DRIP Valentines

Posted on by Thor

After returning from Mount Dora, Terry brought her out of town friends to International Drive to experience DRIP Dance. DRIP had a special Valentines show that featured a full color themed diner along with the full floor show. Tickets cost more for this Valentines show but Jessica Mariko, the company founder, pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable show. Her boyfriend David Traver was back from being on tour. He composed all the hard hitting rock and roll for the show. We all had to sign wavers when we went in acknowledging that we knew we might get paint drenched. Yellow, Jessie Sander offered each of us a white DRIP T-shirt. I opted for the DRIP logo up on my shoulder. A brightly colored oxygen bar complimented the beer and wine bar.

As the room got crowded, and the music pulsed, Miranda Snow got on the bar holding a mango.  She did a sensuous dance with the fruit. She ripped it open and devoured it as the juices ran down her cheeks and on to her tank top. I never realized there was so much juice in a mango. When she twirled, the juice splashed onto the patrons. Dinner was served in finger food portions. My favorite item was the coconut crusted skewered shrimp. Instead of a colored beer, I went with white wine. There was a table with dozens of Valentines cards along with necklaces that featured a heart shaped bottle cap. Miranda began painting herself with red paint. My shirt had gone unscathed most of the night until she danced behind me and ran her blood red hands down my back.

Blue, the male dancer, Marcus Alexander Cartier, was performing for the last time on this evening. In the show, Blue and Yellow fall in love. Together, the two dancers create green. However, another woman, Red, Brigette Frias, catches Blues attention and they have a sordid purple affair. In future shows, Blue is being performed by a female dancer named Meagan Nagy. Meagan explained that audiences welcome the idea that two women dancers fall in love. If anything, it makes the scenes hotter.

After the show, John Frank performed on guitar. I quickly worked him into my sketch and then rejoined our crew. Everyone was paint covered and hot wired. what a night! I ended up leaving my polo shirt behind. Lovers will often forget an article of clothing when the want to return for more. It was the wettest, hottest, sexiest Valentines ever.

DRIP Sold Out Performances

Posted on by Thor

There was a performance of Drip on founder Jessica Mariko‘s birthday. Appropriately this was the first sold out performance. There was a waiting list of people who hoped to get in. The Drip venue is located in a dark warehouse and you enter via the loading dock (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Fl 32819, behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs). The place used to be an indoor miniature golf course but now it is one of the hippest spots in Orlando. January 5, 12, 18, and 19th’s shows were all sold out. A second show is being added on January 26th to accommodate the crowds.

This performance was so crowded, that I had to stand on my artist stool to see well enough to keep on sketching. This isn’t a passive show to sit and watch. The audience stands on either side of the huge warehouse interior and at times is involved by lobbing water balloons at dancers and at each other. The hip energetic dance has a story line that anyone can relate to. A hot romance ignites with a male dancer, Marcus Alexander Cartier, throwing blue sand and the female dancer, Jessie Sander, throwing yellow sand. Together their colors unite becoming green. The romance sours when the male dancer cheats on his partner. Jessie wakes up in her loft bed alone. She finds evidence that Marcus is cheating when blue jeans shower down red sand. With strobe lights freezing her frenzied anger, she rips apart her closet sending clothes down into the audience. At the same time Marcus and another sexy dancer perform a flaming, evocative and passionate dance. In a daze Jessie wanders through the crowd with a video camera and spot light following her. She stopped below me and suddenly a milky water balloon exploded next to my head soaking the sketch.

DRIP is an in-your-face explosion of color and movement backed by a live
rock band, all in an industrial dive bar. You may get wet … you may get
messy … you WILL have an awesome time. Grab a colored beer (orange,
yellow, red or blue!) or glass of wine from our bar and let us assault
your senses. There are special Valentines performances February 13-16. If you are looking for a way to impress your date on Valentine’s day, get to Drip for an interactive evening that includes a four-course dinner-by-color, where
each course is served in a special hue (orange, blue, yellow and red),
make-your-own Valentine station, full DRIP performance with live band and dancers who perform in paint, water, and colored sand, a white DRIP T-shirt for you to wear and take home as a splattered souvenir and a dessert party
with live acoustic music by Lance Herring and other musicians. Tickets
are $65-$90 per person and are limited to 100 people per night.

DRIP Splashes onto International Drive!

Posted on by Thor

Drip is now officially making a splash on International Drive (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Fl 32819, behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs).  The venue is a cavernous dark warehouse that guests enter via a loading dock. My wife and I have been to several performances and the show keeps getting more dynamic. The last show we went to was sold out and I have never seen the venue so crowded. Near the entrance there was a sign saying the limit was 264 people. There was a waiting list for people who couldn’t get into the show.

At the entrance you have to sign a release stating that you know there is a chance you will get wet and covered with paint. White tee shirts are for sale that inevitably got covered in paint. Some women had hand prints on their chests, indicating some creative use of paint. As I see it you are guaranteed to be in the “splash zone.” Once you sign the release then your hand is stamped with the Drip logo. Inside the bar and waiting area, Melissa Kasper was at a table with jars of paint. She asked what color I wanted and I got a bold slash of blue paint on my left cheek. I knew that I might get wet, so, to protect my sketch, I wore a waterproof wind breaker. I might have looked like a geek, but I was prepared. The bar offered various colored beers. I ordered an orange beer and Terry ordered a blue beer. By the end of the night her tongue was as blue as a panda’s. Jessica Mariko, Drip’s founder and choreographer was at the door to greet us. This show was a long time in the making and it was exciting to finally see it all come crashing together.

The show opens with a loud, raw and vibrant rock band performing live on the stage under a wagon wheel suspended from the red metal ceiling rafters. The modern dance focused on a love story of a young couple, who meet and breakup. The female dancer, Jessie Sander, strode onto the center of the dance floor with a bold beam of light behind her. She approached the male dancer, Marcus Alexander Cartier, with slow deliberate steps like in a wedding march. She was showered with yellow sand and water while the male dancer’s color was blue. Together their colors mixed and combined to create green. Sand was thrown in a wild dance contained within four clear plastic walls that were later removed and stored next to the stage.

With this sketch, I focused my attention on the band as they were back lit by strong stage lighting. Below the stage, lights raked their beams across the sand covered dance floor. The show had a bold energy that had the entire audience involved. There is no passive seating, instead the audience stood around the edge of the warehouse to watch. Water balloons burst against the walls sending their milky white spray everywhere. Several times my sketch got drenched and I had to wipe off the sand and paint. This show has an energy that is addictive. Tourists and locals will be blown away. This is the most hip show to hit Orlando and International Drive in a long time. After the show you can linger and meet the sexy cast while sipping colored beer. Marcus has really grown into his roll and the Jessie is expressive and energetic adding her spark to the show. If you want an amazing date night, this is the ticket for you. Performances are every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM.