Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

I haven't had time to post much lately, but I just have to talk ever so briefly about a concept that comes up every time I teach. "Musicality in dance then might be considered a measure or degree to which a dancer is receptive and creative in his translation or rendering of music through movement." --From Dance Advantage: Musicality in Dance . In The Burlesque Handbook , I talk about the importance of musicality and timing. It's the art of making it look as if your movements and actions influenced the music, rather than the other way around. One of my favorite film clips for performers to study musicality is The Skeleton Dance , a Silly Symphonies cartoon. In it the skeletons are timed so that not just their dancing but their actions take place according to the music. It appears as if the music is caused by their movements rather than the other way around. When Billie Madley did a workshop at The New York School of Burlesque, she described "horns c...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-b1nEY2Hc4 I'll be posting photos or videos of contenders in the upcoming pageant until I leave for Vegas, so if you want to recommend a photo or video of one of the performers on the list in the post below , send a link to me at schoolofburlesque@gmail.com. And, look for my upcoming regular feature, Teacher Tips, on Kelly DiNardo's The Candy Pitch!

Laura Herbert took these photos, and I love them so much I just snagged them all. The fan dance rehearsal. Leighton Meester with my cleavage. Hey, I didn't compose the shot! My roomie, Julie Atlas Muz, doing things to me on worldwide television. The fringy costumes in this scene are original Pontani Sisters Costumes, courtesy of Angie Pontani. Angie and Julie. Click here to watch the full episode online. We love the way it turned out! Blowing kisses to Tony Wharmby and all the Gossip Girl cast and crew. 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...

GEORGE MICHAEL - MICHAEL CALLS ON VON TEESE FOR NEW VIDEO I can't wait to see it!!! I don't know if envious is the right word, but who wouldn't like to dress up like one of these characters for a day! You gotta love Julie Newmar at 2.00 in the video. Since I can't embed the George Michael video, here are some catwomen (the first one is Julie Newmar--and don't get me started on Eartha Kitt , meeeee-YOW) for you: And of course I can't resist mentioning, since in the article linked above Dita credits her fabulous fitness to Pilates, that The New York School of Burlesque has absolutely unique Pilates and Pasties classes with Peekaboo Pointe! Edit May 2008: I found out that the article linked is wrong and the quote is an invention, but I'm waiting to see if I have permission to post what the George Michael connection actually is. Edit June 2008: Here's video of what the connection actually is! Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of The New Y...