Austin.Woman.Love.

When I moved to Austin in 2011, I was in search of a community to call my own. Reid and I accepted any and all social invitations. We would hop on our bikes and ride to all parts of the city in search of food, drinks, and adventures. One such night, we stumbled upon a live-taping of a local late-night show. It was being filmed in what is now called the North Door (it’s other name escapes me now) and I can remember being filled with contentment beyond measure as we found our seats, cold beer in hand, sitting among strangers in our new city. That is where I first saw the Sugar Foot Hustlers, a Funk-burlesque dance troupe. They wore big fro wigs and short shorts. They were every shade of brown with bright red lips and they danced with such conviction! I knew right then that these women were the community I was looking for - now I just needed  to convince them they were looking for me! A couple months later, I joined Sugar Foot Hustlers and had three amazing, hip-rocking, rump-shaking years with these wonderful women. The creative director, Ellen, can do it all. She can make clothes. She can organize your thoughts and your life. She can dance. She can choreograph. And she can write. Her blog, Austin.Woman.Love is a beautiful tribute to the femmes who have shaped her and I was so fortunate enough to be featured days before I welcomed my youngest, Zuri, to the world. “No perfect pictures allowed” she said, as she snapped away as I laid back, instantly transported to the night I first saw her on stage, in awe and ready to be in her presence.