We recently connected with Arian Armenta and have shared our conversation below.

Arian , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I think a big misconception about being a performer is that we crave attention at all times. For me, my routines come with a lot of mental preparation. It’s give and take. The energy of an audience fuels me for sure, but in my daily life I’m very private and shy in a lot of ways and attention hits me different when I’m not ready for it. It’s silly to know I’m the same person in and out of costume, but Mars Attax! is a very organized presentation of myself and I’m choosing to be vulnerable in those moments. It’s hard for me to be vulnerable otherwise.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always been a performer. That part comes naturally to me. As a kid I joined every dance battle and talent show I could. I would volunteer to lead school dances and shows. (I remember getting to be the tip of the roof for “The Roof Is On Fire” in my 3rd grade spring dance haha) In high school I was in a dance team and performed during lunch and started making small videos around the same time. If a camera finds me, I WILL POSE. That’s always been there. The concept of burlesque came to me once my mom started to introduce me to the delicious world of transgressive movies like Rocky Horror Picture Show, To Wong Foo, Kinky Boots, and obviously John Waters, the pope of trash, himself. I was enamored with a world of fluidity, curiosity, and oddities. The concept of Tim Curry in full drag and a black corset reminding you to give into absolute pleasure? Yes. Feeling free to be yourself is sexy, and seeing that being celebrated in all different shapes, sizes, and genders really stuck with me. It’s a feeling.

Where can I harness this feeling of sensuality and freedom while combining my love of dance? Burlesque.

There was a point where I was taking classes here and there but I was shocked to learn the opportunities to perform weren’t gonna just be flying at me haha! I wanted to already be ON stage. So how did I get my first show? I made one. I went to bars around me asking if they were interested in having a burlesque show. I eventually got into contact with the owner of 5 Star Bar (DTLA) with the help of the bartender at the time, and expressed my interest and really sold myself as much as I could. He gave it to me. I remember rushing to my friends house asking her to help me pick a quick stage name cause I didn’t even have a persona yet. Then in Feb of 2020 I produced the first show I booked. I called it Lady’s Night because it was an ode to my original name (Lady Lux after Lux Interior). It was me and 2 of my friend’s bands and we hosted such a fun opening night. My first song was a combination of Little Shop of Horror’s soundtrack “Suppertime” and “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” by the Cramps.
My friends all showed up and it was the best feeling and validation to know I could do this. I built a crowd, I made the bar money, I organized the show, and I got to perform.

Unfortunately Covid hit and it would be only 2 more shows after that before the shut down happened and the bar itself did not reopen. I was so new to the burlesque world that I was too intimidated to join the virtual shows everyone was doing. I’m not tech savvy at all. So it was a lot of nothing for a bit. The best I could do was make the small videos I was capable of and just jotting down future ideas.

My performances picked back up when I started to discover more of the dance community. I began dancing with @acrostrip and @empowermentinheels who are both amazing dance groups. I feel so fortunate that the dancers I’ve come across are such kind souls who really want everyone to win. Making friends who are also dancers accelerated my opportunity immensely because now it’s not me feeling alone. There’s peers to learn from and to work with. Being around people with a common goal helps a lot.

I’m so proud of where my dance career is heading because it seems that I’m reaching a point where I can stop and look and finally see what I’ve built for myself.

I’m currently producing a bi-monthly show at the Offbeat Bar in Highland Park where I also bartend at. It’ll be a year of that burlesque show In February 2024. I’m around people I trust and I feel lucky my bosses trust me enough to represent them. It’s a show we’re proud to see has gained positive reaction and traction. My personal goal lately has been focusing on the producing aspect specifically and navigating how to fine tune it and keep it growing.

When I’m not performing or producing, I put energy into my other creative projects. I DJ,
build sets, direct, paint, write, and play all the time. To me, it’s all one working muscle. I’m seething with ideas and they have to come out.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My mental health plays a huge role in my daily life. It almost feels like I’m navigating two roles. Being a performer and being human. I know for a fact I operate a lot differently from most people around me. There are a lot of days I don’t have energy to exist. It feels like a huge game of catch up. It’s conflicting to have a drive to build a career but to also not… it’s a lot of self discipline and showing up for yourself. Which unfortunately for me is a easier said than done.

I’m a recovering people pleaser, I constantly deal with imposter syndrome, and the comparison game never fails. A lot of my survival tactics have interfered with my confidence and how I see the world. But if there’s any moment I know where I can show up for myself AND feel like myself it’s when I’m creating.

Whenever I’m coming out of a depressive episode or just self- doubt to any degree the light at the end of the tunnel always remains the same. Inspiration. It’s my favorite feeling in the world. When you have a single organic thought and a spark of a new idea that feels…possible. It just sometimes takes a while to find that inspiration but to me, the search itself is resilience. Because it’s the moment you’re brain finally shifts from “I can’t do anything” to “I want to do this”. The moment I finally get out of my head and can see the world again. When I get stuck, I can’t create. When I find my breath, everything I produce shows me bits of myself to myself and I’m grateful for that. The return to self.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Honestly, it’s the self expression for me. Being an artist provides me a platform and a variety of mediums to display myself in ways that words cant. I carry a lot of shame, but I never feel wrong about the things I make because I am simply sharing myself. True parts of myself. I’m proud every time I see myself reflected back at me through my work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mars.attax.burlesque

Image Credits
@jhotophoto @marilynespitiaphotography @mel.a.buenostro