The art of the derby

Sure, you can find a traditional black-tie fundraiser to attend in the next couple of weeks.

Or, you can head to an event where you will be surrounded by women who wear fishnet stockings and hit one another.

The Pikes Peak Derby Dames, a Colorado Springs-based roller derby league, will host a fundraiser Sunday at Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. The money will go to support the nonprofit organization.

The Derby Dames formed in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2005, and the league has grown to about 60 women who make up four teams.

The sport used to be more like a staged wrestling match filled with colorful characters wearing scanty clothes and promising to rip one another to shreds as they raced around in roller skates.

But as roller derby is gaining more recognition as a sport, the women have cleaned up their acts - a little bit at least. They are members of the national Women's Flat Track Derby Association and have teams that travel Colorado and the nation.

While many of the women still don fishnets and garter belts, and have their own derby names such as "Slugs and Kisses," the competition is fierce, and the women have to be tough.

"We actually do the hitting. It's real," said Joanne Hasenauer, a Derby Dame who goes by the name "Emma Frost" in bouts and is helping to plan the fundraiser.

The women don't get paid for being Derby Dames, so they all have day jobs and are required to help raise funds to support the league, which pays rental fees for bouts at the City Auditorium and the costs associated with traveling teams.

Event organizers hope Sunday's fundraiser, "On All Fours," will help raise a lot for the team.

Since it's an event for the Derby Dames, event planners figured that it's got to have a racy name, a lot of laughs and some women sporting great outfits.

They hope the show will be appreciated on all of those levels.

The fundraiser name comes from a popular slogan for the Derby Dames.

"The Derby Dames like to do it on all fours," said Jason Zacharias, curator for OpticalReverb art hub, which is helping to plan the show. "All four wheels on their skates."

Along with an art show featuring photos taken at Derby Dames bouts, there will be two comedians and a fashion show with Derby Dames showing off clothes from local businesses.

The comedians are Chris Cox and Jim Wiggins, aka "The Last Hippie," who has been featured on "Last Comic Standing" and "The Tonight Show."

Zacharias hopes the comedy act will be the beginning of a trend to bring more comedy to downtown.

"We do art openings on a regular basis downtown, but to me, visual art is no longer enough. It needs to be a backdrop to things a lot more entertaining," he said. "We're lacking stand-up comedy downtown, and I want to establish a consistent comedy routine here."

The fashion show will feature 20 Derby Dames wearing outfits from five local stores.

All the women personally accessorized their outfits to try to bring out their character traits.

While the women might give a taste of their personalities, they have all promised to contain themselves for the show, Hasenauer said.

"No hitting," she said they all promised. Also, she said, they won't be allowed to wear their roller skates.

"We asked, but they said no."

DETAILS

"On All Fours," a benefit for the Pikes Peak Derby Dames

When: 6-10 p.m. Sunday at Phantom Canyon Brewing Co., 2 E. Pikes Peak Ave.
Tickets: $25; 387-7212 or e-mail Jason Zacharias at JPZacharias@OpticalReverb.com.