Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

  Happy Birthday, Dixie Evans! If you've ever heard of The Burlesque Hall of Fame, it's Dixie you have to thank. She took over the burlesque museum, Exotic World, when it was a ranch in the middle of the desert, and kept it going by starting the Miss Exotic World Pageant. This museum and event became The Burlesque Hall of Fame and The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender you'll often hear referred to as BHoF. She and Jennie were ahead of their time, demanding recognition, respect, and rights for strippers, and crediting the influence of strippers on popular culture in a way many people weren't prepared to appreciate. They were activists and advocates and we owe them so much. Dixie was one of my personal mentors, and one of the most powerful things she taught me was to welcome everyone. She always loved the history of burlesque, and celebrated new performers as the future of burlesque. Just a few months before she died I got to sit with her and tell her how I had traveled al...

Shopping for your first pair of feather fans can be confusing! Let me put your mind at ease. I’ll make a separate post about building your own fans. This post is written to help you understand what you’re looking at when you’re shopping for a pair of constructed fans. Also, this post is only about feather fans, so it won’t discuss silk, paper, or other kinds of fans. Common Feather Styles: Marabou Marabou, when talking about fans, is a special type of down feather – the soft feathers that lie under the firmer, shinier feathers of birds such as geese and the actual marabou stork. The marabou you’re likely to encounter is often from turkeys. It’s often used as trim – the light and very fluffy boas you often see used on the hems of nightgowns, for example, or in rows on the hems of fine dressing gowns such as those made by Catherine D’Lish. Below are some links to marabou fans: Standard 11-12 inch fans: https://www.etsy.com/listing/688901986/marabou-feather-fan-12-x-20-many-colors?ga_orde...