Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

Every year at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Striptease Reunion , several performers bring numbers constructed to tribute their favorite superstars of classic burlesque. Sometimes they are recreations, sometimes they are simply inspired by and include elements of movement, costuming, and/or lore associated with those performers. This year I'm tributing Sherry Britton, for which I have the honor of having had her guidance and suggestions before she passed away. As the BHOF Weekend nears (or I should say, zooms in, as I'm feeling a bit behind in my preparations!), I want to make note of some of the loveliest tributes I've seen, so I've asked the performers who did them to make some comments on the experiences they had with their numbers. This is the first of two or three posts I'll make about tribute numbers. Above: BOB and Ruby at the New York Burlesque Festival. Photo by Kitty Kowalski. Video of an Interview with Liz Renay "Last year for the NYBF 2007 I de...

I'm incredibly lucky with some of the access I have to take photos. I try to make the most of it! Here are some of my favorite shots I've taken of Kitten DeVille . Onstage with the Pontani Sisters' Burlesque-A-Pades in NYC, 2006 With Dirty Martini at Starshine Burlesque , NYC, 2006 Backstage at Exotic World , Las Vegas, 2006

'"I love the boys, the girls, all the movers and the shakers who come to our show," said former burlesque phenomenon Dixie Evans, 80.' http://www.sbsun.com/ci_6325132 'Dixie plays a big role in keeping burlesque alive, Rio said, with a museum that allowed current dancers to learn from the original movers and shakers. Dixie's Exotic World, Home of the Movers and Shakers' Burlesque Museum and Striptease Hall of Fame in Helendale came about from her friend's collection of burlesque memorabilia. Jennie Lee ran the Sassy Lassy nightclub until she was diagnosed with breast cancer and moved to an abandoned goat farm in Helendale. Dixie and her friend held a reunion there every year for their friends in the burlesque business. "We didn't quite know what to do about the reunion when Jennie Lee died" in 1990, Dixie said. "But one thing was certain, she wanted to keep burlesque alive." So Dixie kept it going. That year marked the fir...