statement: Chez Diva’s living room is long, dark and oddly designed for modern living. It was built back in the time that your “formal” living room was meant for show and not real living. But we Divas want a “formal” living space that is for living and for show. Sexy, sassy and veristile for you know – a 30 person sit-down Passover Seder. The reason we have called in official help is that as of now we have been through four different couches, a host of lighting arrangements, and even more random design elements. The whole time we have just never felt “right” or that we were able to express what we want in a home. This summer Kim convinced moi to purchase one massive sectional couch for an extreme amount of money. Thankfully – the fabric was out of print and we had to cancel the order. Well – sometimes you need a professional and that is where the experts, Kwanchai – Jonathan Mathews Design Group, comes into play. The Divas need Jonathan and Christina to bring out the our personalities in our living space, create an environment for perfect entertaining, and more importantly get us a freaking couch by Thanksgiving.

The Design Team: The Divas have hired  Kwanchai – Jonathan Mathews Design Group. The Divas meet a lot of designers in our life. But we were really impressed by Jonathan’s intuitive sense of how to entertain at 2012′s Velocity Dance Center’s annual bash. Our pal Tracy really wanted a chocolate desert and Jonathan skillfully traded up desserts to get our girl what she wanted. It told us Divas that Jonathan thinks about his guests/clients the way the Divas think about what we do in our own lives.

Design Inspiration: We are fresh back from a trip from New York and saw a fabulously designed long couch with custom fabric at the Maritime Hotel. Yum. It captured the essence of Divas at home. Lots of spots for guests to feel comfortable. A little edge and surprise in the design. And simply fabulous design!

Hotel Lobby of the Maritime Hotel

Chez Diva’s Pinterest Board: We wanted to create a design board that captured what our home already has and at the same time capture the essence of what we wanted to see in our new space. Let’s just say we did a lot of pinning and pining for juicy home furnishings, vintage chairs, collectible glass and lots of Mad Men inspired lifestyles. See the whole Pinterest Board after the jump»

Chez Diva’s Pinterest Inspiration Board

Next Steps to a Fabulously Designed Living Space: Christina and Jonathan joined us on Friday afternoon for a little vino and fromage as we showed them around Chez Diva. They had a nice long chat and we discussed every room in detail. We talked about how we have entertained and lived in the home. They  measured every room and every piece of furniture. But more importantly we purposely opened the space for them to do whatever they felt the space needed. I know that Christina and Jonathan are not going to talk us out of our mid-century funky style. I can trust they see our overall sense of design and will improve upon it.

Jonathan and Christina Taking Stock of Chez Diva

Follow along as we document the process and let you know how it feels to hire a professional for your home!

Love Triumphs in Washington State

Well Diva pals, WE DID IT! Last Tuesday, history was made in Washington State (as well as in Maryland and Maine) as we approved same-sex marriage for the very first time by popular vote. We are so proud of our state for taking such a monumental stance on marriage equality, showing the world that we believe in equal rights for all. Now not only can we Divas get married, but so many of our loving and committed Diva Dwellers and Divotees can also tie the knot. Also, remember our friends John and Stuart that we met at a marriage equality fundraiser? Well they are already planning on marking their 35^th anniversary together on December 8^th with a fabulous wedding celebration on December 9^th, the first possible day for gay marriage in Washington! So for all of you wondering about the ins and outs of the law, here’s the breakdown of how it all works: Since the law has officially passes, it goes into effect on December 6^th. That day, same-sex couples will be able to apply for marriage licenses throughout the state. Three days later, on December 9^th, will be the first official day for all of those fabulous gay weddings to take place and mark the official beginning of marriage equality in Washington. Although we Divas won’t be jumping on the wagon right off the bat, keep an eye out for details to come- rest assured it will be the Diva event of the year in 2013!

We have been honored to be a part of the fight for marriage equality in Washington State all the way from the beginning to the end. It’s been a long time coming, but we couldn’t be happier to be living in a state that finally recognizes yet another aspect of equality under the law. Although it’s only one step in a long journey of full equality in the U.S., it is a HUGE step and as one of our favorites, Macklemore, says “it’s a damn good place to start.”

Check out how important marriage equality means to the Divas and Washington State in the King5 report on Election Day – the Divas are even a featured interview!

Diva Dwellers Sean, Hiromi, and Emi

Sean, Hiromi and their freaking adorable daughter Emi were introduced to us through my former co-worker (and Diva Dweller) Megan and her husband Cody. The Divas instantly fell in love with Sean and Hiromi’s little girl Emi. She is so freaking cute. During our search we watched her go from a baby who could not talk or walk to a proper rambunctious toddler who soon learned the word “House.”

Our search was not an easy one. First we had a disastrous short sale turned bankruptcy. And several houses that ended up being in a super high crime areas. But in the end we found a super cute house in West Seattle that is rock solid. Little Emi is waiting for her brother to arrive and has one freaking fabulous yard to call her own.

Here is Sean, Hiromi and Emi’s Diva Dweller Story:

How did you meet the Divas? The Divas were recommended by our friends Cody and Megan who worked with the Divas to find a great house in the Central District. We were on the fence about whether we could buy a house, and they told us how easy and fun the Divas made the process – no harm in at least checking them out!

What type of home did you purchase? A two story Cape Cod (I’m told) in West Seattle… it’s a cute, older (late ’40′s) home in a great neighborhood with a nice yard and lots of potential.