What's it like to be in a Mardi Gras Parade?

I’ve paraded with the New Orleans Pussyfooters since 2013. A non-profit organization of over 100 women-over-30 in pink wigs and corsets dancing in white combat boots, the group participates in over 40 events a year including our annual Blush Ball (which recently raised over $57,000 for New Orleanians affected by domestic violence).

The first time an adult dancing group joined the parades was in 1912 when the Baby Dolls of Storyville crashed the festivities. The “ladies of the night” dressed in scandalously short, ruffled dresses and drank from baby bottles filled with booze. The tradition continued long after the Storyville district was shut down and its sex workers moved on, though these next-generation Baby Dolls mostly danced in neighborhood second line parades.

Mardi Gras parades only featured school dancers for decades until 2001 when 37-year-old transplant, Camille Baldassar, was watching teenaged dancers pass and thought, “I want to do that!”

Since the Pussyfooters first paraded with the Krewe of Muses, over 70 adult dancing groups and walking krewes have become a regular part of parades during Carnival and throughout the year. Additionally, dozens of new Baby Doll groups have popped up and more established ones have been revitalized.

How long are the parades?

This question is often posed in miles. Most Uptown parades are 7 miles, BUT that’s not how many miles we dance. The Krewe of Muses parade is third of a 3-parade night which means we invariably start late and experience many stops. The procession may come to a stop due to anything from a flat tire, fire, or other mishap – and always pauses when the Monarch’s float reaches Gallier Hall to toast city officials. But the show must go on, so we dance in place. If the pause is extended, we may bring the crowd onto the street to dance with us and throw an impromptu party. This year, I did over 26,000 steps by the time we finished our route well after midnight.

By contrast, Sunday I danced the same route in the Krewe of Okeanos parade and only took about 22,000 steps. Why? We were behind float 2 (as opposed to 20 in Muses) and our parade was the first to roll that day so there was far less dancing in place.

When do you start practicing? Do you practice a lot?

If you’re new to our group, practice starts in September. Old-timers like me start in October. Different groups have different requirements but our group has to make 12 dance practices and a marching formation practice before the parades begin. We offer 4 practices a week in various locations so it’s fairly convenient.

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How do you do it? Is it hard?

Sure. The older I get, the more I feel my feet and knees. Sometimes it’s cold and windy. Sometimes it’s raining. Sometimes it’s all of that at once. But whether I’m dripping with sweat or stuffing my corset with Thermacare packs, there’s nothing else like seeing our city from inside a parade.

There’s a cycle of seeing someone smile because of me, that making me smile, and them beaming back at me as I beam back at them. Maybe they shout that they love us or that we’re beautiful. Sometimes, girls and women yell that they want to be us. During Muses, a man in the crowd shouted one of my book titles at me, “Know Small Parts!” Whether it’s a child looking at us like we’re superhero princesses or adults delighting in our cheekiness, their joy is infectious. Sometimes my face hurts from smiling so much.

So, yes, it can be hard sometimes, but there’s truly nothing that refills my well and reconnects me with my love for our city more than the exchange of our efforts for the cheers of our neighbors and visitors.

How did you become a Pussyfooter?

The easiest way to join our particular group is to know one or more of us. Since we’re primarily a service organization, we don’t hold auditions like many other groups do. In fact, we don’t even know if our new members can dance until we’re all out there together on the route. Being of service to our group as a volunteer is one way to get to know our members, but I initially met them when I was a celebrity greaser in the 2013 Royal Sonesta’s annual Greasing of the Poles. One of the Pussyfooters participating in the greasing was a fan of my blog and had actually recommended me as a contestant in the tradition.

I met dozens of Pussyfooters that day and followed through later with a member who offered to enter my name as her choice in the lottery. Chance favored me and I joined the pink sisterhood for my first parade in June of that year.

For locals - we got to parade behind the Scrim float! Long live Scrim!

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