Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce is Dead!

Las Vegas Weekly broke the story of the closing, after four years, of the burlesque revival nightclub Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce at Mandalay Bay. I am still trying to independently confirm the closure, but it seems to have happened last night.

"Say goodbye to the shoulders shaking into a seductive frenzy, to the titty tassels, the live band and that fabulous wall of pearl beads that miraculously took the place of a stripper pole every night. Five years after nightlife vanguard Ivan Kane brought his burlesque club to a dark corner of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the intimate speak easy will close this Sunday with a final shedding of clothes and round of cocktails.

Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce first launched in L.A. in 2002 after Kane was inspired by his wife, burlesque dancer Champagne Suzy, to revive the art of the 1940s strip tease and give it a nightclub home. The brick-walled venue was such a success that two years later Kane was four hours down Interstate 15 in Las Vegas building another burlesque saloon.

Inside the cozy club DJs share air time with a live band that takes the stage to serenade the dancers as they flirt their way through high energy numbers, teasing off retro ensembles piece by fringed piece. Instead of writhing around a pole, Kane’s long-legged dancers seduce using a beaded curtain to suspend themselves legs split above the crowd. They strut on top of a long sunken bar in fishnets and heels, harking back to a time of more understated sexiness before anyone had heard of the bump and grind.

Effective March 30, the dark, smoky space will shed its vintage vibe and return to 2009. This summer a new bar and lounge is slated to fill the Forty Deuce’s dimly lit confines..."

Vegas is going to be just a little less sexy than it was a week ago.

Kitten on the Keys One Woman Burlesque Performance

“Does This Piano Make My Ass Look Big?” starring Kitten on the Keys in a one-woman performance had its world premiere on March 27 and runs for two weekends only at Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory. I had the opportunity to get the words straight from the kitten’s mouth.

When did you first know you were Kitten on the Keys?

I worked in an antique and vintage clothing store for 17 years and all we listened to was Tin Pan Alley. I became addicted to the naughty double entendre songs of the 1920’s and 1930’s. I likened myself to a punk rock version of a flapper. I had a Victrola and some 78’s. One was “Kitten on the Keys” by Zez Confrey from 1922. This fast-paced ragtime romp reminded me of my dizzy brain where little kittens are frantically padding around on my grey matter. I decided that this was the perfect stage name for me! I have a Victrola with a kitty cat tattooed on my left leg. I never shave the kitty cat and I ask people if they would like to pet my hairy pussy - then I pull down my sock.

You are a master … er … mistress at burlesque. Define that term, “burlesque.” I know it isn’t about just stripping off your clothes. There is a method to the madness, no?

Burlesque is a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. We live in a time where people need to experience poor man’s theater and some cheeky entertainment. It is not just gals and guys showin’ their “knickers and bits” - there can be variety acts like musicians, magicians, and jugglers too.

Burlesque is a fun form of personal expression for both men and women. I think the WAY you take it off – with a sense of humor and a dash of glamour - is fabulous. I enjoy traveling the country, UK, and Europe performing my twisted songs and silly dances to audiences who are just HUNGRY for this type of entertainment. I am lucky I found super awesome like-minded folks in the late 1990’s in San Francisco – The Cantankerous Lollies and San Francisco’s famous Burlesque Orchestra. They asked me to join in the fun!

When did you discover you had a knack – a drive, as it were – for burlesque?

I have always been drawn to things that were NAUGHTY or wink wink, nudge nudge. I told some off color jokes in third grade. I was first inspired by short reels of Shirley Temple’s Baby Burlesques from the 1930’s. She was put into very adult like situations with a giant diaper. I love that golly geeee whiz energy! Then I saw Queen when I was 11, and Freddie Mercury was bumping and grinding to show tunes out of a glamorous Kimono into these teeny tiny black and white striped shorts. I was in AWE! I adore the sweet hotness of the pre-code films and musicals.

You play soooo many musical instruments – piano, ukulele, accordion, others – when did you take these up, and why?

I was one of those kids FORCED into piano lessons. I was horrible. I have ADD and did not want to play what they wanted me to play. I do not drive a car, and traveling around as a pianist with a giant keyboard on MUNI got to be old, so I was drawn to the old world feeling of the accordion - which is the HARDEST instrument to play! I call my accordion “Ol’ Wheezy.” The ukulele is so 1920’s, the eel’s eyelashes, and voh-dee-oh-doh! My fave is to strum punk rock songs as Betty Boop. I adore the film Some Like It Hot with Marilyn as “Sugar” - her white ukulele was always so cool to me!

You have just returned from Paris. Why for?

I am honored to be involved with this film in Paris. I was there testing songs, costumes, and burlesque acts for a film by Mattieu Almaric (Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Quantum of Solace). Mattieu had seen this show I MC and sing in for French and Italian theater festivals called “Cabaret New Burlesque.” He was so inspired by our frivolity and joy that he wrote a road trip script about an American burlesque troupe traveling throughout the North of France with a washed up producer. I play my musical mistress of ceremonies self in the film. The working film of the title is Tournee.

What about cabaret got you into the biz? You are a fabulous chanteuse.

Jeepers THANKS! I just like music! I was a lonely kid and my only friends were my little AM radio, my records, and stuffed animals! Music has a way of making me happy. It pulls at my many emotions. What I cannot express in words I can express through singing and playing. I was fortunate enough to take lessons from Scrumbley Koldewyn of the Cockettes.

Your CDs are off the wall. Beautifully bawdy. Where do you get your lyrics?

I like writing about fetishes and such. I have so much fun shocking people with these silly sex practices set to music. There are not enough songs about furries and plushies! I just take real life situations and get out the ol’ rhyming dictionary!I watch a lot of old films and musicals for cool songs to cover. I also have a super awesome pal named Bob Grimes, an octogenarian with the world’s largest sheet music collection. He knows my taste, and he saves the super fun and naughty double entendre flapper ditties for me!

Describe yourself without using the words “dirty,” “stacked,” “naughty,” “sexy,” or “velocipede.”

Sassy, silly, musical, squishy, lickable, frothy, spit-curled, rowdy, dizzy, and inappropriate.

Tell my readers why they simply MUST come see your latest show.

I am very proud that a dorky gal from the suburbs like me can transform and have this dual identity and live a happier life through music and art. I have always been very theatrical with silly homemade DIY props and costumes. Almost everything I write is a TRUE story. People always tell me I should write a book! But I cannot spell, so I prefer to sing and play the piano. Audiences can see a well rounded side of me - and a sensitive side to Kitten on the Keys - not just the in your face sexuality.

“Does This Piano Make My Ass Look Big” is directed by Dwayne Calizo - the artistic director and founder of Mama Calizo’s - the epicenter of queer and activist art in SF, 1519 Mission St. (Van Ness & 11th Sts.). For info, 1-800/ 838- 3006 or suzanneramsey.net. Warning: This kitten’s got claws!
By Sister Dana Van Iquity

GetPasties.com Pasties Reviewed

Get Pasties recently introduced the world’s largest online pasties store through their website at www.getpasties.com, featuring over 50 fab designs. Sure, they're not the only pastie store on the web, but what sets them apart is their quality, designs and price.

The guys and gals over at Get Pasties sent us a couple sets of fabulous pasties from their signature line to review, here are the censored pasties in packaging:

And here's whats included: 2 x pastie (of course), alcohol swab and application instructions. Rose pasties pictured:
The pasties stick securely using a medical-grade, 3M self-adhesive and are safe for skin. Simply peel of the backing, position and stick. You can expect to get around 6-8 hours of wear with no problems. They are re-usable and will last for years if cared for, but will require the additional purchase of pasties glue.

Rose Tattoo with Tribal lines Pasties

These pasties look great in the product photo and even better in person. It's not until you have these pasties in your hand that you appreciate their quality.

You may not be able to tell from the images but these pasties are actually fully embroidered, meaning they will look great and will stand the test of time and wear.

This design provides a generous amount of coverage, we think they would go great with a classic vintage burlesque performance.

Checkout the Rose Tattoo with Tribal lines pasties for yourself here.

Censored Booby Bling Pasties

These pasties are simply awesome! In contrast to the rose tattoo pasties we think these have a more modern feel to them, we can imagine exposing these towards the end of a routine, making quite the reveal!

These are also embroidered - all Get Pasties pasties are, being the only company that offers fully embroidered pasties.

Checkout the Censored Boob Bling pasties here.

Here is some great advice for applying and wearing pasties from the Get Pasties site:
* For easier removal for sensitive nipples, apply a water resistant substance (such as Vaseline, Chap Stick) to JUST the nipple, not the whole areola area.
* It's often best to apply with the nipple erect first to avoid the possibility of the Pasties wrinkling later if the nipple does become erect.
* Stick the lower portion of the adhesive on first and then lift slightly before sticking on the top half - be careful not to distort them out of shape.
* Try not to touch the adhesive backing with your fingers during application

Get Pasties also have a girl of the month competition, by sending in images of yourself wearing your pasties you can win a GetPasties.com gift pack (containing pasties of course!) and also be featured on the site as the girl of the month.

For the largest online selection of pasties styles to choose from, and more pasties being added all the time, see for yourself how GetPasties.com offers the perfect combination of style, selection and service.

Dita Von Teese on Pussycat Dolls Pseudo-Burlesque

DITA Von Teese was glad when the Pussycat Dolls stopped performing as a burlesque act and became a pop group instead.

The burlesque star and former wife of Marilyn Manson said that the Don't Cha hit-makers, led by Nicole Scherzinger, sanitized the dance form.

She said: "It's really great they decided to become a pop group and they've left the pseudo-burlesque alone.

"It drives me crazy when groups like the Pussycat Dolls try to sanitize and take away the sexual and nudity aspects of burlesque."

She added: "I'm sorry, but if you're not up there taking your clothes off and dancing around in pasties and a G-string, it's not burlesque.

"It can be cabaret, or it can be cute and funny and retro-showgirly, but it's not burlesque.

"They were strippers, and that's the way it was."

Ouch! Harsh Review of Hurly Burly Burlesque

Check out this scathing review of Hurly Burly Burlesque by Clive Davis of The Times UK:

"Oh dear, oh dear. After seeing the members of La Clique put on a high-spirited display around the corner at the Hippodrome a few months ago, I was hoping that this might turn out to be another rip-roaring chapter in the rebirth of burlesque. In the event, it was about as exciting as listening to the fire-and-brimstone preachers doing their stuff in the square.

Measured purely in terms of bare female flesh, the willowy Polly Rae and her young troupe of Hurly Burly Girls can claim to be raunchier than the artists at La Clique. But if you are going to put on a burlesque show - an exceptionally tricky concept in our unbuttoned era - it has to be done with a certain amount of panache. The dancers are likeable enough, but their overly coy routines, played out over tinny piped music, are workmanlike and, for the most part, resolutely unsexy.

Worse still, the general presentation is so lacklustre that you find yourself thinking that there may, after all, be something to be said for staying home and trying to laugh at Jonathan Ross's jokes. Humour is certainly in short supply in the patter of the master of ceremonies, Paul L. Martin, whose stand-up routine died a slow death. Someone needs to tell him that being gay is not in itself a punchline.

The tap dancer-cum-juggler Stuart Pemberton had a distracting knack of unintentionally dropping his balls, but there was a smidgin of fun to be had after the interval when the musical duo of Frisky & Mannish deconstructed pop tunes and indulged in a playfully caterwauling bout of one-upmanship on Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better. After a grim hour and a half, however, as the girls came back to bump and grind, I felt so disheartened that I decided to cheer myself up by leaving early and listening to another lecture about the Apocalypse."

I haven't had the chance to see Hurly Burly myself, and everyone is entitled to their opinion but is this guy just out of touch? Can anyone share some positive reviews of the girls or is there merit to this mainstream media review?

Trixie Little and Evil Hate Monkey perform Mumbo

It's show time at Load of Fun on North Avenue, and a sold-out crowd files into the black box theater, lingering for a moment at the table in back to pick up a glass of wine or a can of beer before grabbing one of the few remaining folding chairs. Paco Fish, trusted television newsman, takes the stage to present an evening of morality tales about the dangers facing American youth, from hazards foreign and domestic--drugs, sex, homosexuality, communism--you know, "all manner of villainy." He is joined by Viola van Wilde--a wide-eyed innocent--whose body is going through changes she doesn't understand. After delivering some sage and slightly creepy advice, Paco exits, leaving little Viola to her journey of self-discovery set to a slinky big-band bump and grind.

The schoolgirl outfit doesn't stay on for long.

It's the first performance of The Nearly Naked Truth, staged by Gilded Lily Burlesque. Over the course of the evening, Maria Bella succumbs to the temptations of marijuana, Lena Grove demonstrates the torment of the sex addict, and the cast generally shows what happens when good girls go bad. All roads, apparently, lead to damnation, depravity, and pasties.

The Lilies started performing in 2007, a local burlesque troupe that moves from venue to venue--Baltimore's answer to the neo-burlesque scene that started springing up around the country in the mid-'90s. It's an homage filtered through drag shows, performance art, and mixed with a healthy dose of humor--there's more laughter than leering in the house tonight.

The burlesque revival has largely passed through Baltimore for one-off shows before heading to more fertile ground in the New York clubs or Washington's Palace of Wonders, though it wasn't always this way. In 1967, The New York Times wrote that Baltimore was "known among most visitors to the country as the place to go for a sinful night out." The occasion for their article was a charge by a Soviet newspaper that labeled Baltimore a city of sin and symbol of all things decadent and capitalist. The Lilies hope to bring back some of Baltimore's bygone glamour and glitz, like when Blaze Starr hit the stage at the Two O'Clock Club alongside girls with names like Misty Night--"who moves like a ship sliding through the fog."

If this show is any indication, the Lilies are finding an audience here, but it was another performer who laid the groundwork and put Baltimore on the neo-burlesque map. Well, two performers. If you count the monkey.

"I really believe that if it weren't for Trixie, there wouldn't be any burlesque in Baltimore," says Paco Fish during a February interview, of Baltimore's neo-burlesque vanguards.

Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey wasn't the first act Keri Burneston put on stage. She was the founder of Baltimore's Formstone-kitsch performance group Fluid Movement, which introduced audiences to singing sausages (Carmen: The Hot Dog Opera), biography as bellydance (1001 Freudian Nights), and the group's trademark amateur water ballet and roller-skating extravaganzas (Poe on Wheels). Part of Fluid Movement's goal was to put on shows in venues that brought them into the community--Patterson Park, for example--with performers who weren't usually performers.

"I had been doing it for a long time, and I realized that I actually wanted to be in the show," Burneston says by phone from the Vermont circus school where she and her boyfriend Adam Krandle (better known as the Evil Hate Monkey) are honing their new act Mumbo. "I just wanted it to be better and better--I guess I just got fancier ideas. By the time I met Adam, he actually had a ton of theater and musical theater training and dance experience. Our ideas were bigger for what we wanted to do."

Burneston and Krandle met through their day jobs at the non-profit Living Classroom Foundation; she worked with kids, he maintained a fleet of sailboats. During a 2001 corporate-style, team-building retreat, Krandle treated his co-workers (including this reporter, at the time) to a performance he described loosely as a traditional Native American dance in between trust exercises and lessons on the history of the Chesapeake Bay. The loin-cloth and moccasins may have been traditional, the flaming hula-hoop was perhaps less so.

Asked whether this was how Krandle caught Burneston's eye, she says, "No. It was when I found out he was a straight guy who could tap dance."

The act that became Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey came together quickly. In 2002, Burneston had planned a burlesque act with another Fluid Movement member. It didn't work out, but she had already booked a 14 Karat Cabaret performance. "I had been dating Adam at the time," she says. "So I called him up and said, 'Do you want to do this thing?' And he said 'Yeah, why not?' I had a coworker at the time who called me Trixie Little, and Monkey was sort of my pet name for Adam. Within 10 minutes all the pieces fell into place."

Burneston had always sought out interesting performances, from drag shows to the Mummers parade. For the Trixie act, they drew on the circus for their back story, and the duo started heading up to the New England Center for Circus Arts to learn more complex routines and tricks. She says Mumbo is their most ambitious show yet, and video from the circus school backs her up: Trixie and the Monkey dangle above the stage from a dual trapeze, flipping and catching each other without a net. Past shows have included motorcycle/trapeze acts (Krandle learned to operate a motorcycle just days before piloting across a 40-foot high wire as Burneston and another performer did tricks underneath). With every show, Trixie and Monkey have moved further from community theater and closer to full-on polished performers.

They've imparted that lesson to the students at the burlesque classes they've taught sporadically since 2005. In 2006, the students included Sable Sin Cyr, co-founder of the Gilded Lilies, and she returned for a more intensive class later, along with Paco Fish.

Trixie and Monkey have been able to make burlesque their day job, but it's a tough path to follow. "As glamorous as burlesque is, there's not a lot of money in it," Galbraith says. "It's all about creating the illusion of . . ."

He trails off for a second, and Gray finishes his sentence, "Fabulousness."
Read the Full article by Chris Landers here.

Murray Hill Returns to Host Revamped This is Burlesque!

As readers of Burlesque Baby are well aware, This is Burlesque is New York City’s hottest running burlesque revue. With over one year of sold out performances, an A-List cast, packed houses, rave reviews and celebrity fans, one might argue there are often more stars at Corio’s This is Burlesque than in the night sky. This stellar show re-invents and revamps itself once again with an all new, high concept, environmental retro-glam revue!

Vivacious vixen, Angie Pontani stars in the production, which features her in multiple sexy saucy and splashily costumed performances, including her award winning and show stopping strip tease which garnered her the title of “The Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Miss Exotic World 2008” in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Joining Angie is a popular cast of NYC’s best dancers, singers and specialty acts, including her renowned troupe the world famous Pontani sisters, the tap dancing sensation Helen Pontani, the fastest tassel twirler from east to west, Peekaboo Pointe, the candy coated cutie Lil' Miss Lixx, Charm City’s dynamic acrobatic duo, Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, the comedic and sexy styling’s of Little Brooklyn, plus the gravity defying hula hoop sensation Miss Saturn.

Hosted by the dynamic comic Murray Hill, aka "Mr. Showbiz", you know you are in for an evening of laughs, good times and top notch entertainment! "THIS IS BURLESQUE" offers something for everyone, gorgeous girls, side splitting comedy, high flying acrobatics, quite simply, prepare to be bedazzled! As if the show itself weren't enough, during intermission, as you take a break from the eye-popping acts, you will be treated to complimentary shots of P.I.N.K vodka at the bar with the cast! Mix and mingle with showgirls, chorines and chorus cuties as you lounge with the performers. It's full on nightlife salvation!

Corio ‘s plush and sexy show room offers a viewing environment unlike any other in NYC. A seductive dinner and cocktail menu offer up the perfect accompaniment to your evening. The low lights, vintage print wallpaper, inviting plush banquets and low tables create the intimate environment of a lavish speakeasy. Get a close look at Angie Pontani’s flawless figure and winning smile, see the sparks fly from Helen Pontani’s tap shoes, feel the breeze from Peekaboo Pointe’s twirling tassels, marvel at Murray's polyester Sears suit!!! Only at THIS IS BURLEQUE can you get this close to all the amazing action happening on stage. You can even take a piece of the action home with you by purchasing custom pasties, shot glasses, t-shirts, even glossy 8/10's! If your lucky, you'll even get a tassel twirling lesson from one of the girls!

This is Burlesque at Corio
337 West Broadway Grand St NY
Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Tickets from $25.00
www.thisisburlesque.com
www.smarttix.com

Zombie Burlesque Las Vegas

Of all the things that phrase could denote—a new album by The Vermin; a chapbook by a desperately hip poet; a display of mildly taboo art in a gallery you’re not cool enough to know about—perhaps the most surprising is this: a zombie-themed burlesque show. After all, isn’t live flesh, teasingly presented, sort of the point, the attraction, of burlesque?

See for yourself when the local chapter of Zombie Squad (more about them in a sec) stages some undead cha-cha-cha at the Erotic Heritage Museum to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. There will be a screening of Zombie Strippers, starring Jenna Jameson and Robert Englund, and a zombie makeup artist on hand. And, of course, burlesque. Billed performers include Anabelle, Roxy Rouge, Cha Cha Velour and Betty Page—that’s Betty with a Y, not an IE, which would require the presence of an actual zombie.

And the metaphorical undead is what Zombie Squad is really all about. It’s a volunteer community-service organization—think Elks gone goth, with a sense of humor—that focuses on disaster preparedness. Getting people ready for earthquakes, floods, acts of terrorism.

From the ZS website: “We hold fast to the belief that if you are prepared for a scenario where the walking corpses of your family and neighbors are trying to eat you alive, you will be prepared for almost anything.” To that end the organization holds training seminars (with law-enforcement agencies, businesses, schools and universities, neighborhood watch groups) and does charity work (food drives, fundraising). For more, check out Zombiehunters.org.
by Scott Dickensheets

Where: Erotic Heritage Museum
Start time: 7:00 pm
End time: 10:00 pm
Address: 3275 Industrial Way, Las Vegas
Cost: $10

Moisture Festival: Burlesque & Variety in Seattle

"You got up this morning," says sandwich-maker Rob Williams to his volunteer from the audience, "and you pretty much thought you knew where this day was headed."

The volunteer acknowledges as much, and then concedes how wrong she was.

Perhaps you're thinking: "Sandwich-making — that's hardly a vaudeville-worthy activity."

Yes, but what if you do it with your feet, as the jaunty, motor-mouthed Williams does? He's just one of the surprises in the sixth annual Moisture Festival.

The festival, which alternates family-friendly shows with racier burlesque programs, is longer than ever ("because we're out of our minds," co-host Ron W. Bailey says cheerfully) and has expanded from its usual Fremont venue, Hale's Palladium at Hale's Brewery. You can see it through Sunday at ACT Theatre, or go to SIFF Cinema next weekend, where a series of circus/burlesque-inspired films will be preceded by live entertainment. Shows at Hale's continue through April 5.

On opening night, extravagantly costumed performers greeted the audience at the door and feather boas and other "moisture" keepsakes were on sale in the lobby. In the theater, the G-rated offerings included music, comedy and juggling. Best of all was the aerial work: acrobat Sally Pepper of Circus Contraption, working solo, and the Velone Sisters, delivering captivating midair displays of balance, grace and strength.

Dr. Calamari and his assistant, Acrophelia, after nimbly parodying German expressionistic cinema, performed equally demanding feats — he remaining earthbound while she perched on top of him with the nonchalance of a bird on a twig.

A cappella rockers the Bobs dropped by to perform "a nondairy version" of their favorite Cream tune, "White Room." And Tom Noddy's "bubble magic" ranged from an erupting Mount St. Helens to a rotating carousel. ("What you see here," he said, "is the result of over 30 years of playing with bubbles almost every day. My father is so thrilled.")

The most striking acts were Pinky d'Ambrosia, fantastically decked out in an op-art hoop-skirt and head-dress as she invested an operatic aria with a passion bordering on psychosis, and Godfrey Daniels, a clown of remarkable proportions with a slow but oddly perilous balloon routine. Most acts will be appearing again at some point between now and April 5. The lineup changes slightly every night, so check the schedule for details.

Note: "Family-friendly" doesn't mean entirely vanilla. Risqué moments on Wednesday included jokes designed to fly over the kids' heads and a dance number by Du Caniveaux Dancing Bears, whose décolletage was not what it seemed.

But this wasn't raunchy fare. For that, the burlesque shows are the ones to go to — as the names of the performers (Indigo Blue, Ben DeLaCreme, the Von Foxies) suggest.

by Michael Upchurch

Smoking Hot New Dita Von Teese Photos

Enjoy these very new and very hot Dita Von Teese pics from the Spanish DT Magazine, March 2009.

Hula Hoops for Burlesque Fun and Fitness

Want to be able to rock a pair of metallic mini-shorts with a tight rear and toned midsection? Good news, folks. There's a fun way to get there.

Step 1: Buy a Hula Hoop.
Step 2: Get those hips moving.
Audria Larsenalso has made a business of hooping by offering custom-made hoops.

The hoop has been Audria Larsen's secret to success.

The 25-year-old Grand Rapids performance artist has come a long way since winning Hula Hoop competitions as a kid doing the traditional around-the-waist hooping.

She rediscovered the joy of hooping about three years ago, when doing Internet research on hula dance. It was love at first twirl, and now she's way ahead of the hoop fitness craze that's making its way to West Michigan, for some as part of the Nintendo's Wii Fit.

"It's just been an amazing thing," said Larsen, who sells handmade Audacious Hoops and has plans to teach hoop dance classes. "It's changed my life and ... my body."

A student at Aquinas College, Larsen twirls hoops to stay in shape and entertain audiences who come to see her perform as the Vivacious Miss Audacious with the Grand Rapids-based Super Happy Funtime Burlesque Show. She twirls multiple hoops and makes the tricks look easy.

Hula Hoop workout video

While her performances as Miss Audacious are for mature audiences, she wants to spread the love of hooping to the masses by offering classes soon.

Before you dismiss hooping as child's play, take a look at the midsections of those who swear by it.

Michelle Obama helped raise the status of hooping when she was photographed doing it with her daughters. Marisa Tomei used a "hoop dance" workout to get in shape for her role as a dancer in "The Wrestler."

If that doesn't inspire you to start twirling, talk to Karen Bell, a Traverse City woman who used hooping to accomplish a more realistic goal: fitting into her mother-of-the-bride dress.

"I was just looking to get the dress zipped," said Bell, 47. Now she says she's got "a six pack for the first time in my life."

While genetics probably has a lot to do with Bell's ability to quickly develop a toned midsection, the hoop does provide an excellent abdominal and core workout, said Teri Harmon, group fitness director for East Hills and the Michigan Athletic Club. Fitness instructors at both clubs have been using hoops in group fitness classes for years.

"We love it because it's fun," Harmon said.

Hooping has evolved from a 1960s childhood fad to an adult-friendly, calorie-burning art form called "hoop dance." Internet companies such as Hoopnotica and HoopGirl offer instructional videos and specialized hoops.
by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

Dita Von Teese to Record an Album

Rumor has it that burlesque queen Dita Von Teese is getting ready to record her own album. She has reportedly secured a recording contract with Interscope and is working on her first release. It’s said that her first release is going to be a cover of Irving Berlin’s song “Lazy”.

She says, “I signed a deal with Interscope in Europe.”

She adds that many of her ex-boyfriends have asked her to give up performing, but it’s just not in the cards.

She says, “To begin with, they all say how great my career is. But when it comes down to it, they want their careers to be more important than mine. I’ve had many a man ask me to quit so I can support him and be there for him all the time.”

Think she’s referring to Marilyn Manson? :P

Vivi Valentine and Australia's Burlesque Ball 2009

Vivi Valentine is one big tease. Ask the former dancer and fashion student turned burlesque artiste what act she'll be unveiling at The Burlesque Ball and she says: "I have a known love of pink, so one of my acts is tapping into a popular pink bird that's also a popular bird of mine. I'm going back to my ballet training for that."

Her second act will also draw on her dance background - Valentine spent years learning contemporary dance and ballet - but comes with a cabaret-style twist.

The Burlesque Ball, which started in 2005 and this year tours to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, presents leading Australian and international burlesque acts. Valentine says performers will put their best foot (and more) forward in order to impress not only the audience but their peers.

"There's a very standard burlesque show that most people get into. Now that we've all been doing those for a while, we're looking at spicing things up a bit.

"For me, that means bringing in more of my background, which is dance training, otherwise it's just everybody doing fan dances," she says.

Valentine, of Sydney, has been performing burlesque since 2006. The first time she was asked to do it she refused, thinking she was being asked to perform a striptease.

"A couple of months later I was asked again and I put together what I would now call a vaudeville-style performance," she says.

"It didn't have the striptease element but it definitely had the bombastic burlesque sexual innuendo. When I got over the shyness thing of being up on stage and doing something slightly cheeky, it's like all the doors opened."

Valentine now makes a full-time living from burlesque - something she says wouldn't have been possible without US performer Dita von Teese single-handedly lobbing burlesque firmly into the mainstream. She's also grateful for Sydney burlesque agencies and promoters, including Burlesque Ball organiser Jac Bowie, who "came in and gave it a standard - talking about amounts that you may be able to consider living on".

While Valentine's hardly rolling in it, she can afford to pay not only for a roof over her head but the luxury of an inner-city studio. "Everything I earn goes into costumes and paying for my studio," she says. "It's not something I even blink at - when you're having so much fun, you're happy to not be able to go out and buy cocktails at night with your friends."

Valentine's right up there among the best but the headline act at the ball is New Yorker Amber Ray, a curvaceous beauty, coquettish singer and former stripper.

One of her acts will be a classic 1950s-style showgirl number while the other has an animal theme (think bunny, maybe, or pussycat).

"I've been working two to four gigs a week for almost the past decade . . . so I've got to the point where I'm comfortable in my own skin," Ray whispers over the phone (she's got a sore throat from singing). "I want every woman [in the audience] to look at me and feel what I'm feeling. Then I want their boyfriends to look at me and go, 'Oh my God, that's how my girlfriend is feeling right now.' I want this chain reaction of sensuality that completely sets them on fire."

Ray says burlesque communities are popping up all over the US, including in her native Milwaukee, but she's grateful to be in New York. "It's such an incredible scene here because everyone feeds off each other but in a very natural and sweet way - it's not like anybody would ever, ever steal anybody else's act," she says.

Bowie travels the world sourcing acts for her showcase, which features two 90-minute sets of performances and emulates the atmosphere of a secret gentlemen's club in 1940s Paris.

"I saw Amber in New York on a number of occasions and I was just blown away," Bowie says. "She's so confident and so powerful."

Bowie says she started the ball because "I've always been a lover of burlesque but I was always eternally disappointed at that time with what was going on in Sydney. I really wanted to see very high-end burlesque.

"I wanted to take it up a notch - it just coincided with the resurgence in burlesque."
by Katrina Lobley

Tempest Rose has been a Bad Girl

Tempest Rose is about to kick Oxford out of its comfort zone with a great big, feathery, sequinned stiletto heel and into the 21st century.

The creation of former Oxford High School pupil Ariadne Blakey, right, Tempest Rose is now a proud member of the Kitten Club in London and wants to bring burlesque back to her home town.

“I was going to start something in London but when I researched burlesque in Oxford I realised there was nothing here,” the 26-year-old says, after a strenuous three-hour rehearsal in fishnets and a feather boa.

“Burlesque is a combination of singing, dancing, satire, circus, striptease and comedy.

“But it is also a vehicle for eroticism and sensuality.”

Burlesque is back in a big way, with cabaret clubs opening all over London.

“It’s ironic really,” Ariadne says, “because in the 1930s burlesque was huge, which was the last Depression, and now its coming back into fashion during this recession.”

So what’s the attraction? “The audience is predominantly women – I think they’re bored of in-yer-face aggressive sexuality.

“This is much more old-fashioned, sensuous and interactive. It’s erotic, but also intelligent, so it stimulates you mentally as well as being sexy.

“While it takes you on a journey through the many characters I play, there is always this sexual undercurrent. What I love most is that I get to sing, act and dance and it’s the one vehicle that allows you to do them all.

“Plus I get to use all the facets of my training, and all of my experience every night. So you get to have a night out watching something inspiring rather than going to a nightclub or bar. There’s nothing really like it.”

So who is Tempest Rose and where did she come from?

“She’s a caricature of all the things I‘d like to be,” Ariadne says.

“Tempest Rose gets to have frivolous, zany fun while I pay the bills,” she laughs.

“So the debutante and showgirl Miss Tempest Rose graduated from finishing school in 2007 and is most accomplished in the lady-like pastimes of singing, poetry, ballet and needlepoint.

“She is also highly accomplished in the not-so lady-like arts of soul-singing, tease, espionage, assassination, drinking, hustling and is well aware of what the butler saw. Tempest Rose may look like a lady, but she is not to be messed with!”

Ariadne, on the other hand, grew up in Headington, where her parents still live, before taking a place at The London Academy of Performing Arts, with a post graduate diploma in classical acting with musical theatre.

Since then she has worked in theatre, musical theatre, film, television, voice-overs and the West End. Does she ever get self-conscious as Tempest Rose?

“The first time I felt very much on show but even in a pair of nipple tassles it doesn’t bother me now,” Ariadne laughs.

“But I don’t go any further than French knickers, and as I’m also sponsored by a lingerie company I get to wear all this wonderful clothing and costumes.”

So what will Ariadne’s High School teachers think? “I hope they’ll be very proud and see that I’m promoting a positive female role model both physically and mentally and doing something for women, as well as it as being enterprising.

“But I would love to find out what they think,” she smiles before winking, tossing her boa over her shoulder and departing, with a swing of her hips.

Tempest Rose will be at Baby Simple in Cowley Road on March 19 and once a month thereafter. Tickets cost £8.

Dita Von Teese wants to Perform for Presidents

Dita Von Teese thinks “it’s a shame” that presidents can no longer visit strip clubs anymore due to the scandalous perception associated with stripping nowadays.

The Burlesque Queen, who has been amusing the crowds at the Paris strip club ‘Crazy Horse’, revealed she would love to have presidents in her audience.

But the changing times no longer allowed them to spend their evenings at the nude clubs without creating an outcry.

“The Crazy Horse is so historical and sophisticated, it really gets me thinking about how times have changed - there [are] hundreds and hundreds of names on the wall of people who have been there,” Fox News quoted her as telling Tarts.

“John F. Kennedy was there while he was in Office, I mean this is an all-nude cabaret.

“What U.S. President now could walk into that? It is a strange time. I just met the First Lady and the President of France and they wished they could come to my show but can’t while they have this job.

“It’s such a shame, there was once a different time when stripping and burlesque wasn’t considered scandalous,” she added.

Dita Von Teese to Perform at The Triple Door

The famous martini glass goddess, the mistress of fetish, the modern pin-up, the Queen of burlesque: Dita Von Teese is coming to The Triple Door.

Using the best of Neo-Burlesque, Dita Von Teese will grace the stage for two performances a night on Wednesday April 1 and Thursday April 2, 2009. Joining Von Teese are her special guests The Bedazzled Brooklyn Bombshell, Angie Pontani and new rising star Ava Garter.

All shows are only for the drinking age crowds and will cost a pretty penny at $45 advanced and $55 day of show.

Dita Von Teese is the biggest name in burlesque. Beginning as a fetish model recreating Bettie Page style pin ups to becoming known as a tight lacer, using corsets to narrow her natural waist to 22 inches and only 16.5 inches when laced, Von Teese became the headliner she is today through the creation of her signature burlesque routines.

er famous numbers include the use of a carousel horse, her traditional feather fan dance, her Bird of Paradise show, her powder compact show and her famous submersion into a massive martini glass complete with an olive sponge.

These impressive stage shows have earned her many famous and fervent fans. Besides being known for her short-lived marriage to shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, Von Teese is a muse for many high-profile designers from Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin and John Galliano to Jean Paul Gualtier, Zac Posen and Louis Vuitton. Most recently she designed a new strip tease entitled “LipTeese” for her role as MAC Viva Glam spokesperson.

If you’ve ever seen the Atomic Bombshells burlesque troupe, which frequents The Triple Door, or have always wanted to, do not miss the ultimate burlesque experience with Dita Von Teese in the flesh.

A staple of the glitzy and glamorous stages of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York, as well as the first ever guest to perform at the Parisian Crazy Horse cabaret club, Dita Von Teese is the undisputed master, leader and seductress of burlesque.

Sexual Abuse Centre Defend Burlesque Fundraiser

Organizers of a fundraising show for a leading sex-abuse charity have defended plans for a burlesque performer to appear at the event.

The Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre, which provides counseling and support to the survivors of sex attacks, has come under fire for using a near-naked dancer as part of its line up for a fundraising concert to mark International Women's Day.

The centre has defended its decision to feature a burlesque showgirl against claims that it is reinforcing the notion that women are sex objects and said the decision to book Amber Topaz is part of a celebration of women.

Eileen Calder, co-director of the centre, said: “Women are taking back their sexuality in this day and age and there is a vast difference between erotica and pornography.

“We don’t exist to promote prudishness. I believe women are entitled to be sexual beings and feel comfortable in their sexuality. Our femininity is not something we should be ashamed of.

“We would like to extend our thanks to all the performers at the International Women’s Day cabaret for their generosity and their time. From belly-dancers to burlesque, cabaret to swing and disco to dance – we welcome talent from all walks of life.”

Amber Topaz will join a line up of other acts, including Living TV Rehab star and former X-Factor finalist Rowetta, I’d Do Anything singers Rachel Tucker and Niamh Perry, as well as performances from top swing singer James Huish and a special live set from international DJ and music producer Micky Modelle at Queen’s University Students Union on Sunday.

Concerns have been raised about the suitability of an appearance of Amber Topaz — her website has pictures of her topless with tassels on her nipples, although the Rape & Crisis Centre has stated that her performance at their fundraising will not include nudity.

Feminist writer and former Queen’s University academic Fionola Meredith has been quoted as saying: “The Rape Crisis Centre is a great cause and it deserves all the support and fundraising it can get.

“But engaging a burlesque star as part of the International Women’s Day cabaret is a mistake and one that is in rather bad taste.

“Having a half-naked dancer prancing around provocatively in leopardskin stockings and bra simply reinforces the idea women are first and foremost sexual objects.”

Over the next week, a whole host of other performers will be announced for the marathon event starting at 7.30pm at the Speakeasy in Queen’s Students Union. These will include performance arts, dance, acrobatics and more singers.

John Ferguson of Crew Management, which is managing the event, said: “I was approached by the Rape Crisis Trust who were set up late last year to raise vital funds for the Rape Crisis Centre.

“Each month staff and volunteers at the Rape Crisis Centre battle against an ongoing funding crisis to keep their helpline open. We wanted to put on an event that brought the best of female talent together a variety of other performances to give a night of entertainment for everyone.

“We decided that we wanted to also use the event to celebrate the work of the centre and also to celebrate International Women’s Day which this year will mark 27 years since the organization opened its doors in 1982.”

Tickets for the event are available from Ticketmaster.

Sweet and Nasty roasts The Burlesque Mayor of NYC

The burlesque world is but rarely graced with figures of towering talent, matchless intellect, humanitarian instincts and unrestrained charisma; and Jonny Porkpie falls short of greatness in not only these but so very many other ways, as well. On Monday, March 30, Sweet and Nasty presents PORK ROAST at The New Monday Night Burlesque: a true burlesque birthday roast of the self-proclamined "Burlesque Mayor of NYC."

"Jonny Porkpie has been a personal thorn in my side for years now," claims host and producer Nasty Canasta. "It's about time someone knocked him down a few pegs - and you wouldn't believe how long the list of volunteers was to do just that." PORK ROAST will do the traditional comedy roast one better, by adding performances by some of New York's biggest stars of burlesque and variety in a tassel-twirling, boob-baring tribute to Porkpie and his unique style of 'man-lesque'. As Monday Night Burlesque producer Doc Wasabassco adds, "It's especially hard for male performers to make it in burlesque: they need a certain extra something, and Jonny ... well, he just hasn't got it. He does have nice hair, though."

Since 2006, Sweet and Nasty has been adding its own unique mix of glam camp, historical fact, and blatant lies to the New York burlesque scene. Sweet and Nasty currently appears on the last Monday of every month at Public Assembly, as part of The New Monday Night Burlesque. Their March extravaganza, PORK ROAST, is the centerpiece of a jam-packed evening of burlesque entertainment: preceded by The Kickoff at 9pm, and followed by the Monday Night Blue go-go dance party at Midnight. Plus two happy hours: preshow 8-9pm, and post-show midnight until closing.

Little Brooklyn, Albert Cadabra, Clams Casino, Anita Cookie, GiGi La Femme, Neil O'Fortune, Ruby Valentine and Doc Wasabassco are warming up the oven and sharpening the knives, and roastmaster Nasty Canasta is setting the table for PORK ROAST, a burlesque birthday roast of Jonny Porkpie at Public Assembly for one night only, Monday, March 30 at 10pm.

SWEET AND NASTY BURLESQUE and THE NEW MONDAY NIGHT BURLESQUE present
PORK ROAST
Monday, March 30 @ 10pm
at Public Assembly, 70 N. 6th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Admission: $10