Can you do a burlesque number where you go from say, a gown to a corset piece or a one piece and end it there? Or... does it have to be down to pasties and underwear or gstring, etc?
To me, a tease is not fully realized without an eventual reveal. I have to do it all the time, to do demonstrations for morning shows and in bookstores, to show techniques and the flavor of a burlesque striptease, without getting kicked out; but that's not in a SHOW. But I don't think it's much of a tribute to the history of ladies who really did strip to refuse to go as far as they did. To me, striptease is the element that was left behind when mid-twentieth-century burlesque circuits shut down. Their variety performers had the option to move into radio, film, television, etc., while strippers were left behind or quarantined into the sex industry. And pasties and g-strings, after all, are some of the most unique elements of burlesque costuming, so it's a shame to not employ them and then end up wearing something that could be worn in any old venue. And for me personally, the idea of casting myself as "ladylike," or as anything other than a stripper, is repugnant.
There are burlesque performers who don't strip, and by that I mean performers whose careers take place almost entirely in burlesque shows, but who are not burlesque stripteasers. An MC or tap dancer or aerialist who works almost entirely in burlesque shows is still a burlesque performer, to me. But it doesn't sound like you're asking me about being a variety performer.
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