Doing The Right Thing with Julie Newmar

photo by: Alan Mercer

When I started working with Julie Newmar two years ago I knew she was an icon of femininity and beauty, but I did not know she was so ‘entirely unique’ and ‘genuinely special.’ Julie does seem to exist in a bit higher realm than most people. I am always elevated when I see her. At the same time she is a very deep thinker. She is exceptionally brilliant in so many ways.
I could not have imagined how easy she is to love and luckily I don’t have to. Now I love and adore her for the gifted human being she is.
The gardens are world famous and it’s always a pleasure to be with Julie in her most comfortable place on earth.

AM: What possessed you to start writing?

JN: I guess it’s like finding oil. It just flows up… towards you and then it gets in your face. It kind of oozes… into your consciousness and at some point you grab a pencil and a paper… and keep it by your bed and start taking notes.

AM: That’s how you started?

JN: Now I’ve gotten to the point where I have an editor because I have to get better. I have to improve for my sake. The heartland is there, the juice for the writing, the ideas. I’m a good picture maker with words. I’m also good in bringing to life through description.

AM: Is that a natural talent for you?

JN: I think it helps being an actress where you ‘phys-i-cal-ize’ the words to the point where you know you’ve reached an audience. You want reaction and that’s what we all feed off of, not just admiration anymore, but reaction, how to move people. There it is. So writing is essentially telling our own story. I know why I write! Most people live to eat and I write to know.

AM: That reminds me of the beautiful Christmas card you sent last year.

JN: You are a blessed angel for calling it beautiful. It was hell to reproduce. First of all I stole the image. Here we were at the end of this disastrous, greedy debacle in the financial world and I wanted a sense of hope, that wonderful word… so I looked for a photograph with a sky that had clouds clearing away with the sun about to come through.

AM: The message is so powerful. (It’s the age of magnificent progress. See it. Feel it. Be it.) You are always such an inspiration. I took the card and cut it in half so you can see the photo and the message and I matted and framed it.

JN: You did!?!

AM: I keep it right by the front door so I see it every time I leave the house. It’s just so powerful.

JN: Oh my goodness. Thanks….until next Christmas! (Laughing) Thanks for the encouragement my dear friend.

AM: I believe you met Dita Von Teese and Ava Garter at that last party. You know they love you! They adore you beyond belief. Ava said she was cat woman for several years in a row because of you.

JN: I’m the Halloween kid.

AM: How does it feel to you to know that you inspire legions of fans?

JN: Excellent. It’s the way life should be for those of us who are out there among the antiques surviving.

AM: One of the things you have written about is aging gracefully. Is that something that you feel a calling for?

JN: You bet! You better be. You just notice it, where we are. We notice how important it is to do the right thing. All the things our parents taught us, and if they didn’t teach us, it is three times as hard to learn. If you are not doing the right thing you won’t make it long after the age of fifty. I guarantee you if you are not doing the right thing.

AM: I agree.

JN: A lot of that is not, me first. It’s not… I’m the greatest. Do the right thing. Then the power within you becomes tangible and you can draw on it.

AM: If I am hearing you correctly you are saying that with every year on earth one becomes more spiritually aware.

JN: Usually that’s how it happens because you are not running the four minute mile. You are not breaking records physically so you begin to notice that what you are predominantly is much bigger than physical. Your ideal when you die, and you don’t die, based on what I said…if you have been listening.

AM: How do you describe it?

JN: I’m going to lift off. Let’s put it that way. The sheer joy of happiness, you did it right, everything has been fun…I’m smiling. I am happy…blessed dreams…and I am in a different space. No hospitals, no drugs…we aspire to that. That is a good goal for your finale of finales. It keeps you on the path, if you know what I mean.

AM: Do you feel like a spiritual leader?

JN: I’m not a spiritual leader. I am a spiritual being. I respond to you as the spiritual you. It’s the person I’d rather play with. I’m not going to compete with you or anyone else. I’m not even going to compete with myself. I’d lose. All you can hope to do in life is know that tomorrow is better “somewhere.” Why repeat what you’ve already done anyway and “listen.” I like your questions. They are very interesting.

AM: Thank you. I’d like to know what it feels like at seventy-five to look back over your accomplishments. Do they have the same meaning they have always had or do they have less meaning…or more?

JN: Good question. The answer is yes, they have more meaning because there is a ‘buoyancy’ that these accomplishments give my life today, at this moment. Sure I failed at times and boy did I learn fast not to make the same mistakes again.

AM: Have you always been interested in gardening?

JN: The answer that is clearest to me is that in a garden I was always happiest with my father.

AM: Does your garden remind you of your father?

JN: Any garden reminds me of my father because he built the three story house we lived in. It was built on a hill towards Los Feliz. It looked out over the entire city of Los Angeles. You could even see the Pacific Ocean. We watched Bel Air burning. It was an inspiring place to grow up.

AM: I find it interesting that you say the garden reminds you of your father. Wasn’t he the more cut and dry personality? Wasn’t your mother the more nurturing?

JN: Mother was more companionate. Dad was always, ‘Get up and do this!’ He was a football coach. That’s why I still have a straight spine. I do not slump. Do not put me in a C-shaped chair.

AM: When did you become known for your gardens?

JN: I would put plants on balconies when I traveled and stayed in Hotels. I would grow anything anywhere. I love to touch these things that God made. Every leaf is different. Every flower is different, all the colors and the combinations and the ‘this and that.’ You get down in the grass and you see the stuff that’s growing at the low level. My goodness is that something to behold! I can’t get enough of what grows on this earth. So what I do here is assemble it. We go to all the nurseries and we find out what’s new.

AM: Do you spend a lot of time going to nurseries?

JN: Not anymore. I’ve got someone far more talented than I who knows all the Latin names way beyond me in experience and intelligence. Now I’m the one who is on the lucky side. This really is one of the most beautiful gardens in all of California. Let’s brag a bit. For its size, it’s probably the most beautiful garden. It’s always beautiful here. There is always something blooming. Every morning I go out and see something new.

photo by: Alan Mercer

For more information about Julie Newmar please visit her web sites http://www.julienewmarwrites.com/ and http://www.julienewmar.com/

Carole Marini…Is She A Sex Machine?

photo by Alan Mercer

You see her every Monday and Tuesday night on ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ She sits on the front row and always joins in the standing ovation for her husband Gilles, after he finishes dancing with partner Cheryl Burke. Carole Marini is a dark haired French beauty, as you can see in the photos, with a seductive accent, that you will have to take my word for. She is a devoted mother and a supportive wife helping her husband of eleven years live his dreams. She is also charming, soulful, and funny, with a warm, genuine smile.
I was inspired to talk to her after I posted the interview and photos of Gilles during the first week of the show. I noticed how many people were interested in knowing more about Gilles and his personal life, thanks to Google. I also thought Carole would have a unique perspective on sudden fame since her life has dramatically changed over the course of the past few weeks.


AM: How would you say your life has changed the most in the last six weeks?

CM: Oh Wow…..

At this point Gilles steps in and says, ‘more sex!’

CM: Don’t put that in because he has been saying that everywhere and now it’s all over the internet.

Gilles then says, ‘well, is it not true?’

CM: Yes it’s true, but I don’t want People magazine to say that.

Gilles: You don’t want them to say you are a sex machine?

CM: Exactly, I don’t want that!

AM: Obviously life has gotten a lot busier.

CM: I would say crazy. Crazy good. Busy is good. In a little bit of time a lot has changed. Now we have people looking at us when we walk in the street. People just put a lot of attention on us. If I went with my boy somewhere before, nobody would pay any attention and now it’s, ‘Oh my God!’ Now Gilles is never home because he is rehearsing so much! He used to be home all the time for his kids. For the kids it has changed the most because they never have Daddy around, but it’s for the better.

AM: Have you learned any of the dances?

CM: Not at all.

AM: Will you learn them after he is finished?

CM: I don’t know if he will want to teach me. I would love too but he will probably be very busy.

AM: Do you have time to go out to dinner?

CM: We go out to dinner and get recognized all the time now.

AM: Has Gilles had any offers for after the show? Is he going to do the tour?

CM: There is no tour this year which is better for Gilles as he does have many offers coming in now. For now he is really caught up in what he is doing so he can’t do anything else.

AM: When does the show end?

CM: May 19 if he makes it to the end.

AM: He’s going to make it.

CM: I hope so but you know what? I will never say for sure because I would never plan on that. We take it week by week. I know he is good, not just because he is my husband, I know he is very good. Every week I am scared because you never know what will happen on the show. People can think he is safe and then not vote and then he is gone. It’s always scary because they create the drama.

AM: A lot of times we hear rumors about a love affair between the dance partners.

CM: There is always talk on line to say these things. I’m past all of this. Sometimes I read it just to see what’s going on. I know they think a lot of things but I don’t care.

AM: Do you read some of the things people write about Gilles?

CM: I do.

AM: Some of it is so stupid.

CM: Every person has there own way to think. I’m not going to complain or say anything about the way people think. People love all the contestants on the show and I respect that. Sometimes I have to admit that they are saying things about Gilles that are just not true. It’s not fair because he is working hard. He doesn’t see his kids and people try to put him down to make other contestants win. That’s mean but I don’t care about that either because I know who he really is so it doesn’t matter.

AM: Do you have any special plans if he wins?

CM: I am going to a spa without Gilles! (Laughing)

At this point Gilles brings out a bottle of Champagne and says, ‘This is for that night.’

CM: Unfortunately if he wins he will have to get on a private jet and go to New York. So we will not be here to celebrate.

AM: Will you go to NY too?

CM: I’m not sure because of the kids. This is something you can’t plan for. We are going to France to see our families and have some time in Monte Carlo. I’m sure we are going to enjoy it.

AM: Where would you like to be in say two years?

CM: In this business the big fear is to keep the family together. We are very down to earth and strong in that way. We are also very close. You never know what can happen and that’s the scary part. You have to open your eyes and know that in this business not many people stay together. Two years from now I am sure we will be together. I’m hoping for him to have his dream finally come true because that is why we came here ten years ago. He wants to be an actor and pretend because he plays like that with his kids all day long. I hope he will be where he really wants to be. That’s my goal for him.

AM: Do you think you will have more children?

CM: I had my first child at twenty years old and I am now thirty-two. I have two kids so most of the time when you have your kids very young you start enjoying your life around forty-five or you have your kids later and enjoy your life before. I have really been enjoying my life and the time with my kids. If we decide to have another child in a couple of years we may adopt. Perhaps a child who is four or five years old. We have had two kids already. I love a baby but it’s a lot of work.

AM: Do you get any help with the kids?

CM: I have never used a baby sitter for my kids. I am always here for my kids. I have a friend who takes care of them on Monday and Tuesday now and I thank her for that. I am scared to leave my kids with someone. I don’t have any family here. If there is no one to help then I say to Gilles just go alone. I will not leave my kids with a stranger.

AM: Can you tell me about meeting Gilles for the first time and what you thought?

CM: I met him in a club in France and there were like eight other women around him. I thought what a handsome man. We were there for a mutual friend’s birthday. I saw Gilles and we started talking. I said to myself, ‘this guy is beautiful’ and I know every girl was thinking the same thing. I got the lucky number.

AM: Did he pursue you?

CM: He asked for my number and then he never called me. A few days later I saw him in front of a café and I went to him and said, ‘Why do you ask a woman for her phone number and then never call? Don’t ask for the number.’ He showed me his phone and said, ‘Look I have no ones number in my phone.’ He had accidentally erased all the numbers in his phone. He then begged me to give him my number again and he looked happy to see me so I gave him my number and said. ‘This is the last time I will give it to you. The next time if I see you and you haven’t called then too bad for you.’ He called me the same night. He was pretending to be somebody else to see how I would react.

AM: So a romance blossomed from this?

CM: We started seeing each other every day. I got pregnant pretty fast. He wanted to be a Dad very young. I was in shock. My Mom told me that no matter what she never regretted having me so it would be alright. I also thought well at least my kids will be beautiful!

photos by Alan Mercer

Jason Dottley Wants Us to Dance

photo by Alan Mercer

Most of us know Jason Dottley from playing Ty in Del Shores “Sordid Lives, The Series.” He is about to gain a whole new fan base with his music, a dance single titled ‘Hit Play’ that is getting the attention it deserves. I had a really quick photo session with Jason on a recent Monday morning. We took the shots at Newell and Rosemary Alexander’s home. We got in we got out. Jason’s mind was going a mile a minute with countless responsibilities he had to take care of…..talk about multi-tasking, always risky with photo shoots, but Jason pulled it off with panache. I loved working with him and while the hair iron was warming up he talked to me about his identity as an artist.

AM: How did you get involved with recording a dance song?

JD: I’ve always wanted to perform as a recording artist. I grew up idolizing Madonna and that got me started. She was the first ‘gay man’ I related to.

AM: Have you been recording for a while now?

JD: I have had a few dance singles recorded by producers who weren’t right for me. I’m vocally limited. If the producer knows how to work with me I can sound great. So I finally teamed up with the right producer (Joe Hoag) and ironically he has won several Dove Awards for Christian music.

AM: When have you recorded in the past?

JD: I recorded two songs when I first moved to Los Angeles. The second single got me some meetings with dance labels but I was only 19 and as green as green can get. The material might have been good but they were telling me I wasn’t ready. At any rate, during every hiatus I’ve ever had, I would end up in my garage with my laptop in Garage Band writing songs just for myself.

AM: What is your writing process like?

JD: I start by laying a beat down and then I write a melody or I write a lot of poetry so I will start there. This spring when I realized there was going to be time I started writing six or seven songs literally singing into the lap top built in microphone. You can only imagine the quality of this. None the less I felt like the songs were good. I sent them to several producers and then my friend Debby Holliday who’s had 5 or 6 top twenty dance hits told me Joe Hoag would be perfect for me. We clicked and started working together.

AM: Did you have success with Joe Hoag?

JD: It was very experimental at first, and we had various results. We finally had a product that my publicist leaked on MySpace and I did not get any negative feedback. You know how we love to be negative. I’m guilty of it, but I got no negative feedback so I thought, ‘Wow people are digging it.’ There is positive feedback.

AM: What was your next step?

JD: I decided to do a surprise performance at the Rose Room in Dallas this past March, which is my home away from home. I did not want any publicity. I just wanted to perform my song and do my ‘naughty’ routine.

AM: What was that like?

JD: The crowd loved it! They went crazy. I had two women throw themselves on my runway. One woman pulled her top off and screamed, ‘I love you!’ She completely threw off my choreography. The response was so intense and overwhelming that it threw me. The very next weekend I was booked in Nashville where I was told I couldn’t do anything except sing. I couldn’t even touch myself.

AM: Did they love you in Nashville?

JD: The response there was phenomenal. With every step it appears like the single could be successful so I have had to take new steps like hiring a promoter. It was not an easy sell for me. My promoter represents an A list clientele (Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys) so he can’t water down his talent pool.

AM: Was he enthusiastic?

JD: It took two weeks before I got a yes from him. I’m just about guaranteed to chart in Billboard. My song has been getting played in Berlin. I have requests to have the song in other European countries. DJ’s are emailing me for the song.

AM: How did you know what to do to get the song played?

JD: I’m doing this the way I heard about from Lady GaGa. She basically toured the country playing any bar for free when she started promoting ‘Just Dance’ so by the time the song got heat behind it people knew who she was. It’s really hard to get any song and artist you don’t know played. I am using this as my template for the pre-promotional push. Once the song is actually serviced by the promoter to all the DJs around the world with all the re-mixes I will stop working for free.

AM: Sounds like you are really enjoying yourself.

JD: It’s been a blast. One of the most fun experiences of my life so far.

AM: Do you consider yourself a singer who acts or an actor who sings?

JD: First and foremost I do not consider myself a singer at all. I think you should be able to sit down with a piano or a guitar and sing. I don’t do that. I think I am enjoying this more than I am enjoying acting, but it could be a result of not working on any acting jobs recently. Is it that I just love working? So I am having to figure out, do I just love being in front of people performing whether it is on film or stage or do I enjoy singing more. I have more control in the singing. I started my own record label. I know that I love performing. Once I am acting and singing simultaneously I will be able to answer that question more accurately. Right now I do not know. I am confused in a good way.

photos by Alan Mercer

Learn more about Jason at his MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/southernbaptistsissies

Coming Up Soon A ROCK and ROLL LEGEND

There is nothing like a legendary figure to give your day a lift! Newly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one time paramour of Elvis Presley, Miss Wanda Jackson graced my life with her presence. I’ll have the photos and interview posted in a couple of weeks.
In the mean time go to You Tube and check out all her videos. There are many live concert videos from the last couple of years where you can see how the dynamic Miss Jackson is still hot as a pistol.
Watch some interview clips from the Smithsonian Channel biography while you are there.
Enjoy this video from 1958 now.

Gilles Marini is proving to be very popular and lots of people are interested in more of his life. Luckily I photographed his beautiful wife Carole so I asked her how they are handling the change in their life. Those photos and interview will be posted on Monday.

This time of the year is a perfect time to hang out in Julie Newmar’s garden and so we did. Wait until you read my conversation with this fascinating icon and there are new photos too!!!

Actor/Singer Jason Dottley (Sordid Lives, The Series) has a dance single ‘Hit Play’ coming out soon. He needed some ‘Pop Star Shots’ so he came to me. We talked about his experience so far.

Alan Mercer and Wanda Jackson

Freda Payne to be on American Idol

photo by Alan Mercer

Freda Payne has always been the embodiment of glamour, beauty, grace, and talent. Her 1972 hit “Band of Gold” is still played all over the world. When I first started taking photos many years ago I dreamed of working with her. I have been photographing her for eight years now. We did this most recent set by the pool of her Hollywood Hills home.

AM: Hi Freda. You are always traveling so where are you going next?

FP: I just came back from the UK. I will be doing a one night performance in Detroit at the St. Regis Hotel for President Obama on May 8th. Then in May I am at Catalina’s in Los Angeles from the 22nd to the 24th.

AM: How often do you get to perform in Detroit?

FP: I don’t perform in Detroit often at all. As a matter of fact I haven’t performed in Detroit in a few years.

AM: What does it feel like to go back to Detroit?

FP: That’s my home town so it feels good to be back in your home town.

AM: Detroit is suffering right now.

FP: Detroit is going through a lot of upheavals and down trodden hard economic times, as the whole country is going through now. But it’s still my home town where I have relatives and hopefully a lot of friends, and then people who might remember me and want to come out and see me perform now.

AM: Are you doing a regular concert?

FP: This is a one woman tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, who is one of the people I admire the most. There is also Lena Horne and the late, great Eartha Kitt, who I always pay tribute to with my impersonations. Of course with Ella I try at times to emulate her as closely as possible and at the same time allow my own personality and talents to shine through.

AM: Your career is as long and legendary as these ladies you mention.

FP: Wow, that’s a mind blower.

AM: It really is to me.

FP: Sometimes I forget how old I am. I lose track of time and the years go by and finally you realize hey I’m still doing this. I’m still a soldier fighting in the trenches, doing what I love to do, really showing my talent, trying to make people happy. At the same time I make myself happy. I fulfill myself and my spirit when I perform.

AM: So do you believe in destiny?

FP: Oh Yeah…definitely.

AM: You believe you were born to entertain?

FP: I think so. I believe when you are in your mother’s womb it is all mapped out.

AM: When did you realize you were a good singer?

FP: I didn’t know I had any talent or real ability to sing until I was twelve. I didn’t know what my purpose in life was going to be until I was twelve or thirteen. I didn’t know I had any talent or that I stood out.

AM: How did you find out?

FP: My piano teacher discovered it. She said, ‘Freda you know you have a lovely voice’ and I said, ‘I do?’ Then she said, ‘I want you to sing a solo at the next piano recital’ so I did, and after that my Mother’s friends started saying, ‘oh wow we didn’t know Freda could sing. We want her to sing at our next social gathering.’ Then I started getting requests to sing at dances.

AM: Did you do anything else to get experience?

FP: I started entering talent contests and winning. I was so impressed with myself for winning that I thought, ‘gee I can win stuff singing. I can make money singing too’. Other people kept pushing me to be a professional singer. I took heed to that. That’s how I push myself.

AM: You are defying the odds right now.

FP: I sure am. Number one is my age. Number two is I only really had two big records.

AM: Fortunately ‘Band of Gold’ is eternal.

FP: It is bigger in the UK than here. Everybody knows ‘Band of Gold’. I just got back from Liverpool where I stayed at the Hard Day’s Night Hotel in the John Lennon suite. There is a white lacquer piano in there. It is nice. The room is very well decorated with huge murals of John Lennon. Anyway I called room service and a blonde guy who looked like he was in his early twenties, brought me the food. He said, ‘I have to tell you that I love your music and I am such a big fan. I love your record’. I said, ‘How do you know my record? You’re a little young!?!’ and he said ’Oh yeah, that is one of my favorite records of all time.’ I was so shocked.

AM: That is the power of that song.

FP: The people over in England have a much stronger reaction to it than here in the States. Everybody starts singing along with it and getting up and dancing. It’s really one of their big songs. It stayed number One in the UK for six weeks and it’s been re-released over and over again.

AM: I just got the news that you are going to be performing on American Idol on Wednesday, April 22. I am SO excited.

FP: I am sooo excited.

AM: How does it feel?

FP: I heard my voicemail when I returned from London. We are still on the plane and I get this message from Steve Ford, one of my booking agents. He says, ‘I have great news for you. How would you like to be seen in front of 25 million people? I booked you on American Idol.’ Then I just held my breath because I didn’t want it to be a date I was already booked for, but it wasn’t, so I thought, Yes, Yes I can do it!! I feel like this is the breakthrough I have been waiting for. There’s no telling who will see it. That is the main thing in this industry. It’s about exposure. I know I need to be on primetime television now. I haven’t had that in a long time. This is a breakthrough.

AM: We all know careers go up and down.

FP: It’s the roulette wheel. I tell young people don’t give up. You’ve got to want it. You’ve got to starve for it and sacrifice for it, be willing to do the right thing. Don’t abuse yourself. Learn as much as you can about the business, take classes, do it all. Keep yourself ready. Don’t party too much. When you’re young you will do that anyway. Keep your nose clean.

AM: You are on a career up right now.

FP: You’ve known me since the eighties and you are right. The last five years have been a slow steady flow into the last couple of years escalating a little more and more. That’s why I like to keep myself in good shape. You never know when the break comes so you have to be ready. It’s a matter of being ready. Enjoy yourself and don’t get uptight about it. Live your life and enjoy what you are doing while you are doing it.

AM: You seem to be enjoying yourself and succeeding at the same time.

FP: There is a verse in the bible that says, ’Many are called but few are chosen.’ I just feel blessed. I hate to say it because my mother told me to always be humble but, sometimes I feel special, but I am not special. I am not exceptional. I just happen to be at the right place at the right time and the right things are happening. It’s almost like a miracle.

AM: I understand that actually, but I don’t want it to be a miracle. You so deserve this.

FP: I’ve been in this business a long time and been through a lot of struggles.

AM: Not only that but you keep proving yourself over and over again.

FP: Yes proving myself over and over. At least I try. That’s why I started doing the Ella show. I just knew I could do it. I felt it internally and it worked out for me. I started out as a jazz singer and went into R&B so it was easy for me to go back to jazz. It was like a piece of cake to me. I can also do pop music so if a producer wants to work with me I would be open to that. I’m accustomed to it. I have done it before. I would love to do that.

AM: That reminds me of the recent re-issue of your MGM album ‘How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore’. Do you feel separate from that recording?

FP: (Laughing) Somebody sent me a copy and I was playing it, scrutinizing it. I was really criticizing it thinking I could do so much better now. Those arrangements are kind of dated now. I’m my own worst critic. There are some songs that are good. I like ‘If You Love Me’ the Edith Piaf number, and ‘It’s Hear For You’, ‘San Juan’ and ‘Feeling Good’ which Micheal Buble just did.

AM: Your performance and arrangement of ‘Feeling Good’ is the best.

FP: Oh thanks, they were very good arrangements. Benny Goldson did those. He worked with Quincy Jones and Miles Davis. He’s an icon.

AM: Do you remember what the expectation was for this record?

FP: They were trying to find a niche to market and it didn’t happen with this one. Right after that I got with Invictus and recorded all my hits. I guess I really belonged more in an R&B setting in order to cross over, to make my mark.

AM: It’s so different today.

FP: Now they don’t wear long gowns and go for glamour in the same way. It’s all scantily clad dancers. It’s all production where as I go for singers who come out and sing with good backing. I like to just stand there and sing to the audience.

AM: I think you should do a show in Las Vegas.

FP: That would be great. People like to be entertained there. They go there to enjoy themselves. I could do my show there where it was in segments of R&B and Jazz, and contemporary pop. Who knows I may even have a few dancers.

To learn more about Freda visit her MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/missfredapayne

And her website http://www.fredapayne.com/

photo by Alan Mercer