Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

Lola Star designed and made this adorable compact with the New York School of Burlesque! You can get this design on a mug, magnet, shot glass, t-shirt, or tote bag as well. Check out her other gorgeous designs, with lots of fabulous tributes to Coney Island! Lola Star's Online Shop

If you want to learn the most basic twirl, here's where to begin! How to Twirl a Nipple Tassel (on wayback) You can do it! How to Twirl a Nipple Tassel 1. Purchase (or make, if you’re crafty) the right pasties. Flat pasties and pasties with lightweight or stiff or improperly attached tassels won’t twirl. You need conical pasties and nice silky swinging tassels. At first you may feel like a cross between a Fembot and the blow-up doll in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, but when you see what these sparkly puppies do for your profile, you’ll be one of us. 2. Use the right adhesive. Pasties have been known to fly off and away, and you can put an eye out with those things. The fastest and easiest adhesive is double-sided garment tape (or toupee tape, same thing), which you put on the pastie on the edge of the inside; then peel off the tape’s backing and press the pastie onto the desired location. Shake all over to see if it’s firmly attached, and then you’re ready for the main event...

A couple of weeks ago L Magazine approached me wanting someone to write a few tips on how to twirl tassels, and wanted to make a video to go with it. I immediately suggested teaching boys, and since no one on the magazine staff was ready for the learning experience, I recruited two of my dear and daring friends. They literally jumped at the opportunity. Read the entire article There are many other ways to twirl tassels, including many without bouncing! There's an entire chapter on tassel-twirling and how to make pasties in The Burlesque Handbook .

Pink Light Burlesque is a program to provide free classes for breast cancer patients and survivors, provided by The New York School of Burlesque. December 4th is our first-ever showcase, featuring students and instructors of this program. The show will be dedicated to our friend Diane Naegel, who was hoping to perform as part of the project but lost her battle with breast cancer due to complications on September 25. Our hearts go out to her and her friends and family, and to all others experiencing the same struggle. The proceeds of the show will benefit You Can Thrive , Sloan Kettering, and the operation of Pink Light Burlesque . Sunday, December 4, 8-10.30 pm. The Wild Project 195 East 3rd Street New York, NY 10009 Contact Jo Weldon at pinklight@schoolofburlesque.com School of Burlesque Phone 212.561.1456 Wild Project Phone 212.228.1195 Buy General Admission Tickets Tickets are $10, $15, and $20. Visibility is perfect from all seats; lower prices are furthest ...

I've had this interview for awhile and have been trying to write the perfect intro for it, and I give up. She's just too awesome. I am so thrilled to have this woman as an instructor at The New York School of Burlesque, and that's that. Above: Veronica Varlow and me with David Byrne at the Bowery Hotel. Why not? How did you learn to do burlesque? When I first saw burlesque, it was as if I was spying on an ancient and secret rite of women to claim the power in their own sensuality. I was awe-struck that first night I stumbled upon this world of burlesque in 2000 at the Slipper Room. That little corner of Orchard and Stanton became my version of church which I visited weekly to worship the power and beauty of the performers there. At that point, I was learning. I was an eager pupil to learn the movement of confidence, to learn the slowness of sensuality, to learn the power of being unafraid. I was a bystander for 3 years. A witness to the world I longed for. ...

September 29-October 2 The New York Burlesque Festival It was the first burlesque festival of its kind in the world, and people come from all over the world to be in it! Thursday September 29th THE TEASER PARTY Hosted By: The World Famous *BOB* The Bell House 149 7th Street (between 2nd & 3rd), Brooklyn thebellhouseny.com Doors 7:00pm | Show 8:00pm $10 advance, $15 at the door Friday September 30th THE PREMIERE PARTY Hosted By: Scotty the Blue Bunny Brooklyn Bowl 61 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn brooklynbowl.com Doors 8:00 pm | Show 9:00pm $10 at the door Saturday October 1st THE SATURDAY SPECTACULAR Hosted By: Murray Hill BB King's 237 West 42nd Street, Manhatten www.bbkingblues.com Doors 6:30 pm | Show 7:30 pm $25 advanced, $30 at the door $65 VIP advanced SATURDAY NIGHT OFFICIAL NYBF AFTER PARTY Featuring DJ Bill Coleman, GOGOs, & More! 11pm - 1am @ Lucille's Bar (Next door to BB King's and free for all Saturday ticket...

Rock Stars of Burlesque Performing in New York City August 27, 2011 7-10 pm Prepare yourself for record heat when sizzling West Coat Burlesque joins forces with the hottest Burlesque performers of the East Coast for a show that can’t be missed. It’s a rare and sultry opportunity to see a spectacular cast of New York’s biggest stars with some of Los Angeles’ most celebrated talent. It’s all about the clothes—and about taking them off! Pinup Girl Clothing, the most popular retro and alternative clothing company in the US, joins forces with Jo Boobs Weldon, Headmistress of The New York School of Burlesque, to present an irresistible show of sexy striptease, amazing acrobatics, and fabulous fashion at the gorgeous Highline Ballroom. “Watch ‘em dress. Watch ‘em undress. It’s a hell of a show!” says Weldon. Featuring your host from the West Coast, the inimitable Lucky Day; Miss Viva Las Vegas, La Cholita, known for her relentless shimmies and Latin fire; Laura Byrnes, famous pinup sta...

I don't know what I would do without the aptly named Gal Friday, burlesque star, pinup model, and Miss Coney Island 2009. She's a great girl in a pinch (and to pinch). You can take her anywhere and she can handle anything. She's charming, beautiful, and hilarious. And she's a fabulous performer with some fine, fine moves. She's saved my sanity in the middle of the night many a time, and I'm extremely fortunate to have her teaching at NYSB! I wish this was a longee instead of a quickie... Gal in the private NYSB space at the Slipper Room . How did you learn to do burlesque? I'm still learning to do Burlesque! That's the best part... I keep learning and evolving. I never want to grow up, I just want to keep growing up ! When did you start teaching within the burlesque community? About 3 years ago, at NYSB. What are some of your favorite acts to perform? This changes frequently. But at the moment I'd say Conquistadores, a newer act...

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...

It's been hard to keep up with this blog while keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, and Formspring, and while writing and promoting a book! One thing I used to do frequently that I miss is sharing a few recent photos I've taken. I hope you enjoy these shots from backstage at the New York Burlesque Festival this past weekend! Amber Ray Miss Indigo Blue World Famous *BOB* If you use any photos from my blog, please link back to me. Or you're a fckin jerk.

New York has an amazing pool of burlesque MCs, all with unique personalities and their own cults. Today we'll have a quickie with everyone's showbiz heartthrob, Mr. Murray Hill. The first time I saw you at a burlesque show was a Pontani Sisters show at the Slipper Room in either 2002 or 2003. What was your first burlesque MC gig? Did you expect to be MCing so many burlesque shows? Ahh, the old days...and who can remember all the details! I don't remember my first burlesque hosting gig per se, but I was doing The Murray Hill Show in the late 90's and Dirty Martini was my first showgirl guest. How could I forget her. She is the first burlesque performer I saw in NYC uptown at the supperclub, I suppose it was true love right from the beginning. Hosting burlesque shows seems like a natural fit (no pun intended) for me...I'm an old-school kinda guy, and burlesque is from the old vaudeville days. Back then, comics and burlesque girls were always on the same bi...

I saw a burlesque show produced by the Pontani Sisters and hosted by Murray Hill at the Slipper Room in 2002, when the current burlesque scene was just a sparkle in all our eyes. Now it's a worldwide phenomenon producing some of the most spectacular performers burlesque has ever known, and Murray and Angie brought together a group of those fabulous performers in New York City, where burlesque striptease once flourished, was outlawed, and has bloomed all over again. The Queens of Burlesque show on March 11 was held at Le Poisson Rouge, a gorgeous red and black venue with great sightlines. Featuring Murray and Angie as well as Immodesty Blaize , Dirty Martini , Michelle L’amour , Julie Atlas Muz , Miss Indigo Blue , Perle Noire and Catherine D’Lish , it was properly touted as the burlesque show not to miss. All of the performers were award-winners in the Exotic World/Burlesque Hall of Fame pageants, and they proved that these awards go to the most glamourous, charismatic, dedicated...

In October we did a couple of pieces about the New York School of Burlesque with MTV Iggy and one of their hosts, the charming Angel Pai. Here she is onstage at the Slipper Room, practicing a chair routine I taught her: Photo by me. I loved working with her and the other people involved with the shoot--all so young and lovely and so excited about their work, and so respectful of our work! You can see the first installment, featuring some of the performers from the NYSB student showcase in October: null | MTV Music Burlesque on MTV Iggy Video sent to me by the gorgeous and talented Viola Da Gamba . Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of The New York School of Burlesque , for burlesquedaily.blogspot.com .

I spent the past month moving, but I'm back! I've been posting articles and photos of burlesque for almost a decade now and I was going through some serious withdrawal these several weeks. There is a great article and video from New York 1 right here: The Pontani Sisters Bring Burlesque Back The world of burlesque is booming. NY1's Stephanie Simon filed the following report on the revival of this unique genre of performing arts. Variety shows, like the one at Corio in SoHo, are reviving the brazen, bawdy world of burlesque. One of the many popular neo-burlesque shows that have popped up in the city in recent years is Angie Pontani and the Pontani sisters in "This is Burlesque."... Pontani originally wanted to be an actress, but thought it just was not glamorous enough for her. "I was like, well I don't to be an actress because they don't get to wear head dresses and like rhinestone costumes, so that was unfulfilling for me," she said. Re...

Jen in the middle. Image from Go Magazine's "100 Women We Love." With the New York Burlesque Festival almost upon us, this seemed like a great time to nab a quickie interview with Producer/Entrepreneur/All-Around-Hottie, Jen Gapay! Jen is the owner of Thirsty Girl Productions, which produces the NYBF with the Pontani Sisters, and I'm happy to have a chance to tip my pastie to one of the most charming and hard-working producers in the scene. What would we do without her? How did you become involved with producing? I was born in Sacramento California, hopped around on the East Coast (NY, Virginia & Maryland) until I was 10. Then we moved to Montana where I spent my “formative years” growing up in Big Fork. I went to college in Missoula Montana and it was there where I started putting on shows. The first show I ever organized was a benefit for a non-profit that I was working for, which involved booking a couple bands and selling beers in a union hall. S...

"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...