Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

As if body language wasn't enough, Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand were both delightful speakers, clever and quick and shameless. It's sometimes hard to explain why a particular stripteaser or fan dancer is so enchanting when what they actually do is not unique. For me, a huge part of the beauty and importance of a number is not a skill set--perfect dance timing is more important for the chorus than the lead, and virtuousity can become monotonous to watch. But personality is the singular force that drives a great entertainer, and it's vividly portrayed in both of these clips. Enjoy! Gypsy Rose Lee Sally Rand

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...

Patience and Fortitude, cover your eyes! Above: Gypsy Rose Lee. Image Source. GYPSY ROSE LEE: AN AMERICAN ICON LAID BARE Saturday, January 8, 2011 - 7:00 PM EST Tickets and information January 8, 2011 is Gypsy Rose Lee’s 100th birthday! The New York Public Library “Live” series—the same program that brought you Keith Richards and Jay-Z—now brings Gypsy Rose Lee to life. On Saturday, January 8, “Live” will launch its spring season with a centennial bash honoring Gypsy Rose Lee, subject of the greatest musical in American history, novelist, playwright, New Yorker essayist, fashion icon, actress, activist, legend, member of New York’s literati, and in the words of H.L. Mencken, world-famous “ecdysiast.” Expect an evening that will be tremendous, fun, rowdy, risqué, serious, high, low, and everything in between—just like Gypsy herself—featuring striptease performances from America’s top burlesque stars, dramatic readings from never-before-published letters in Gypsy’s archives (wh...

Finally, biographies about Gypsy Rose Lee! 'When Gypsy's activities on behalf of Spain's anti-fascists and other causes first drew the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee, she used humor to deflect a request that she appear, offering her dressing room as an alternate venue for hearings. She was less successful during a later red scare when she was among 151 artists identified as subversives in Red Channels. But she had supporters. "Chances are that any investigations will show that if Gypsy approached any Red groups it was like her performance," the Milwaukee Journal wrote in 1950. "She stopped and always just in time." 'Gypsy "brings the con in striptease to the surface," writes Rachel Shteir. "She was promising sex, but she was delivering its illusion, playing three-card monte with her audience's desire." If Frankel's book is a thick biographical brocade, Shteir's Gypsy: The Art of the Tease (Yal...

Tonight I'll be performing at this fabulous event: You can read excerpts from Rachel's book and purchase it on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Gypsy-Art-Tease-Icons-America/dp/0300120400/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239993444&sr=8-1 Albert Garzon, who charted the music I'll be performing, is a bit of a biographer as well. Check out his information on Lydia Thompson's daughter, Zeffie! Zeffie Tilbury, the daughter of Lydia Thompson, was born on November 20, 1863. Her father died a year later in a tragic accident while horse racing and hurdle jumping. Zeffie Tilbury, age 7: Zeffie was drawn into acting because her mother was one of the most famous actresses in England. And soon to be the most famous burlesque performer in the world. Zeffie - age 20: A sampler of Zeffie's long and successful acting career: Aug. 1885 - First trip to USA with Mary Anderson Troupe. Zeffie played in "Pygmalion" (which was new at ...

lovely ladies -- google just released a ton of images from the LIFE photo archives, many that have never before been published: Life Magazine Images on Google if you search for "burlesque" "pinup" "vaudeville" etc it turns up some really delightful old gems! enjoy! xoxox, sparkly "Gypsy Rose Lee (C, Front) receiving help from Florence Gailey (L) while performing a reverse strip-tease act." Click the photo for more information. I'm sorry I haven't been posting for myself! This is the longest I've gone without blogging or something like it in nine years! Just wait until I get unpacked. Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of The New York School of Burlesque , for burlesquedaily.blogspot.com .

'One of the most influential critics of the 1920s and 1930s was H.L. Mencken. He created the expression Bible Belt to refer to the ultra conservative South and while bootleggers reached auspicious heights as booticians, the middle class was reduced to the booboisie. So in 1940 it was a Baltimore stripper that asked him to come up with a unique word to raise the tenor of her profession. Georgia Sothern wrote to Meneken, "I am a practitioner of the art of strip-teasing...there has been a great deal of...criticism leveled against my profession. Most of it...arises from the unfortunate word strip-teasing, which creates the wrong connotation...if you could coin a new and more palatable word to describe this art, I and my colleagues would have easier going. I hope...(you) can find time to help the...members of my profession." 'Ms Sothern was already a phenomenon all her own. Ann Corio describes her performances in the book This was Burlesque(1968): ...