42 Versions of Harlem Nocturne
When I interviewed Dixie Evans for this blog, she mentioned how some of the dancers would fight over who got to use the song Harlem Nocturne. In my classes, I talk about overused songs in burlesque, such as Night Train, Lament, and The Stripper (and of course there are many more modern songs that get used repeatedly), and I actually encourage my students to use them. Of course, they might not want to subject some of the most experienced performers in burlesque to them, but if they are new performers, they're bringing in new audiences, and those audiences may have never seen a woman do a fan dance to Harlem Nocturne or a shimmy to Night Train. I also think that since much of this music, such as the material on Striptease Classics, was produced and arranged to accompany sexy showgirl or striptease performance, it's the best to use to learn. Although almost all neo-burlesque performers play with more recent music--I've even choreographed a Fosse-tribute chair dance to Jethro ...