Melissa Lane

As the Five Star Boogie dancers vogue, juke, wack, pop, lock, step and breakdance their way through each production, the montage unfolds like a mixtape come to life. Hip-hop and house music soundtrack vignettes of nightclub drama, fashion shows, drunken excess, abusive boyfriends, dancefloor battling and diva posturing. A couple of buffoon cops hound the party kids throughout the production, providing a thread of comic relief.

"It's all the stuff that has happened to me over the last year," explains 32-year-old Czarina Mirani, creator of "Party Girl," the show making its debut at Hothouse on August 11.

The half-Indian half-Filipino bottle blonde moved here from Manila when she was 19, but you would never know that from her accent. She grew up attending American schools, speaking English, and settling for whatever pop culture could make it over from the U.S. "I mean, by the time it filtered down to us, it was outdated and pretty corny."

She graduated from Northwestern in 1995 with a degree in theater, and went on to study urban dance at Joel Hall. During this time, she also started a torrid love affair with house music. "I really love it--the music, the culture, the friendliness... Now, I try to incorporate it into everything I do."

Her latest project is 5magazine, the "only publication in Chicago dedicated to house music." The first issue went out two weeks ago. With local DJ interviews, rants about artist no-shows and people who kill the vibe, event reviews and blog-style recounting of nights out on the town, it exudes the same earnest passion that underscores her current dance production. Mirani doesn't mince words to explain where the mag is coming from: "We are definitely anti-bougie, and want to be a voice for the real Chicago house community and all the talented people in it who deserve recognition."

The name, 5, is an abbreviation of her production company's name, Five Star Boogie, which she founded in 2000.

She admits that she has always lost money on her projects and is hoping that 5 will be able to sustain itself. "It's all been a labor of love more than anything else." She knows she is lucky to have parents who subsidize her endeavors. "But," she explains, "My dad is impatient to see me start bringing some income in, instead of always the other way around." With some fancy footwork, Mirani will hopefully find a way to make love and music pay the rent.

Party Girl" plays at Hothouse, 31 East Balbo, (312)362-9707, on August 11.

(2005-08-09)

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