Speaking of Burlesque
Burlesque star and fashion diva Dita Von Teese is in town promoting her new book and album.
This book reminds me of the resurgent interest and reinvention of burlesque during the last ten years. The bump-n-grind and the swoosh of the twirling tassels is new again (according to Ann Corio's This Was Burlesque performer Carrie Finnell could make one tassel go clockwise and the other go counter-clockwise!).
Burlesque was a staple of the vaudeville scene in American stage from the 1900s on. Post 1930s, vaudeville declined (possibly due to the expansion of movies in the 1920s/30s) and burlesque changed to more striptease in the 1940s-60s era only to decline again as nudity became legal and commonplace on stage. More recently, burlesque has been reinvented and reclaimed by female performers (including Ms. Von Teese) in a variety of settings.
You may be familiar with Gypsy Rose Lee, possibly the most renowned burlesque dancer/stripper still in today's memory. The movie Gypsy with Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood is based on Lee's memoir (as are the Broadway shows highlighting Sondheim's music).
There's even some Canadian burlesque content.
Determining the dividing line between burlesque and striptease is difficult — rather like the problem of defining pornography (or good taste) where one is tempted to say "I'll know it when I see it".
6 thoughts on “Speaking of Burlesque”
Back in the 80’s we had tickets to a fund raising show put on by CABE (the apparen’tly now defunct Canadian Association of Burlesque Entertainers).
That evening remains a very memorable one for sure. The dancers were forbidden by law from full nudity and feather boas and costumes were amazing. As I recall, they featured dancers, bawdy comedians, a ventriloquist, live bands, and more.
Undercover police were in attendance to enforce the antiquated no nudity laws. They were painfully obvious and the butt of jokes and teasing all evening. It was especially fun to see a couple of stuffed shirts cops squirm in their seats…repeatedly as the performers outed them!
Burlesque is not the same thing as stripping.
If anyone reads this who was involved in organizing the event…THANKS FOR A FUN EVENING!
Casper — What do you see as the difference between burlesque and stripping?
From 21stcenturyburlesque.com
Q: What’s the difference between a burlesque dancer and a stripper?
A: A stripper makes money.
Thanks for reading the blog and your amusing joke!
Thanks for reading the blog and taking the time to share your experience – which sounds very interesting.
Casper here.
I am no expert, but to me, burlesque was all about innocent yet digestive teasing interspersed with non-sensual entertainment. You’d see more skin at the beach. With the nudity curtailed (perhaps partly due to the presence of the embarrassed cops) the whole vibe was one of pure fun, uninhibited and sensual at times. The dancers (male Ones too) really seemed to be having great fun and laughing. That was contagious. Just a great evening.
Best moment: a lady came out dressed as Raggedy Ann doll. She strutted around between the tables to some music. She went to a bunch of us guys looking down, flamboyantly making like she was checking men’s crotches for….signs of excitement. As with the other guys, she “checked” mine then patted me on the head. Good boy. The ladies howled.
When she got to the very obvious undercover cops (the only people there not smiling) she looked at their crotches, lurched back with an exaggerated expression of shock, (hand over open mouth) then put one hand on her hip and waggled her finger in their faces! Bad boys!
The fact that the cops looked super pissed off and embarrassed had us roaring with laughter.
I heard there’s some kind of burlesque festival in Toronto during summer. If you can do so GO FOR IT. I will be there once I find out more.
Great post, Bill! I noticed that the library also has the great 1943 Barbara Stanwyck film, Lady of Burlesque (based a pulp novel by Gypsy Rose Lee) available to watch in its entirety online: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?N=37907&Ntt=lady+of+burlesque
The Royal Cinema also happens to be doing a screening of the film on the big screen this Wednesday evening accompanied by live burlesque performance!