Field Trip: Werk It! An Artistic Workout with Eddi Licious

2021

How do drag performers keep themselves so fit and fierce? Well—they werk for it, henny!

If you’ve been searching for a fun way to get your blood pumping, learn some new facts and have a few laughs while improving your dance ability, endurance and confidence, look no further!

Join Eddi Licious, Victoria’s premiere wiggly weirdo Two Spirit drag artist, as they take you through a series of range of motion and low impact cardio exercises while sharing hot tips and tricks about the limitless world of drag. Designed to improve strength and flexibility with specific focus on recovery and resilience, this full body routine is great for those who are new to working out, just getting back into it after a hiatus, or as a lighter session between more intense exercise days. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels, this series of exercises engages the body from head to toe in a balanced way.

Aiming to maintain existing strength, improve equilibrium, build flexibility and hone mental focus, this routine doesn’t require any weights or gym equipment and can be done with limited space—only a yoga mat, water bottle and comfortable shoes are required! Get up, get moving, and maybe dance a little like nobody’s watching with Eddi Licious!

Eddi Licious is a Lekwungen territory based dancer, gender bender, shape shifter and performance artist who began exploring Drag as an art medium in 2005 and hasn’t slowed down since. They are a member of Riot Grrrls Revue, Atomic Vaudeville, co-founder of King Fling, and winner of the coveted local titles Showdown Champion and Mr. Gay Vancouver Island 2015. A mix of deep thoughts, primal urges, weirdness and whimsy, Eddi is passionate about experimenting with concepts and characters as a means of promoting accepting and diversity. This artist was featured on Season 2 (Ep. 9) of CBC’s Canada’s a Drag (episode available on CBC Gem and YouTube    • Eddi Licious is t…  )

Social media links:
IG: @eddi.licious
Youtube:    / @eddilicious  

Field Trip: Art Across Canada
We are pleased to partner with a new digital arts initiative, FIELD TRIP: Art Across Canada. This new online platform delivers arts experiences with some of Canada’s most celebrated artists in a national partnership with leading arts organizations.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is located on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples, today known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. We extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live and learn on this territory.

Image Credit: Nice Lady ProductionsHow do drag performers keep themselves so fit and fierce? Well—they werk for it, henny!

If you’ve been searching for a fun way to get your blood pumping, learn some new facts and have a few laugh …

Key moments

View all

Gentle Wrist Warm Up
Gentle Wrist Warm Up
1:30

Gentle Wrist Warm Up

1:30

Windmill
Windmill
2:34

Windmill

2:34

Dynamic Poses and Holds
Dynamic Poses and Holds
12:36

Dynamic Poses and Holds

12:36

Warrior Stance
Warrior Stance
13:05

Warrior Stance

13:05

Side Step Shuffle
Side Step Shuffle
14:18

Side Step Shuffle

14:18

Grapevine Step
Grapevine Step
17:15

Grapevine Step

17:15

Leg Lifts
Leg Lifts
18:38

Leg Lifts

18:38

Quick Feet
Quick Feet
20:29

Quick Feet

20:29

Autogenerated Transcript from YouTube (if available)

Use CTRL+F to find key words if it is a longer transcript​.

0:06

[Music] hey there friends i’m eddie licious and today we’re gonna orchid

0:12

in this video i’m gonna teach you a series of conditioning exercises that are designed to help maintain strength

0:17

improve balance and hone mental focus the goal of this workout is to keep you strong and flexible for those stressful

0:23

and busy show days as well as give you a chance to let loose and dance out some tension fun right this routine can be done

0:30

anywhere no weights or gym equipment needed just make sure you’re wearing comfortable clothes and have some water and a yoga

0:35

mat handy will you take a moment to get organized and ready allow me to tell you a bit about myself i am a luqun territory-based drag king

0:42

and have been performing for 14 years in victoria bc i discovered drag as a young artist

0:47

and quickly found that it was an amazing way for me to embrace my identity as a two-spirit person while exploring a multitude of

0:53

characters that make up my personality and so eddie licious was born to me

0:59

dragon performance art is all about celebrating your most authentic self while playing with your identity in a fun and fluid way

1:05

i find that one of the coolest things about drag is that your body your face your grace itself

1:12

is the artistic medium and so the sky really is the limit you can be who you want to be and do

1:18

what you want to do and it’s all valid my friend i’m so glad you decided to join me today

1:23

so now that you’re here let’s get to work all right so we’re

1:28

going to start off real easy with a gentle wrist warm up just start rotating those hands

1:34

nice and easy bring your arms on up above your head

1:41

and bring them down switch directions if you want

1:48

hands in front we’re going to offer our story rotate around and bring them back to

1:54

prayer and out stand it

2:03

keep it going nice and chill just like that

2:11

now is the time to set your intention for the workout think about what your goals are in life what your goals are in fitness

2:18

how good it feels to get moving

2:24

and keep it going all right shake them out shake shake

2:30

shake we’re gonna get the shoulders involved coming into a windmill

2:36

engage your abs engage your glutes lean back if you want to make it a

2:42

little more challenging for yourself feel that stretch in your sides the

2:48

closer you bring your hand to your head the more you should feel it yes you are a beautiful windmill

2:57

a magnificent turbine able to power a small town with the energy in your arms alone

3:05

feel the stretch the power the warmth no fracking needed to fuel us up

3:13

few more

3:21

almost done keep it going

3:27

remember to breathe okay relax okay we’re going to do

3:34

a little bit of a chumbawambo move now you remember them again knocked down but i’ll get up again

3:40

something something never keeping me down yeah like that okay so you’re going to bend at the waist and

3:46

walk your hands down into a plank position and you’re just going to walk your hands back

3:52

up use your core to help you get up out of the plank position and as you come up to standing

3:59

try to roll up one vertebrae at a time imagine like you’re stacking them and feeling your spine lengthened

4:07

if this move feels too challenging today just come on down to your knees and walk it back up from there and keep

4:14

it going

4:20

this routine today is all about going at your own pace no need to count reps or go turbo speed

4:26

just find a pace that feels good for you we want to keep our heart rates up but make sure we’re doing all the moves

4:31

today using good form if you need to take a break at any time and stretch it out go for it you can pause the video or let

4:38

it play on and join in again when you’re ready no stress

4:45

keep it going

4:56

you want a little extra stretch when you come down go into a cobra pose look up to the

5:02

ceiling [Music] come back down and walk it back

5:10

up [Music]

5:16

remember to breathe [Music]

5:22

keep it going one more time one more time time to celebrate

5:31

and come back up to standing

5:38

nice all right okay let’s get those legs coming into a bare stretch so we’re just

5:44

shifting back and forth feeling that stretch on the hip the inner leg

5:50

you can do the move up here for a bit of a gentler stretch or if you like more of a challenge widen your stance a bit and walk your

5:56

hands across [Music]

6:04

feeling it in the ankles feeling it in the legs we’re feeling it

6:10

feeling all the feelings [Music]

6:19

keeping those muscles engaged [Music]

6:30

and back you might feel a little stretch in your lower back last one

6:38

and done okay coming into big big rotation so feet shoulder width

6:45

apart reach up grab the planet of your choice bring it in your body down around

6:53

and up back the other way down around and up

7:01

engage your core to help you get back up and around and feel that big stretch in your back

7:07

and hips and back and hips [Music]

7:15

a few more times you got this [Music]

7:24

all right [Music]

7:29

one more time one more time one more time and done all right

7:35

[Music] for the moves we’re gonna do today i really want you to focus on what muscles

7:41

each action is using and work on intentionally engaging those muscles as you go through the movements

7:47

feel yourself using and flexing that muscle group keep your abdominal muscles activated

7:52

and your shoulders down not up by your ears doing all that is going to help take some pressure off your back and

7:58

your joints and help your movements become more fluid and natural in this workout in life and in your art

8:06

okay feeling the blood starting to flow okay so for this next move we’re going

8:12

to grab our mats and come on down to our hands and knees [Music]

8:19

curl your toes under to brace yourself bring one leg up to your chest

8:24

circle it around extend it behind and then come back the way you came

8:31

and repeat really focus on engaging your glute when you extend and use your abs to help you

8:38

bring that leg back under yeah if you feel like you want more of a

8:44

challenge here come on up to a plank position and keep it going

8:50

get more the side almost done almost done keep it going

8:58

okay stretch it out real quick give it a little shake shake and shake shake we’re gonna move

9:04

on to the other side same motion and go

9:12

a lot of people ask me you know eddie how do you get a bikini body and i say it’s simple step one procure a

9:19

body make sure you ask consent if it isn’t yours step two put a bikini on it oh yeah

9:29

[Music] come on you got this one more

9:36

all right all right maybe a couple more and chill okay

9:41

okay who’s feeling sweaty already [Music] well we’re gonna come back up to

9:47

standing and remember the shoulders we worked a little bit we’re going to get them involved in a massive way so extend

9:53

your arms out to the side and starting with small circles coming back again

9:59

core engaged and shoulders down not up by your ears if you need to stop at any point during

10:05

this and stretch it’s all good this one is actually a little challenging for me

10:13

and then we’re gonna go opposite way coming forward with those little circles

10:18

keep those arms up [Music]

10:24

i really have a love-hate relationship with this exercise and i am feeling the burn

10:34

okay bend up the elbows bring your hands up and down rotating

10:41

that rotator cuff how do birds do this

10:48

keep it going [Music]

10:55

awesome okay reach straight up above your head

11:03

really feeling the heat now up and down at your own pace

11:12

challenging but not hurting engaging that core engaging your shoulders strong stance

11:21

deep breaths [Music] you got this bring them out to the side

11:28

twist your hands [Music] twist and twist twist and twist

11:35

[Music] make sure you don’t bring your shoulders

11:40

up when you come forward keep it going [Music]

11:49

no problem almost done almost done one more one more thing one more thing before we put

11:56

our arms down congratulations if you’ve made it this far [Music]

12:01

we’re gonna pull back pull straight back engage your lats feel your chest stretch a little

12:09

keep it going you can do this you can do this we’re almost there

12:17

okay rest cool i feel about ready to fly away now how

12:22

about you [Music] all right now that we’re nice and warmed

12:31

up just grab some water and let’s get this party started for this next section we’re going to do

12:36

a series of dynamic poses and holds on one side so make a mental note of which direction you go first and make sure you switch

12:43

sides for the second round for the cardio parts feel free to go as fast or slow as you like

12:48

as long as you keep on moving literally even if that means just walking it off for a sec this is supposed to be you know drag

12:56

king party fun time not a boot camp a promise

13:03

okay so first pose we’re going to come into a warrior stance you take your feet a little bit wider

13:09

than shoulder width front foot facing forward and your back foot at a comfortable angle

13:15

now we’re going to reach forward keeping our shoulders down not up and we’re gonna reach back

13:23

really engage your quad and your core as you reach forward and feel that nice

13:30

side stretch as you come back and reach

13:36

back

13:43

[Music] only go as far as you’re comfortable you want to strain your back

13:50

get ready we’re gonna hold the pose and go

13:56

flex that quad engage your glutes hold it hold it hold it breathing

14:04

breathing is important it’s good for you hold and relax

14:11

nice okay let’s keep it going and get into some cardio we are gonna do a side step shuffle kind

14:20

of thing nice and easy going one way and then coming back the other way

14:26

you can go as fast or slow as you like here and you can add a little hop if you like

14:31

just have fun with it this is a great conditioning exercise to improve your footwork

14:37

if you’re the dancing type and actually it can be a dance move in itself if you’re sassy about it

14:42

we’ll do it give me some attitude give it to me yes look like a butterfly

14:51

sting like a bee pose from your pose from a pose pose from a pose from my pose

14:56

pose for me pose for me pose keep it going

15:02

back and forth and back and forth and you got this we’re almost done and

15:08

back and forth and keep it going and back [Music]

15:17

okay do you remember what side your warrior was on let’s come back to that move on the opposite side

15:24

and here we go [Music]

15:31

feel that nice stretch you can be whatever warrior you want to

15:37

be are you fighting for equality self-acceptance greater diversity whatever it is starts with you

15:46

gather that good energy in and push the bat out

15:51

feel your body lengthen yes

15:59

get into a nice rhythm there with it

16:05

and now we’re gonna hold this pose yes you are a magical wario princess

16:12

god x flexing your ferocity smashing the patriarchy pulling in intersectionality

16:17

pushing out oppression engage your quad glute shoulders down

16:23

stretch and hold and done great job okay

16:30

okay let’s grab a quick drink of water catch our breath before our next cardio blast

16:35

here’s a fun queer history fact did you know drag as an art form hasn’t always been

16:40

received the way we look at it today in fact the sort of public awe sometimes

16:46

bordering on warship of drag queens has really only cropped up in the past decade or two before that drag was submerged deep in

16:53

underground clubs and back alley bars and even before that it was an exaggerated and integral part

16:59

of theater culture the fact is drag has been a part of our culture for centuries and every era and every new iteration of

17:06

the art form has been crucial to the shape and success of drag today you feeling rested feeling good okay so

17:12

let’s get our feet going again and our heart rate’s up we’re going to do a grapevine step

17:17

another great go-to dance move to get you across that stage so you take one foot in front of the

17:23

other cross it in front then behind and stop back the other way

17:29

front step behind step back and forth you can get sassy with

17:35

this one too give me a little arm action while you’re at it [Music]

17:45

kind of reminds me of the hustle [Music] yes all right if you want to push

17:52

yourself you can speed it up and travel a little bit less getting those hips involved kind of

17:58

twisting your body as you do it stay on the balls of your feet for this one if you’re doing it quick

18:05

landing gently and let’s go all right all right back and forth back

18:11

and forth [Music]

18:20

almost done keep it going give me some attitude

18:25

okay okay five four three two one [Music]

18:31

excellent okay we’re gonna keep our heart rates up we’re gonna move right here straight

18:38

into leg lifts you can grab a chair to help with balance with this one if you want we’re going to bring one leg up extend

18:45

it out bring it back open it to the side back in again and down

18:55

and again you bring it up extend back open in

19:02

and down keep it going and really engage your core here that’ll help keep you from falling over

19:10

a neat trick i’ve learned is actually that if you touch your belly button it somehow magically improves your balance i don’t know how that works

19:17

but i do love a good body hack so i’ve never questioned it remember folks i am a drag performer not

19:23

a doctor or even a fitness instructor for that matter hurry and keep it going

19:32

okay doing that burn getting ready to hold the pose ooh which

19:39

pose are we gonna hold here [Music] well it’s up to you if you’re comfortable you can come into a straight

19:47

pose your knee up like this

19:52

bring it down shake it up for a quick sec you can go full out and extend that leg all the way

19:59

squeeze that quad squeeze the glute flex your abs concentrate we’re almost

20:07

done and release that leg down excellent remember you can stop at any

20:16

moment and take a quick drink of water if you like walk it off

20:22

but if you’re ready to keep going let’s do it and dance time we’re gonna do some quick

20:29

feet for that cardio burn so imagine you have a little square on the floor and i want you to step

20:35

in with one foot in with the other foot then out and up in and in

20:42

out and up as you start to speed it up keep on the balls of your feet and

20:48

engage those calf muscles and quads oh dna and out as fast as you

20:54

want faster slows you’re comfortable with you

20:59

can give me some attitude on this one have fun with your arms stay up on the balls of your feet

21:06

keep a little little bend in the knee going so you don’t hurt your knees as long as you’re moving your feet quick

21:15

this one makes me feel like a football player

21:22

and keep it going i’m almost there i believe in you

21:29

i believe i believe

21:34

breathing

21:40

okay almost there and we’re gonna do leg lifts on the other

21:47

side so hopefully you’re keeping track of which side you started with grab that sip of water stretch it out a

21:53

little bit get ready you know what’s coming okay

21:59

and let’s go extend

22:06

keep it going get a nice steady pace

22:15

fun fact traditionally drag has been a way of performing exaggerated aspects of gender

22:21

often with artists impersonating the opposite gender to the one they identify as in relatively recent years however the

22:28

art forms become much less binary with many artists opting to call themselves drag things drag performers or even drag monsters

22:36

it’s also becoming more common for the same performer to create characters at both ends of the gender spectrum

22:41

and often somewhere in the middle the terms drag king and queen are both extremely widely used and well

22:48

known but the art form has been shifting to include many more gender identities for the traditional male and female

22:54

impersonations if you decide to try it out remember that you’re not bound by any limitations and all drag is valid

23:01

now pick that leg up and come into a nice engaged pull

23:08

and breathe and squeeze these abs try to get your leg up higher if you can

23:16

[Music] almost done and step down

23:24

very nice okay have you figured out the order of things now again it is time to boogie

23:32

we’re gonna drop down and get the hips involved when our foot steps out of the box and we’re also going to switch the

23:38

rhythm a tiny bit so instead of going one two one two one

23:43

two one two one two one it’s gonna be one two one two one two one two one two

23:50

one two one two one two one two you dig okay so let’s speed it up and dropping that hip on the way out

23:57

adding some attitude yeah we like attitude here it’s good

24:04

[Music] you can really add your own personal flair in these cardio sections

24:11

real those treats fancy footwork

24:18

try to get those hips nice and loose [Music]

24:29

god god good keep it going [Music]

24:42

keep going the board of this you can switch back to our little grapevine step for a little modification

24:50

a little interest three two one and rest

24:58

nice okay so let’s take a minute now to give our quads some love

25:05

since they’ve been doing a lot of the heavy lifting for us so far again for this exercise you can grab a

25:10

chair to help with balance so go ahead and do that right now if you need to

25:16

[Music] we’re going to take our foot in one hand and reach forward as we stretch it out

25:24

and come back to neutral and reach again

25:30

this one’s also great for the hamstring and again of course a very nice way to improve balance

25:36

[Music] as you come forward you can use that arm to help you stabilize

25:42

and remember to keep a steady pace but make sure it’s comfortable for you

25:50

reaching keep your hips square

25:56

you don’t want your leg to come out to the side like a dog peeing on a tree

26:01

get ready and hold there you go

26:17

and relax all right we’re gonna go right into the other side so grab that other leg

26:24

bring it on up and stretch forward same thing

26:31

and don’t forget about your belly button it’s a good trick fun fact while the term drag king was

26:38

first cited in print in 1972 the practice of male impersonation goes back much further it was a common tradition

26:45

in theater as early as the 1700s the first popular male impersonator in the u.s theater was annie hindell who

26:51

started performing in new york in 1867. british music hall performer vesta tilly was

26:57

also active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a male impersonator blues singer gladys bentley performed in

27:02

male attire in new york los angeles and san francisco from the twenties to the forties stormmay de la hoya performed in male

27:09

drag along with female impersonators at the jewel box review in the fifties and sixties as documented in the film

27:15

stormy the lady of the jewel box okay now we’re gonna come into that hold

27:22

remember the belly button remember your breath

27:27

keep that shoulder down that’s reaching out there three two one and relax

27:37

all right now can anybody guess what time it is dance party time i do love a good dance

27:43

party if you need some water now is the time to grab it stretch out anything that’s

27:49

feeling funny on you and get ready to come into about five minutes of super fun party

27:56

time density dance stuff we’re gonna do four different moves i’m gonna break

28:01

them down and we’re gonna speed it up and keep going through the motions

28:07

remember to have fun with this one this one feel free to get a silly or serious as you like okay we’re gonna start shifting our

28:16

weight forward and back as we bring our arms front bring them around

28:21

and other side step around and forward around

28:29

and forward around and forward and speed it up

28:36

[Music]

28:42

yes [Music]

28:51

keep it going [Music] and then we’re going to go into the next one and

28:58

bring it around elbows out and around elbows out and around elbows out

29:04

and around and fast

29:14

[Music] a little squat happening on this getting

29:20

that blood pumping again [Music] back to the first move fourth

29:28

[Music] and second

29:43

okay for the next one we’re going to bring our leg up other leg up and double it up

29:50

up up double it up use your abs

29:57

as your leg comes up punch down and get ready to speed it up

30:10

[Music]

30:17

nice going and i’m back to the beginning

30:26

[Music] and second move

30:40

and hit

30:48

nice okay next move i’m gonna kick your leg out

30:54

as you punch with the opposite arm

30:59

with the opposite if we arms it up we’re going to add a little hop in there

31:09

kick kick kick kick kick [Music]

31:16

kick [Music]

31:24

and back to the start from the top

31:33

and hit [Music]

31:43

and switch

31:50

[Music] and switch

32:02

and switch from the top [Applause] [Music]

32:12

and switch [Music]

32:21

and switch

32:30

and switch [Music]

32:40

one last time from the top feeling it

32:45

[Music] last one give it your all and switch

32:57

[Music] and switch

33:03

you’re killing it i would not want to dance battle with

33:09

you and switch [Music]

33:18

and done great job it’s definitely definitely time for a

33:25

little water and a little stretchy stretch

33:40

all right everybody we’re almost finished for today so take a big deep breath and come on

33:45

down to your friend matt i don’t know about you but i’ve had

33:51

enough of being on my feet hope none of you dragsters opted to do this routine in stilettos

33:57

though i know some of you probably could hashtag drag queens are superhumans

34:05

okay so we’re going to come into a popular move known as bird dog which i always call wolf and raven in my

34:11

head because ravens are actually known as wolf birds in some circles the reason for this is that in nature

34:18

wolves and ravens work together to find food the raven will fly around until they find a food source and call to the wolf

34:24

to let them know there’s good hunting there i’ve always just found that so inspiring to think that

34:29

two such very different species can get along and work so well together some food for

34:36

thought for us humans am i right okay anyway so to be the raven we’re

34:41

going to come down on all fours curl our toes under to brace ourselves and extend one arm straight out at the

34:49

same time as the opposite leg and then we’re gonna go into wolf as we

34:54

curl into a strong crunch position engage your glute and pec muscle as you

35:01

extend and use your abs to bring it back in

35:08

extend and in

35:13

and keep it going friendly reminder to keep your shoulder

35:19

down not up so you’re crunching your neck in [Music]

35:24

good and keep it going

35:32

[Music] be mindful of your back really feel that

35:39

flat [Music] this one’s really a full body burn and

35:44

we’re gonna hold that pose get ready and hold it

35:50

[Music] squeeze the glute raise that arm up

35:58

and release it before we do the other side just come back into child’s pose

36:03

and give your back a little bit of a stretch

36:10

back up to your hands and knees stretch anything you need a little

36:16

rotation erase yourselves hit the other side

36:29

strong extension reach reach out there

36:42

keep that going keep a nice flow going deep breaths and get ready to hold it

36:50

and here we go

36:55

keep that core engaged and relax

37:04

nice very good you have done an amazing job today thank

37:10

you for sticking with me we are almost at the end and last but certainly not least

37:15

we’re going to give a little action to our abs take a seat on your mat

37:23

feet shoulder width apart heels digging into the ground and we’re just gonna bring that shoulder

37:28

back and then the other one for this move you

37:34

really want to focus on engaging your core it’s going to work your transverse abs at the same time that you’re getting a

37:39

nice stretch on your shoulders you can do this as fast or slow as you

37:45

like you want to stretch it out real long

37:51

feel free just keep that core engaged and remember to breathe

37:57

think about that belly button

38:04

[Music]

38:11

and done nice laying flat on your back

38:18

give a nice long big stretch [Music]

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bring your knees up we’re just going to come into some slow crunches nice and easy

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keep your elbows back your hands by your ears supporting your head but not pulling up

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and putting pressure on your neck these are just small crunches we’re not sitting all the way up

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nice and easy isolating those core muscles that have been so very good to us today

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help us stay tall and strong

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and relax for just a sec there and then we’re gonna engage the lower

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abs which is a little bit of a tough isolation for some people but just do your best just focus on pulling the lower up in

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and bringing your knees up and down

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one that’s more challenging you can extend your legs straight out

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two more and last one amazing work today

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you did it i hope you feel recharged and ready to tackle whatever comes your way

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that was not easy i’m gonna end this with a nice little full body stretch that i

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highly recommend just will help you be less sore tomorrow so

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again we’re going to start on our mats

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so

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so [Music]

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so [Music]

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you

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