Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

I highly suggest you check out these DVDs: A Wink and a Smile, The Velvet Hammer Burlesque, Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque, Burlesque Undressed, Pretty Things, and Behind the BurlyQ. Do a web search to find them, since they're not all available in the same formats. There are lots more, so if anyone wants to recommend one, feel free! There are lots more recommended in my book, as well, so be sure to check the resources for that. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/31o0RHQ7cvs&quot ; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31o0RHQ7cvs Play Ask me anything about Burlesque!

The Burlesque Handbook has been out since June, and people have been very kind in their reception of it. Interestingly, one of the chapters the more experienced performers have told me they appreciate has been Chapter 10, "Backstage Etiquette: How to Win Naked Friends and Influence Nude People." In this chapter I discuss how to get involved in the burlesque community, how to get booked to perform, and how to behave if you want to get booked more than once. The following excerpt is from that chapter. 1. Ask before you take pictures, and be genuinely willing to not take them. People who don’t mind being photographed doing all kinds of wild things onstage may not want to be photographed checking the crotch of their underwear for clitty litter. Or they may wish to be photographed only by professionals. This is not necessarily uptight of them. There are a lot of issues around photography and burlesque. And for god’s sake, if you post a photo online and someone asks you to take ...

People always ask us about our fabulous glittery lipstick. It's actually layers of lipstick and cosmetic glitter. In the video below, taken at my book release party with Storybook Burlesque, I teach Hard Cory the fundamentals: Glitter Lips on Youtube And, a more serious glitter lips tutorial: Glitter red runway lips Go Forth and Sparkle!

I've had tons of fun with Karen Abbott, whether it's been when she's jumped in to help at a student showcase at the Slipper Room, or doing a grand event at the New York Public Library . She's always playful, smart, and hotter than a biscuit. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview her about her newest book, a biography of Gypsy Rose Lee. Her first book, Sin in the Second City, was a fascinating insight into Chicago's notorious Everleigh sisters and their high-end brothel. Karen manages to make her intensely researched documentary work read like great fiction, and you can feel her enthusiasm for her subjects on every page. I knew her approach to Gypsy Rose Lee would be equally iconoclastic and vivid. You've chosen some spicy subjects for your books, and write about women who've been entrepreneurial from the margins of society. Do you find any similarities between the sisters and Gypsy Rose Lee? Both Gypsy and the Everleigh sisters were very c...