Christine Geiger (from left), Micha Merrick and Patika Starr. View a larger version . Where... Friends add sizzle to hula hoops

Patika Starr and her two close friends, Christine Geiger and Micha Merrick, have turned these childhood toys into erotic props that give the sizzle to their new group known as The Emberellas.

They'll flick a switch and the hula hoops blink psychedelic, all pinks, reds, greens and blues. Sometimes, they'll hold the hoops above their heads or in front of their waists. Other times, they'll encircle their bodies with their hoops and become an intimate triangle, with their bodies writhing like a slow human wave.

But don't discount their sexy costumes, tribal makeup or cabaret-like moves. Or better yet, watch them wave fire fans, spin fire hoops or juggle fire-tipped chains known as poi. Taken together, The Emberellas have created a piece of performance art rarely seen in Greensboro or anywhere else in the Triad.

It's more like Cirque du Soleil or even the famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. Of course, without the striptease. But however you look at it, The Emberellas have given three local women in their 20s and 30s a chance to create four-minute routines that help them embrace sisterhood and sexuality.

But with The Emberellas, it's more complicated. They have incorporated athletic dance moves, using poi, fans and hula hoops, into what they've known and studied about burlesque and cabaret. Then, they practice for hours, sometimes before a large mirror parked in front of Starr's apartment.

"I want people to know it's sexy, it's a tease, but it's not showing flesh, it's showing talent,'' says Starr, formerly Christie Liggett, a 33-year-old artist who works at Jamestown's Castle McCulloch as its creative director and at Much restaurant in downtown Greensboro every Friday night as a fire dancer.

Third, the costumes. They've surfed the Internet and thumbed through magazines. They've scoured fabric shops, consignment stores, costume spots and even salons for hair extensions. Then on some nights, they settle in at Merrick's apartment and ... sew.

Starr met Merrick and Geiger several years ago in North Carolina's underground rave scene. Starr then introduced Merrick to the joy of hula hooping.

Starr bought lighted hula hoops for $150 and created her own unlighted hoops out of well pipe and decorative tape. She brought in Merrick, and they started practicing in her gravel driveway.

Last summer, Turner South stopped in Greensboro for its "My South'' tour stop, and Starr lassoed a 30-second promotional spot for her and Merrick.

Later, they later brought in Geiger. They came up with a name, started booking gigs in January and Geiger moved up from Charlotte two months ago to be closer to her friends and make a serious stab at taking The Emberellas on the road.

They want to perform in Toyko, London, San Francisco and New York. And they dream of buying a bio-diesel bus — like the drag queens in the Australian 1994 flick, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' — for all their costumes.

They need nearly three hours to get ready — makeup, costume, stretching and prepping their toys — before they start four-minute routines they choreographed to drum and bass, various electronica and the music of Squirrel Nut Zippers and Herbaliser.

On many Wednesday nights, they target Tate Street. They grab their hula hoops, slip into their exotic costumes and hit Lager Haus, a new restaurant near UNCG, to hear Global Repurcussions, a world music group that plays every week.

Sometimes, they'll bring out their hula hoops. Sometimes, they'll dance together in a loose triangle. Other times, they'll dance snake-like by themselves, eyes closed, arms swimming, as ideas race through their heads.

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