Fame or Famine

Yes, that’s right…she didn’t come to the Roller Derby after all. That does NOT mean that I didn’t find it an amazingly amusing and wonderful experience. I have talked with Hell Kat, one of the founding members of the Vaudeville Vixens, and she has told me that the derby has been making the change from spectacle to sport more and more.

Now in its fourth year, the Madison group could not be called anything but athletes. I can’t claim to completely understand the rules, but basically the “Jammer” (a solo skater) is supposed to try and get up past the pack of the opposing team of skaters – and their own pack of skaters is there to help, with blocks and occasional sling-shot moves.

So, to put it another way, it’s like what running backs do in football, except you don’t get a break between each play, you’re wearing less protection, and you’re on roller skates travelling at high speeds while everyone is out to knock you down.

Is it any wonder that there is a quickening of the heart when you see a skilled jammer weave her way nimbly through a crowd? I mean, it’s amazing – one second she’s behind this mass of elbows, helmets, and fishnet-clad legs, and the next she’s zooming out in front of the pack, often with a grim, triumphant smile as she gracefuly glides close to the floor, heading around the track as fast as she can to do it again. It’s the bastard child of rugby and figureskating, with a aggressively feminine overlay.

That’s not to say there isn’t spectacle – while the teams have uniforms, there is great variation, with special little touches (like “Mouse”, who after a particularly smooth jam flipped up her skirt to reveal a bright green “BANG!” appliqued on her rear). The names – things like Hell Kat, Harlot Bronte, Betty Bloodlust, and the aptly named (and I’m embarrassed to say it took me until the next day to get it, even though her number is 36DD) Gloria Stitz – are definitely theatrical, as is their whole attitude while at the event.

Perhaps the best part about this combination of theatre and sport is the diverse crowd. I’ve lived in Madison a long time, and have been a part of many different social circles – and I’ve never seen people from so many different places all gathered in one place. The cheered, they held signs, and while it may not exactly be a performing art, it has certainly evolved from one – and I’m looking forward to being their videographer at their next bout, February 23rd. And of course, while I support all of the Dairyland Dolls, as a Performing Arts blogger, I have to remain firmly in the Vaudeville Vixens camp.

VIXENS RULE!

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