Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

"BURLESQUE UNDRESSED is a lavish and dazzling journey right into the heart of the art-form, featuring a compelling mix of live performance, interviews from burlesque stars past and present, captivating music and all-round show-stopping entertainment.

British burlesque superstar Immodesty Blaize peels back the curtain to reveal her world of high-octane glamour, and gives an exclusive peep behind-the-scenes to expose the work involved in the art of the tease to produce a signature act of perfection." I first saw Immodesty when she performed at the New York Burlesque Festival in 2005 , and everybody stopped and said, "Who is THAT?" Kalani Kokonuts, me, Dixie Evans, Liz Goldwyn, and Immodesty Blaize at the reception for Dita Von Teese's opening night at Crazy Horse, Las Vegas. If you watch this film, you won't know much about Immodesty's personal history or how she came to be in burlesque, but you'll know a lot about being a showgirl. In my book I fo...

Interview with Deirdre Timmons Director, A Wink and a Smile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjDNZJYuQAY "An intoxicating mix of private thoughts and public behavior, A Wink and a Smile exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power, sexuality and social identity under the glittery spotlight, as it follows the lives of ten "ordinary" women who do something extraordinary – learn the art burlesque dancing and striptease. Through their adventures, we see how a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student, join the American cultural revival of burlesque, as it moves from fringe fascination to mainstream obsession, engaging a world where performance art and showgirl spectacle, music, theater and sensuality crash into over-the-top glamour - a world where many want to go, but very few dare." On Saturday, May 2, I'll be performing with some of the subjects of this film at Quad Cinema in New York, so I took it up...

Go Indigo! A WINK AND A SMILE HITS NYC (SEATTLE, WA) – A WINK AND A SMILE makes its NYC premiere at CMJ’s Music Marathon and Film Festival Friday, Oct. 24 at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick St. (at Laight Street). Go-go dancers Sugar Magnolia and Miss Fleur de Lys will launch WINK’S weekend burly blowout, warming up audiences at 6:45 p.m. at the theater. Film begins at 7:15 p.m. Tickets available at http://www.ticketweb.com under A Wink and a Smile. In celebration of WINK’S East Coast debut, Miss Valentine’s at Midnight and The Swedish Housewife present a special evening on Saturday, Oct. 25 with stars of the film – Miss Indigo Blue, The Swedish Housewife, Mercury Troy and New York City’s very own Little Brooklyn and Leroi the Girl Boi at Duane Park, 157 Duane St. (between West Broadway and Hudson). Doors open at 11 p.m. Show begins at 11:30 p.m. There is a $25 cover charge with a two drink minimum. Location details at www.duaneparknyc.com. For reservations call 212.732.5555. ...

'Katherine Fries, who graduated from the New York Film Academy, said she'd been looking for a story that touched her heart. "Then I read my mother's book," she said. ' Her documentary was based on mother's burlesque book. Click above to buy Lillian's Book!