Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

The East Village and the Lower East Side in Manhattan form the primary seat of burlesque in New York. Tompkins Square Park originally hosted Wigstock , where neo-burlesque legends such as World Famous BOB and Dirty Martini performed, and recently hosted burlesque events at the Howl Festival . Clubs frequently featuring burlesque include the Slipper Room , with the city's longest-running burlesque show, Rififi, which features weekly shows Starshine Burlesque and Sweet And Nasty , Kitty Nights at Bar on A, frequent burlesque and performance art events at Mo Pitkins and The Bowery Poetry Club , and the adult vaudeville of The Box . My School of Burlesque operates at 440 Lafayette at the edge of Greenwich Village , across the street from Joe's Pub , where burlesque shows often take place. (For info about other burlesque shows in New York City, see Ed Barnas' New York Burlesque Calendar .) However... "A planned burlesque nightclub reportedly financed by musicians...

"Ivan Kane and his celebrity partners David Bowie and Sting are about to bring burlesque back to the Big Apple with a New York branch of Forty Deuce, Kane’s clubs in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. "But some neighbors of 19 Kenmare St., formerly Little Charlie’s Clam House between Bowery and Elizabeth St. — where the ground floor and basement are being converted for the burlesque club — are not ready for it. "Indeed, about 1,200 neighbors in the area where Little Italy, Chinatown and Nolita converge signed a petition submitted on June 19 urging the State Liquor Authority to deny a liquor license for the club." http://www.thevillager.com/villager_217/stingbowieburlesque.html It seems that, in spite of these signatures, the community currently demonstrates support for burlesque, as there are many burlesque shows operating--many for several years--mere blocks away. The petitioners will have to show real cause for their objections besides that they don't want burle...