The Leanan Sidhe

Sometimes I feel a bit conflicted as a dancer. I imagine my persona of Sophia Ravenna as a film noir femme fatale. I can be sweet and flirty when I want something, cold and unattainable to those who can offer me nothing, and downright cruel to those who wrong me. You'd expect such a woman to dress in sleek 40s inspired costumes, with perfectly curled hair and ruby-red lips. And I like that look, I really do. But when it comes time to shop, I end up buying faerie-ish things, all flowers and vines and tattered lace, olive greens and earthy browns, because that is what I love and what I look amazing in.

I was thinking about this disconnect these past couple weeks, as I considered my new costumes from Tribal Fest. The only real femme fatale think I bought was a black lace choli, plus my beetle hat could easily be part of a vintage-style costume. But most of my stuff is very faerie/mermaid-y. What's a girl to do?

Then I realized that the faerie world has its own femme fatale: the Leanan Sidhe. This beautiful, otherworldly woman is a muse to poets and artists, a consummate lover, oh yes, and she slowly drains away the life force of her patrons. If she leaves them, they lose inspiration and pine away and die. She's, uh, not exactly the best role model in life, I'll admit, but she does seem to fit how I dance.

Really, there are many types of faeries which seem to fit the femme fatale mold to some extent. In general, faeries are fickle, sometimes cruel, and they have their own weird morality that humans don't always understand. They are beautiful, and can be playful and flirtatious, mysterious, alluring, or cold and distant.

If you'd like to see more of my faerie side, come to Legends of the Labyrinth where I will be performing as a half-human, half-goblin denizen of the Labyrinth. It's going to be awesome!