After ditching on her coworkers on their birthday offers, going out with Rob instead for the special occasion, it was only natural they'd insisted she go out with them on New Years Eve. Aitana didn't mind really. Though she obliviously didn't enjoy their company quite as much as her best friend, Aitana thought they were perfectly amusing guys and fun to work with. Many long hours of hard work had been passed 'shooting the s**t' and otherwise joking around and besides they had a handful of things in common. Loud music and boobs being two of those things - which had made the particular offer for the evening especially appealing.

She met up with the guys around 8pm and caught a cab to the side of the city they were headed, well intent on getting far too blitz for any one of them to drive home. And by 8:30 the group was settling into the strange bar ordering their first beers and ordering a bevy of appetizers. It was unlike any bar she'd ever been to before, stylized and decorated, and not just for the festivities of the 'New Years' holiday. Along one wall of the room was a large stage, which while empty now, had shifting colors dancing over it as the lights rotated through their functions. Above their heads, tucked into the tall ceiling was a strange set of thick cloth ribbons - not exactly the 'new years ball' she'd heard so much about. The waitresses were dressed in what would usually be bedroom attire, cute corsets and booty shorts dolled up in metallic colors and laces, and they seemed far more flirty then even the normal bartender fishing for a nice tip. Aitana didn't mind this either, gazing after the sweet sashay of hips with the same interest as the three men she was sharing a table with.

As patrons filled the bar the Brazilian couldn't help be notice the fancy way that many of them were dressed as well. Men wore suits and dressy clubbing shirts. Small cocktail dresses seemed to the be the female attire choice of the night, despite the cold - and she wondered briefly if she looked like an outsider in her simple sequined shirt and tight pants. It was a thought that quickly disappeared as beer and food arrived however, and not long after that movement began on the stage as the show runners prepared things.

The Brazillian had not known what burlesque was, other than the simple explaination Josh had offered of 'Well... it's kind of like classy stripping?'. So her interest was perked as the MC finally stepped forward to begin the show and the routines that followed.

It reminded her of Carnivale. Lavish costumes, catchy and rhythmic music, sexy dancing, mild nudity, and a true feeling of the desire for crowd participation. Except it was on a stage instead of a float, but that just meant you didn't have to worry about the parade leaving you before the best part. At times the solicited whistles and catcalls were so loud you couldn't even hear the music. The crowd errupted as the dance teased the senses and the sensibilities. As one girl disappeared having finished her dance another arrived, pushing aside discarded pieces of clothing from the first act while she milled around on a small guitar playing playfully raunchy and silly songs.

For three hours they were entertained by an array of performers. One used hula hoops while she danced and stripped down to delightly hilarious tassled pasties. Another deftly and skillfully spun fire while shimmying to a arabian themed number. A male contortionist twisted and bent his body in ways that amazed even the quite flexible Aitana. All of it was amazing and wonderful, but none of it captured her attention more than the pole.

Throughout the night four different ladies took to the pole, each routine more elaborate and awe inspiring then the last. While the boys beside her hooted and hollered enthusiastically at each seductive wiggle or lost piece of clothing the Brazilian's eyes were locked on something far beautiful. The subtle tensing and shifting of muscles. The sheer atheleticism that allowed them to dangle from the pole held up only by the crook of an elbow or knee. The lock of ankles and legs that let them descend in a beautiful spiral without worrying about gravity and the ground abruptly stopping their fall. Splits and flexes made all the more impressive by the fact that they were being done 5 feet off the ground, the sheer power of thin looking arms making what she knew had to be difficult look entirely effortless.

And precisely at midnight, instead of a ball drop, the ribbons from above unfurled, raining down confetti as a beautiful aerilest in dazzling gold sequins spun and twirled herself above everyone's head.

Even after seeing it herself Aitana was uncertain of how to explain just what this 'burlesque' was. Other than magical.

She'd hunted down some of the performers as they mingled in the bar following the show. Gushed in English that was even more broken than usual thanks to a fine level of inebreation. But in the end it didn't matter. Tucked away in the pockets of those skin tight pants was a business card she'd hunt for the next day, when she finally awoke and recovered from the festivities. And as she and the boys finally slipped back into the taxi around 2 am there was but one thought on her mind. Maybe one day... she could make magic too.

((Here enjoy a pretty pole dance - no nudity!))