Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

When The Burlesque Handbook was first published, I did a series of burlesque tips articles for various beauty and lifestyle magazines. It was a lovely challenge to try to make what I know about performing useful to people who may not be going onstage. MSN did a gallery of photos with ten tips. Check it out! From the article: Build Tension Weldon says: "Burlesque performers know that just standing still and breathing can build anticipation in the audience once they've established that they're prepared to entertain them. Be willing to be still for a few moments and let your partner drink you in." You can read the rest of it on MSN.com!

As if body language wasn't enough, Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand were both delightful speakers, clever and quick and shameless. It's sometimes hard to explain why a particular stripteaser or fan dancer is so enchanting when what they actually do is not unique. For me, a huge part of the beauty and importance of a number is not a skill set--perfect dance timing is more important for the chorus than the lead, and virtuousity can become monotonous to watch. But personality is the singular force that drives a great entertainer, and it's vividly portrayed in both of these clips. Enjoy! Gypsy Rose Lee Sally Rand

I can't believe I hadn't seen this book until recently! A friend posted it on my FB page and I immediately hunted it down, found it at Powell's Books, and snapped it up. Published by Simon and Schuster on their Parallax imprint in 1967, this neat little book breezes through basic principles of striptease in about 50 pages. (Though 80 pages long, the last 30 pages are devoted to beauty.) It's a great way for beginners to grasp that striptease is process of intention and presentation worthy of mastery. It's adorable, and it reminded me that a lot of the principles of striptease I teach are actually universal. The more I teach, the more I find that I describe steps and principles the way I do not because I'm inventive, but because I'm observant, and that other burlesque instructors observe and teach some of the same things. It's very reassuring! For instance, I often point out to my students that the Stripteaser, as a category of performe...

I'm doing a Top Five Friday today! These are the top five stocking peels on my mind this week. I'm including one of my own so that my self interest is really blatant and that my self-serving ways will provoke you to include your own in the comments! Inga Ingenue at Viva Las Vegas, coming to a slinky soft tragic end: Midnite Martini does a toe-tally devastating peel: April O'Peel makes the bench her bitch: Dita Von Teese gets naughty on national television: Me, getting down: My striptease video includes tips on how to make the stockings cling to your toes and how to slide them off without catching them in your knee joint, among other things: You can buy this DVD here . You can read about how to buy stockings in my article, Stalking the Stocking . Julie Atlas Muz, in a routine sadly missing from youtube, does a number in which she comes out dressed as a cop, strips to lingerie, pulls her stockings from her toes directly onto ...

"One of this year’s BurlyCon highlights was the successful attempt to break a Guinness World Record for “Largest Fan Dance”. This feat was accomplished by 252 dancers in tradtional costume waving their feather fans to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony for a full five minutes. The attempt took place at the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel on the second day of BurlyCon. Volunteers stationed outside made sure all fans and costumes were on par with Guinness requirements before people were let in (specifically, fans had to be within the 12” to 50” range). As the eager particpants walked into the ballroom, volunteers did an official head count, not including official volunteers, videographers, and photographers (of which I was one). Over the next half hour people streamed in with giant fans, small fans, and everything in between." Read more about this superfun event at Burlesque Seattle Press: A look back at BurlyCon’s record-breaking “Largest Fan Dance”. And you can learn the choreogra...