Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

I Wish We All Were Nude  By Jo Weldon Photo: Prince on the $19.99 dollar bill. Source unknown. Also, me in my feature dancer days, photographed by the late great J. Stephen Hicks. Thinking of my stripper sisters on Prince's birthday. This is an article I wrote when I heard he had passed. I’ve been stripping for decades, and I’ve literally–and by a large margin–made more money dancing naked to music by Prince than by any other single artist. 
 I started working in strip joints in 1980, at the age of 18. I was eager to get out of my parents’ house and start living the sex drugs and rock n roll life of my dreams. Stripping was certainly a fast track to all of that. Who knows why we want what we want? Lots of people experienced similar influences to mine, similar traumas and privileges, and didn’t want the same. But I knew what I wanted and was hellbound from the minute I got my first set of car keys. 
 I got my chops in Atlanta, which even at the time h...

Photo c. Stereovision I first got to know Jacqueline Boxx when I was teaching a workshop while on tour, and our relationship has perfectly represented how wonderful it is to get to know people while traveling as a burlesque teacher and performers. The intimacy of getting to know students and fellow performers while on the road, sharing backstages and hotel rooms, is more important to me than the glamour, and I've gotten to spend some quality time with people I consider friends and peers. I was honored to be invited to host the Essential Tease Showcase she co-produced in Baltimore. I had mostly stopped doing interviews, but our conversations after that show lit a fire under me, and I'm excited to be doing new interviews for my blog. If you haven't already met Jacqueline Boxx, prepare to fall in love, and if you already know and love her, prepare to be very proud of your good taste! Stage Name: Jacqueline Boxx Locality: Baltimore, MD Years Pe...

See the freshest burlesque in the city! New York School of Burlesque Headmistress Jo Weldon, author of The Burlesque Handbook, will introduce new acts by students who are preparing to take the burlesque world by storm. These debut performers have created routines based on their own ideas, choosing their own music, designing their own costumes, and mapping out their own choreography. Come be part of their adventure!  Details and Tickets    Performances by: Kizzy Lewdlow Lilith Lamore Lou Renoir and Belle DeVere  Marlena Magdalene Mary Midnight Rosie Tulips Roxie Maisel Valdeth Vava Valentina Vera Safire Vivienne Von Foxy with Juno Stardust, Stage Kitten   And a few special surprises!   Hosted by Headmistress Jo Weldon, Author of The Burlesque Handbook http://www.schoolofburlesque. com

Photo c. Stereovision I first got to know Jacqueline Boxx when I was teaching a workshop while on tour, and our relationship has perfectly represented how wonderful it is to get to know people while traveling as a burlesque teacher and performers. The intimacy of getting to know students and fellow performers while on the road, sharing backstages and hotel rooms, is more important to me than the glamour, and I've gotten to spend some quality time with people I consider friends and peers. I was honored to be invited to host the Essential Tease Showcase she co-produced in Baltimore. I had mostly stopped doing interviews, but our conversations after that show lit a fire under me, and I'm excited to be doing new interviews for my blog. If you haven't already met Jacqueline Boxx, prepare to fall in love, and if you already know and love her, prepare to be very proud of your good taste! Stage Name: Jacqueline Boxx Locality: ...