BURLESQUE 101

A collection of information as seen through the eyes of Tiger RoxXx, burlesque performer from Greensboro, NC.

Please note: This information was gathered through various sources in books, the internet, DVD’s, verbal sources, and research. While all information is hopefully accurate, please remember we are just human and your idea of the truth and mine may vary… and we all love a good story~ so this is the way I look at historical accounts and the sources we gather from as well!

Burlesque is an Art Form that has been around long before the 50′s Bump and Grind. We often focus on the allure of the fringe, and the power of the sequin and forget the ancient roots of the chuckles of the slap stick, and sting of the satire that date back before the peel of the glove. According to Websters definition of burlesque the first burlesque may have been Aristophanes Lystistrata, that has Athenian women rebelling against war by using sexual blackmail against their husbands in 411bc. (Websters Def: a literary or dramatic work that seeks to ridicule by means of grotesque exaggeration or comic imitation/ theatrical entertainment of a broadly humorous often earthy character consisting of short turns, comic skits, and sometimes striptease acts) I even know some who puts the dance of the seven veils in the bible as the first burlesque, so everything is perception and opinion, I guess.

The Art of Burlesque has always had it’s place among people, especially the fringe class or underdog’s. The idea that telling a story about your life, your experiences, the communities struggles, oppression, and giving an outlet for your expression is an important part of the growth of society. In the 1600′s lower class out door traveling theater’s were prominent for burlesque, these dramatic short acts had a combination of comedy, satire, and drama. Performances were unscripted, held outside, and used few props. Since the productions were improvised, dialogue and action could easily be changed to satirize local scandals, current events, or regional tastes, while still using old jokes and punch lines. Characters were identified by costumes, masks, and even props, such as a type of baton known as a slapstick.(I know you wondered where that came from, didn’t you?) This was a way to address what people felt was wrong with society with little to no guilt, political and controversial issues where often a theme and made into comical skits.

By the 1800′s the Burlesque show got a little more organized and focused. Featuring shows that included comic sketches, often lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes and their music (particularly parodies of opera songs) were alternating with dance routines. Fast talking comedians laced with simple puns, short routines, and non-complex shows were common to this era. Then the Music Hall was born in 1844 when Thomas Rouse extends his public House, the Eagle Tavern in the City of London, by building a “Grecian Saloon” on one end for “dancing, singing, music, and other delightful amusements.” This changed the way Burlesque would be seen. The focus on the “other delightful amusements” grew strong!

The late 1800′s proved to a metamorphosis for burlesque, the balance between comedy and beauty began. But the rule in the business is, you give ‘em what they want! So in 1860 the stage production of The Seven Sisters is the first of several milestone in the development of American burlesque. The show features “tight fitting clothes” “shockingly low necked dresses” and “seducing and fascinating legs.” It is called ” a tantalizing piece,” complete with “descending goddesses on aerial cars,” and, “the girls that figure in it do their prettiest to aid in the painful delusion and snare.”

Another important and defining moment for burlesque is Adah Isaac Menken’s ride across the stage in pink tights and a short tunic, strapped to the back of a live horse, in the caricature performance of Byron’s poem, “Mazeppa.” in 1861. The removal of her cloak, partially shielded by actors, has been called by some, “the first public striptease act ever witnessed in a theater.”

The next major milestone would be in 1863 when in San Francisco, Menken goes a step further and abandons tights altogether. Wearing only a blouse and a modest pair of shorts, she may be the first woman in American theater to bare her legs.

Then the amazing Lydia Thompson hits the scene in 1868 with her British Blondes. Thompsonian Burlesque breaks through the decorum of the ballet and sanctions erotic vitality in the dance. It represents the point at which the image fuses with the person playing it. These women are not mimicking erotic vitality, they are living it. The British Blondes have a way with the dance, have amazing legs, but are scorned for their looks… but that doesn’t stop these girls! Their popularity is limitless! Can we say women’s empowerment?

Burlesque was gaining in popularity so quickly it was astonishing. Then in 1875, Anna Held, Ziegfeld’s first wife, disrobes behind a screen in a number called “I’d like to see a little more of you” at the Mason Opera House in Los Angeles. Was this the first American striptease? Other state that Mae Dix has the claim to fame later the same year when in an attempt to save on laundry bills she throws off her collar and cuffs while leaving the stage, and the audience goes crazy. Dix, loses her head and goes back for a short chorus, unbuttoning her bodice as she leaves the stage again. Dix is fined ten dollars for showing more than the script called for. She is asked to ‘repeat the mistake’ in successive shows.

Then along came another major change, ‘the belly dance’. At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago there were many burlesque performers, but Little Egypt is still remembered. (Fahreda Mahzor Apyropolis) Allegedly Little Egypt was so popular that she single-handedly saved the fair from ruin with her belly dance routine.

The 1900′s brought organization to Burlesque with the era or the Follies and Set Theatre locations. But would society really be alright with the controversy now that it wasn’t just passing through? With names like Minsky’s, The King Edward, The Midway, The Starland, Ziegfeld’s, and so on… it was only a matter of time before the folks burlesque were poking fun of decided to put a stop to it.

In 1915 Female Impersonation, a once accepted and loved art form, is attacked in an essay written in a variety editorial. This could be the floodgate that opens the public’s way to attack. In 1917 The Minsky’s were raided. Having to change their gimmick’s to play to a doubled edged sword, keeping clean and keeping a happy crowd was always a thin line. This is the year they install the first cat walk.

The lovely and talented Miss Josephine Baker becomes the star at the Folies Bergere in France and its first topless dancer in 1926, that year she earned more than any entertainer in Europe. A star of stage and screen, pioneer and entrepreneur, Miss Baker returned to the United States in 1936 to find those things meant nothing to a racist nation. She was quickly persecuted by the already negatively slanted burlesque inflamed press. This is the year The New York Times called her a “Negro wench”, and she returned to Europe heartbroken. She would later return to help fight racism.

The crack down became even more stringent in the late 1920′s when local city, state, and county officials instated their own laws in an effort to clean up the business. Tag line, stage names, and phrases are banned from the industry… is this a way to fine the booming business or really a clean-up effort? One would never know. “Hurry…you’re a little behind, Fanny,” “If I could go on the stage, I could be made.” are just a few of the phrases barred.

With the 1930′s comes the Great Depression. I am sure most anyone would have to stretch their positive outlook on life to find anything great about it, so let’s try to see what we can do. Main stream theater was one of the biggest causalities of the depression due to lack of money for traveling, props, artists, stages, and big productions. In this burlesque prospered, giving hundreds of out of work actors and stage workers jobs. It’s witty humor, political laced skits, small production needs, and risque acts were just what people needed to keep their spirits up~ so burlesque moved downtown! For the first time in history burlesque establishes itself in the cultural heartland of New York. This was about the same time that the shows slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the strip tease. Some mourned the death of variety and vaudeville when the audience quested the tease over theatrical skits. But true burlesque houses keep the theme, lacing humor and tease as the Siamese twins of burlesque. Minsky’s nourished the careers of such later headliners as Phil Silvers, Joey Faye, who was “House Comic” from 1931 to 1939, Abbott and Costello, Red Buttons and Robert Alda, as well as Gypsy Rose Lee, Georgia Sothern, Ann Corio, Margie Hart, and Sherry Britton during the depression, while keeping the populous spirits high. Seven of New York’s major Broadway theater’s start housing burlesque, and the city prohibits runway stage work as a way to keep shows ‘clean’.

In 1933 Sally Rand and her famous fan dance makes an appearance at the Chicago’s World Fair, setting the stage for beauty, glamor, and delicate tease that will never be forgotten! She was a well known pioneer of the art of tease.

While trying to give the people what they want, legitimize itself, and become mainstream may have been the right thing to do, it ultimately lead to the demise and legal defeat of burlesque. On May 2, 1937 Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s city administration, fortified by hearings attended by various anti-burlesque groups, revokes the licenses of all the burlesque theaters in New York. It was soon followed by many. The words “burlesque” “striptease” and even “Minsky’s” are forbidden to appear on any marquee. As well, the anti-burlesque civic administration in New York is responding to the Minsky’s attempts to transcend tolerable boundaries. Burlesque goes underground. It will take 30 years before burlesque regains its lost vitality.

Milton Berle brings attention to female impersonation through his TV show in the 1940′s, the burlesque world waits with baited breathe at the worlds reaction. Benny Hill keeps the tradition alive in the 1970′s! But Burlesque is only a shimmer of what it was.

In 1990 The Miss Exotic World Pageant, thrown by the Burlesque Hall of Fame is introduced! A statement of burlesque is back and alive with vigor is made as former stars, beauties, modern dancers, and the ‘neo-burlesque’ scenesters show up in all their glory! The event grows and prospers being deemed the “Miss America of Burlesque”! This annual event still goes on today.

Dita Von Teese is one of the popular American burlesque artists. She is famous for her fetish and glamour modeling, as well as her burlesque sense of style and grace, dubbed the “Queen of Burlesque” in the press. She started in 1992 after a history in the strip club, porn, fetish and glamour modeling. Like most burlesque performers she was know as head-strong, empowered, and independant~ even through her colorful past.

In current day there are so many forms of burlesque to be found. From what one would call ‘classic burlesque’ but truly is more a depiction of the “Strip Tease” sensations of the depression, to ‘neo-burlesque’ performers who are incorporating everything they have learned from history and life experiences into a classic routine, to Vaudeville, Variety, and more… one thing is for sure. It’s what the people want, and we are going to give it to them!

So here is to the ladies and gents of days gone by who paved the way for us with their bawdy humor, quick wits, shimmeys, and shakes, and for the one’s who are breathing life into the burlesque revivals today, the men and women who empower each audience with the story their art has to tell! We just want to give the art it’s dues, put on the best shows we know how, develop fellowship and a sense of family between performers, and allow people to realize their dreams… and that’s burlesque!

‘Some’ of the greats:
* Sally Rand
* Temptest Storm
* Abbott and Costello
* Jack Albertson
* Robert Alda
* Milton Berle
* Immodesty Blaize
* Jo Boobs
* Fanny Brice
* Sherry Britton
* Ann Corio
* Dixie Evans
* Joey Faye
* W. C. Fields
* Jackie Gleason
* Gilda Gray
* Bob Hope
* Bert Lahr
* Gypsy Rose Lee
* Jennie Lee
* Pinky Lee
* Dirty Martini
* Bette Midler
* Bettie Page
* Rags Ragland
* Sally Rand
* Lili St. Cyr
* Red Skelton
* Blaze Starr
* Tempest Storm
* Dita Von Teese
* Lola the Vamp
* Mae West