New Dita Von Teese Interview

The queen of the slow, sequinned striptease is on the phone, talking sex, seamed stockings and more sex.

What are you wearing right now, Dita?

Actually, I didn't even have to ask. The woman who was born Heather Sweet, who claims that without make-up she's an ordinary looking natural blonde from Michigan state, has come straight from work-out to interview.

"I wear, like, black simple Capri pants and a shapely T-shirt."

No baggy trackpants?

"I don't like looking in the mirror and feeling sloppy. It's not good for me and it's not good for how I feel about myself, so why do it?"

Dita Von Teese is a self-made sexpot who makes no excuses for her particular brand of manufactured feminity.

"A lot of women are looking for an alternative role model for 'sexy' than just that natural beauty who looks great in a bikini running on the beach with blonde hair flowing and no makeup.

"That's like our beauty icon of modern times. I never felt like I could fit into that, because I am not that. Maybe I stand for someone who is an alternative, who is telling people that you can make yourself into something sexy instead of being born with it."

The Art of the Teese, re-released this month, is the step-by-step bible to being Dita.

"Glamour above all things is what I say," she writes in the introduction.

"There was a time when a lady dressed to the nines no matter what her destination. This great girl wore seamed stockings and garter belts every single day. She curled her eyelashes and she set her hair in luscious waves.

"She painted her lips a flushed, rich scarlet. Wherever the day took her, she wore high heels and satin gloves to her elbows, soaring cocque feathers and veils of the finest netting over her eyes. And so do I."

Take-home message: Anyone can be Dita if they can afford a $10,000 corset that sucks 16cm off their waist; if they have time to paint their nails perfectly; if crucially they don't mind getting their gear off.

Von Teese, 36, has led a worldwide revival of burlesque, the art of getting all-but-naked to music, that had its heyday when dancers such as Sally Rand and Gypsy Rose Lee dominated the American stage.

And, she says, unless you're prepared to strip, you're not honouring history.

"You're taking away from what those women did. If they did a strip tease in the 1930s down to pasties and a g-string, that's what I'm going to do, and I don't have any respect or admiration for pseudo-burlesque and celebrities who dance around the stage singing Big Spender with a feather boa."

Recently, at the French Crazy Horse cabaret, Von Teese accidentally pulled down her g-string.

"The crowd went wild and I was so terrified for a moment and then I remembered I was in Paris ... and I went, 'oh, I forgot, I'm allowed to do this'."

In the increasingly conservative United States, she says, there is the risk of an arrest for indecent exposure.

"Which sounds like a good time to me, actually. It's fantastic when you look at the old publicity photos of the stars being dragged off in nothing but a mink coat and their g-string. They loved it. It was great for business."

Von Teese hardly needs added exposure. Multiple magazine covers, advertising deals, a divorce from metal singer Marilyn Manson, and an alleged year-long stint of celibacy have kept her firmly in the headlines.

"It was a strange thing," she says. "When I was going through the most traumatic parts of a public divorce, I discovered I was one tough bitch.

"I was in the thick of it, but I was still able to go out on stage and convey fun and sensuality and feel powerful. It was a moment when I realised I could do anything ... and I was really happy to learn that lesson."

Actually, she'd like to clarify that celibacy rumour: "I was speaking very seriously about how it was to be divorced and that it was difficult for me to get back into the swing of things and it took some time. But make no mistake, I was having all kinds of fun. I was never, ever celibate."

The pin-up girl whose used stockings sell for $85 on the internet (she thinks that's sweet, not sleazy), and who, literally, has a fetish flipside (the second half of her book is big on leather, boots and binding), insists she's a girl's girl whose biggest fans are women.

"I'm not the one trying to seduce your boyfriend when you walk out of the room, I'm not the one who gets drunk and dances on the table and wants to expose herself to everyone and prove her sexuality."

Von Teese says she wants to be remembered as someone who evolved, not revived, burlesque. Most famous for the routine where she sponges off in a giant martini glass,

"I have, like, 20 other shows that are new and unique to burlesque".

She is not, she says, the world's most beautiful or talented woman. "I'm very average in many ways, but I have a lot of ambition and a lot of drive and all of it comes from a very genuine place."

The Art of the Teese celebrates Dita, variously, as a femme fatale, a showgirl and a movie goddess. She poses with powder puffs, astride a lion and in a bath.

But she also appears gagged and trussed; she sports a whip, eye mask and black boots and says, "for me, fetish is a sensual magical charm".

"The definition of feminism is about having the choice," says Von Teese.

"When you put yourself in that position as a submissive, especially in modern times, it's by choice. I'm totally controlling that, I chose the outfit, I chose the lighting and I had the idea ... I like the idea of the two-sided book, the good girl versus the bad girl and the fact that we can be all of those girls. It's up to us to decide."
By KIM KNIGHT - Sunday Star Times

Dita: Such a Teese!

Hailed as the most seductive woman in the world, burlesque star Dita Von Teese talks to Nathalie Gale about life after the collapse of her high-profile Irish marriage and those rumors about herself and David Beckham.

As weddings go, it wasn't the most auspicious start to a happy marriage for Dita Von Teese and pasty-faced rocker Marilyn Manson.

The bride wore a flowing purple Vivienne Westwood number over her trademark cinched corset. Manson was his normal sepulchral white self, with black make-up and lipstick as they exchanged vows by candlelight in Ireland, at Gothic Castle Gurteen Le Poer in Kilsheelan, Co Tipperary.

A designer-fest costing an estimated $500,000, the bride wore Christian Louboutin shoes to trip up the aisle while the groom wore a John Galliano black-silk taffeta tux. They exchanged their vows at midnight in the home of their artist friend Gottfried Helnwein and the invited guest list was studded with showbiz royalty, including Madonna, Keanu Reeves, David Lynch, Marie Presley, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

If the wedding was dramatic, the divorce was bitter and, today, raven-haired Dita can barely conceal her antipathy towards Manson.

"We do not have an amicable friendship," she says. "No. I don't think there's any reason for being friends. We don't have anything to do with each other any more.

"It's been a year-and-a-half since I've been divorced and to me it's completely irrelevant in my life now," she says. "I feel like I am in a whole new chapter of my life and I'm really happy about it."

Perhaps because of the acrimony of her bust-up with Manson, Dita is adamant that she is not about to embark on another long-term relationship. "I've not met anyone that I feel like I'm ready to unveil my relationship with," she says. "I don't want to be in a relationship right now. I don't want to call any attention to anyone. Besides, I'm real good at being sneaky."

It is no wonder that ivory-skinned Dita wants to keep her affairs of the heart quiet: she wants to make the most of her status as the most seductive woman on the planet. Dita -- or Heather Renée Sweet, as she was born -- is the daughter of a machinist and a manicurist and is now fêted the world over for having revived the lost art of burlesque.

With her captivating curves, . 22-inch waist, .porcelain pallor and raunchy routines, the quiet girl from Michigan has earned a reputation as a hot glamour girl who thinks nothing of stripping off to flaunt what she's got. Bold, beautiful and oozing confidence, she takes her inspiration from the old black-and-white movie stars, and has men falling at her feet.

"I grew up in Michigan in a small town which wasn't very glamorous," she says. "When I was a little girl I remember watching old movies with my mother and I wanted to be like Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich. I'd watch them and think, 'That's what I want, I want to be a grown-up lady'. I hated being a kid. I just wanted to be a lady."

A self-confessed late bloomer, Dita was painfully shy as a child. Only after she began working in a lingerie shop did Dita begin to come out of her shell. Her first taste of stripping -- aged 18 -- was in 'bikini clubs' in California, for a respectable $1,500 a night.

Dita, 35, insists she always knew that sexiness was less about eroticism and more about confidence. "I always try to remind women not to focus on what they think beauty is, because confidence is where sexiness comes from," she says. "Anybody can be all sex, sex, sex on stage. That's not good. It's good when you're clearly enjoying it and having fun. That's what I always try to do -- have fun. It is so much more interesting to watch."

After conquering her fear of getting up on stage, Dita moved on to perfecting the art of burlesque and soon became renowned for her raunchy performances, including her trademark Girl in a Martini Glass routine and riding a bucking bronco oversize lipstick, which have made her a household name.

Her routines have earned her an army of admirers across the globe, including a host of famous fans. "I get loads of compliments from a lot of female actresses," she says. "I'm always sort of surprised to have such a big female fan base. I did a photo shoot with Scarlett Johansson once and I was naked. In between shooting, she would sort of stand in front of me and tell the crew not to look at me. She's pretty cool."

Then, there's her friendship with the Beckhams, and the well-publicized rumor that David was sending her sly text messages behind Victoria's back. Dita chooses her words carefully when asked to elaborate. "I am friends with Victoria, and I've met David a couple of times too," she says.

"Yes, there was a rumor that David was sending me texts but that's not true. There were no text messages from David, although Victoria sends me texts.

"I know there was another rumor that I gave Victoria burlesque lessons, but I don't think she needs burlesque lessons. I think she knows how to be a sexy, confident woman in her own right. She doesn't need any advice from me. Although I do think it would be fun, and I'm sure she'd be up for it. She's a lot of fun."

Dita realizes her looks will not last forever. She's happy to admit she's already had breasts implants. She is now using her amplified chest to boost her assets and is fronting a new ad campaign for Wonderbra. "I was very involved with designing the new Wonderbra. Obviously, my obsession with lingerie launched my entire career.

"I have a big collection of vintage lingerie already," she boasts. "I have a major wardrobe just for my lingerie. I have trunks full of lingerie. I've no idea how many bras I have; it's just too many to count. Hundreds at least. I'm sure that I wouldn't have to do laundry for at least two years if I didn't want to."

But at heart, Dita feels she is just a normal girl from mid-west America who is making the most of what she's got. "I'm a normal girl playing dress-up and having a good time and living this glamorous life that I created for myself. I just want to encourage other women to do the same."
- Nathalie Gale

Dita Von Teese: I'm shy

Burlesque dancer and pin-up model Dita Von Teese has just launched a new lingerie collection with Wonderbra. She spoke to Newsbeat about her personal underwear collection, pre-performance nerves and what it's like to be spanked on stage.

How did you get involved with making your underwear range?

I have a signature collection with Wonderbra and they approached me on collaborating with them and creating a line. I have a long-time fascination with lingerie.

My first job was working in a lingerie store and really my love of vintage style lingerie in particular was what launched my career as a pin-up model and burlesque performer. I always knew I would do something with lingerie.

Do you have a whole room full of underwear?

I have several armoires full of lingerie that I wear all the time and then I have several trunks of corsets. And then I have all my stage lingerie. I have lots and lots of boxes in storage. I'm a bit of a pack rat.

After a relationship with rocker Marilyn Manson, do more people recognise you on the street than before?

I have a lot of female fans and I like it when people come up to me - it's very nice. I'm a shy person.

That's what I worked my whole life for. I've been performing burlesque and creating pin-up pictures for 17 years. I don't have any complaints about it. Sometimes though you just feel a bit like, 'Do I have toilet paper on my shoe?'. But I've felt like that the whole of my adult life because I've always dressed extravagantly.

How do you feel before you do a performance - do you get nervous?

The model is famous for her raunchy burlesque routines

With my show, of course I get nervous because I think it's important to retain a bit of nervous energy to keep you on your toes and to keep you focussed. There haven't been many moments in my life where I didn't feel nervous. But I don't get obviously overwhelmed with stage fright ever.

Do you ever have trouble with the audience when you're performing?

Not lately. I think most of the audience is pretty well behaved. When I first started performing burlesque in the early 90s I think it might have been more of an issue. A lot of people didn't understand what burlesque was.

I've definitely been smacked on the rear end a few times. More than often I've turned round and seen that it's a girl. They all want to touch - like, 'It's sparkly, it's pretty - can I touch it?'.

I don't really have much trouble with men being aggressive with me on stage.

Is it true you have a film project next year?

I have a couple of movie projects and I'm just working with this really wonderful acting coach who's one of the greatest acting teachers of all time. She's responsible for Charlize Theron's acting and Eva Mendes and Halle Berry.

So she trained with all these wonderful women and she's taken me on - luckily for me - as a personal project.

I'm excited to perhaps make a film. I really want to make films that have something to do with who I am and what I do best. I'm trying to stay within that old Hollywood idea of making films that have something to do with my world.

Bizarre Magazine Dita Von Teese interview

Which classic burlesque stars do you take inspiration from?

Most of my inspiration comes from 1930s and 40s musicals. I started performing burlesque in 1991, but back then it was nearly impossible to find authentic, vintage burlesque footage. Instead, I took inspiration from the big Technicolor musicals and movies that depicted burlesque, including Lady Of Burlesque, Gypsy, and Dance, Girl, Dance. I also read a lot about classic burlesque stars, and made up what I thought burlesque was like – which was good, because that helped me form my own style, rather than mimicking someone else’s.

Early in my career I also read Gypsy Rose Lee’s autobiography, and her business sense and ambition to succeed in the mainstream as a stripper in the 1930s and 40s inspired me to work hard and stay focused. And I love Lili St Cyr because she created some innovative and super-sensual acts that were completely different from anything else in the burlesque scene, and she also had a career in nightclubs even after the burlesque theaters in the United States closed.

If you could travel back in time and see one burlesque act, whose would it be?
I’d love to have seen Sally Rand’s Leda And The Swan act, and her whole Sally’s Nude Ranch revue in general.

You must have met many old-time burlesque icons – do they ever talk about the less glamorous side of burlesque?
I once went to a show with three of the most famous 1940s New Orleans burlesque stars, and watched them as they observed a neo-burlesque show and ripped the young performers apart, saying that burlesque was absolutely nothing like what they were seeing on stage!
But overall, I think Liz Goldwyn’s film Pretty Things (2005) showed all the different sides of how burlesque was back in the day. She managed to get interviews with the last of the classic burlesque stars – they were really elegant, classy ladies, but were the ones who were always trying to push the envelope and do racy things on stage. I think that’s what a lot of people don’t know about burlesque – back in the day it wasn’t all glamour and ‘classy’ striptease, and you had all kinds of girls and all kinds of acts.
When you come down to it, burlesque was invented for a male audience and for sexual titillation. However, it just so happened that you had some stars with their own elegant approach, and I think that’s the best part of burlesque – diversity among the dancers.

As a burlesque star, have you encountered the less glamorous side of the industry?
Well, I’ve certainly put in many years of non-glamorous burlesque-ing. I started dancing in strip clubs all over the US – some of them were down and dirty, hole-in-the wall joints, and at times I was dancing for a confused audience that was used to seeing porn-star strippers – what I was doing was alien to them.
Anyone who was dancing burlesque in the early days of the revival didn’t have the media explosion there is now to support what they were doing. In the beginning my fans were all fetishists, Bettie Page fans and the odd person who remembered burlesque because they were there the first time around!
During the early years of my career, burlesque wasn’t glamorous at all. I’ve driven across the States and loaded and unloaded my big Martini glass from vans myself, picked up dollar bills off the floor and stayed in plenty of scary motel rooms. I was no overnight success, and no one can say I didn’t pay my dues to get where I am now. Every time I pop a bottle of expensive champagne before a show, I take a second and think, “Damn, it was worth it!”
But even though I wouldn’t change a thing, I have some hysterical tales of my early days in burlesque, and some rip-roaring footage of my first tour, which was four weeks of hell, deep in Texas. I was like the notorious raven-haired wicked city woman in these small towns – a total freak to everyone.
I have a fabulous collection of Polaroids from every club I ever danced in. I took pictures of the house dancers and pictures of the club marquees all over the US – many of them with my name spelt wrong!

And there must be some less than savory characters in that world, too…
These days I have a management team that deals with all the business stuff. And yes, as with any business, I’ve met people who tried to cross me – but I have the best lawyers working for me now and I always get what I’m owed. There are a lot of people making money off me, so they have a vested interest in making sure I’m treated right and paid properly!
I love the fact that all I have to worry about now is putting on a show, because I used to have to do all of the business stuff myself, and I hated that. I just want to create new shows and be on stage.

Touring and performing must be tough work. What’s the side of the burlesque world that the public doesn’t get to see?
They don’t get to see anything, except what happens on stage – as it should be! It’s supposed to be about fantasy and glamor, and it’s important to maintain that mystery. I suppose the thing the audience doesn’t see is how some things seem so simple, when in reality they’re anything but easy.
When I make a new show, there’s always something that ends up being really challenging – we invent some new trick and discover it hurts like hell or is impossible to do. I have all kinds of names for things. For instance, I had some interesting feather fans made, and there’s one new move that looks so great, and I named it The Circle Of Pain.
Every act has one thing that just sucks about performing it – nothing is ever as easy as it looks.

What’s been your most embarrassing moment while performing?
Well, it’s pretty embarrassing when I can’t get part of my costume off, or when one of my props malfunctions and I have to figure out how to work around it. I just hope no one notices!

What do you love most about doing your burlesque act?
I love the creative side; making a show and watching it slowly come together. Every new number has its own challenges, and I love that moment when it finally feels right and it becomes fun to perform.
Almost every new act makes me panic. I usually spend $60,000 to $75,000
in creating an act, and I often end up wondering what the hell I’ve got myself into.
When I made the MAC Viva Glam show with the bucking, spinning lipstick, there was that first moment when we flipped the switch and watched it go completely wild. I remember thinking, “Oh good Lord, what have I done? I’m going to get bucked off. This is impossible…”
And I did get bucked off, and it was a nightmare to make it work, but when it finally came together it was the most fun I’ve ever had, and people went crazy for it. So I love the process of creating something new, and the challenge of making something come to fruition.

What do you think about on stage? Sexy thoughts? Or “my leg goes here…” thoughts?
First of all, I’m laughing my ass off at how ridiculous it is. And I’m thinking about the music hits and the order the costume comes off. But the laughing part is the most important aspect of a good performance. I believe that thinking sexy thoughts is the wrong approach.
For me, the most interesting thing is when there’s a playful, humorous element to a burlesque show. The sexy part is already there with the striptease, and ‘sexy’ naturally happens when the dancer has confidence, so the carefree and fun part is what makes it memorable. A girl trying to be sexy looks like a girl trying to be sexy. That’s a burlesque failure.

Who would you consider to be rising stars in the world of burlesque?
I’m always impressed by unique acts. I love it when I see something that comes from someone’s imagination, rather than what they saw another dancer doing. It is possible to do something new. There’s a girl in NYC called Narcissister and her acts are genius. She hides her identity, and that’s so mysterious and chic! She performs at NYC’s The Box, and there’s also this guy there who’s the image of Vincent Gallo and does this incredible act with a golden mannequin leg – I want to be that leg!
I love acts that leave you stunned, slightly offended and turned on, and shows that redefine burlesque. I have zero tolerance for copycat acts and sanitized, pretentious pseudo-burlesque.
As far as classic burlesque goes, the last show I saw that really impressed me was this show by Ava Garter where she does a fabulous matador number with a big bull prop. She looked hot, and she was fiery and gorgeous!
She’s one of my oldest girlfriends, and I was so proud of her professionalism and loved seeing her hard work being paid off with a great successful act. The bar’s being constantly raised in modern burlesque.

What advice would you give to aspiring burlesque stars?
Do some research and don’t follow a formula. The things that make you different are the things that make you valuable. It just makes sense!

Article courtesy of Bizarre Magazine

Interview with Ava Von Sweets of Milwaukee's Alley Cat Revue

Recently, a new burlesque group started shaking it up -- and taking it off -- in Milwaukee. The group, called the Alley Cat Revue, is an extension of a group in St. Louis with the same name.

Bella Sue DeVianti moved to Brew City from St. Louis -- where she was a part of The Alley Cat Revue -- to start the group here. Recently, the Milwaukee burlesque troupe road tripped to St. Louis to perform with the original group.

We tracked down Ava Von Sweets, also in the Alley Cat Revue, and asked her about the playfully bawdy life of a burlesque dancer. Meow.

OnMilwaukee.com: How many girls are in the Alley Cat Revue?

Ava Von Sweets: There are four local girls in the group: me, Bella Sue DeVianti, Vee Valentine and Raven Nevermore. We're looking for more (girls to participate). At our shows, we intend on always having a featured performer from somewhere else to perform with us.

OMC: Nice stage names. Any chance you can divulge your real name?

AVS: No, I really can't. I have a professional day job and I do not want my employer or clients to know about this aspect of my life.

OMC: How did you get started in burlesque? What is your performance and dance background?

AVS: I have always had a fascination with dancing around in sequin outfits. I started taking dance lessons when I was 5, and continued in grade school years. I was a cheerleader all throughout high school. I guess I've always liked the stage and performing.

I started taking a real interest in burlesque when I saw a reality show about Ivan Kaye's Forty Deuce, a burlesque club in L.A. and Las Vegas. I visited both the L.A. and Las Vegas club and was enamored by the entire show. I wanted to be one of the girls on stage. I also saw a Pontani Sisters show in New York and am very influenced by them as well.

OMC: Will you briefly describe a show?

AVS: So far we've had shows where each girl does two or three performances / routines / songs throughout the night. We've also incorporated some magic acts and plan to incorporate more non-burlesque performers to round it out and give the audience a little variety.

We have an emcee who plays with the crowd and introduces the girls. We break it up into two acts, with an intermission in between. Our first two shows have been at Stonefly Brewery and we have two more scheduled there.

OMC: Any nudity? What do you wear?

AVS: There's partial nudity. Most of the girls get down to underwear-like bottoms -- sometimes thongs -- and pasties. Not every performance will end with that, but that would be the bare minimum.

We all make and design our own costumes using lingerie, swimsuits, costume pieces, feathers, sequins, rhinestones, gloves, feather boas, fishnets and high heels. I recently did a German routine wearing a beer maiden outfit, dancing to a traditional march and serving beer and pretzels.

OMC: What is the purpose of your performances? What do you like about being in a burlesque group?

AVS: I think the main purpose is entertainment. We just want people to enjoy it and have a good time while we're enjoying it. I like being in the group because I like to entertain people and be on stage. I guess I've always been a ham for an audience. It's exciting to be up there and to be able to get a positive reaction from the audience. It makes me feel good when I know people are into it and enjoying it.

OMC: Have you lived in Milwaukee your whole life? What else do you do?

AVS: I moved here five years ago. I'm originally from Illinois. I have a full-time job as a graphic designer as well.

OMC: Does burlesque require a certain body type?

AVS: I don't think so. I have seen burlesque performed by women with all kinds of body shapes. Yes, I can understand that some people might prefer to see a certain physique over another, but people have all different tastes and burlesque can accommodate that. I believe you just have to know how to work with what you've got.
By Molly Snyder Edler

Dita Von Teese - The Big Tease

Inspired by the stars of yesteryear Dita Von Teese single-handedly reinvented the art of burlesque. She reveals her style secrets to Alison Kerr
In a sea of bland, tanned blonde celebrities, one woman stands out. International burlesque queen Dita Von Teese is a poster girl for old-fashioned glamour. She may not be a movie star but her look is pure Hollywood circa 1947. With her carefully coiffed, raven hair, creamy skin and ruby lips, she is all the great screen sirens of the Golden Age rolled into one petite package. Rita Hayworth? Check. Elizabeth Taylor? Check. Joan Crawford? Check. Jane Russell. Er, double check?

In just a few years, Von Teese has gone from being famous by association with her ex-husband, freakish goth rocker Marilyn Manson - about whom she politely declines to talk - to being universally known by her first name, which is often used as a form of shorthand to refer to her distinctive look. Her signature style, which fuses fashions from the 1930s, "40s and "50s, has made her an icon and, in addition to being hailed as a patron saint of vintage chic, she has become a fixture on the fashion circuit, with designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier throwing open the doors to their archives and inviting her to borrow whatever she likes.

Meanwhile, her one-woman revival of the art of striptease - performed in spectacularly lavish shows of which MGM would have been proud - has spawned a surge of interest in burlesque. Her fans include the cr'me de la cr'me of the pop and fashion worlds: the Beckhams, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Roland Mouret, Jade Jagger, George Michael and Elton John have all enjoyed Von Teese"s stylish retro routines, which are more balletic than bump-and-grind, and which have drawn inspiration from the work of such diverse figures as Hollywood choreographer Busby Berkeley and Art Deco designer Erte.

Von Teese has injected fantasy, femininity and flirtatious fun into stripping, whether she"s disrobing atop a glittery pink carousel horse, bathing in a giant martini glass or patting her barely clad bod with an oversized powder puff. With her elegantly choreographed moves and her luxurious costumes and sets, she"s done her damnedest to banish the association with unimaginative pole dancing routines and tawdry clubs. Indeed, so far is the Von Teese image removed from the world of neon thongs that the 35-year-old was signed up by Wonderbra to design a range of typically glamorous, retro-inspired lingerie.When we meet, in a suitably sumptuous London hotel suite, it"s immediately apparent that, although she may be a sex symbol, Von Teese isn"t in the least bit intimidating or overpowering. Close-up, you can almost glimpse a mousy, slightly buck-toothed blonde lurking behind the porcelain, doll-like face - which recalls both Snow White and her wicked stepmother.

Although she refers to her appearance as cartoon-like onstage, her physique does resemble Jessica Rabbit"s, thanks to her Vargas girl curves and teeny waist (16 inches in her tightest corset) Von Teese doesn"t have the freakish, exaggerated, cartoon qualities that many of today"s glamour girls have. Not for her hair extensions, ludicrous cleavage or a tango tan. Dressed in a hot pink, leopard print silk dress (slightly unbuttoned to reveal the teeniest hint of a black bra) by Moschino and black patent peep-toes, Von Teese exudes sex appeal, but in a wholly unthreatening, tasteful and ladylike way.

"I like the double standard," the softly spoken star says, coyly. "I"ve always loved the idea of not being what people expect me to be. I"m not an exhibitionist that"s not why I do what I do. Day-to-day, I"m actually quite shy. I like my hemline below the knee. I would never bare my belly. I"m a little conscious about how much cleavage I"m showing. I feel like I don"t really need to show my body, and I like the mystery about not showing it I prefer the idea of someone wondering what"s underneath the dress."

Von Teese"s eyes light up as she plunges into girl talk - about clothes, make-up, hairstyles, men and movie stars. She exudes excitement as she relates how she became tongue-tied when she met Elizabeth Taylor a few years ago, and how her jaw dropped when Lauren Bacall swung by her table at a Manhattan restaurant to say hello to shoe designer Christian Louboutin. "She was walking towards us and Karl Lagerfeld bumped into her. She shot him a look that would kill, and said: 'Excuse you!" and then turned to our table to talk to Christian. She"s terrifying!"

There"s an openness about Von Teese which recalls the vulnerable aspect of Marilyn Monroe"s personality - and which makes a female star as appealing to her own sex as she is to men. Indeed, she is thrilled by the fact that the majority of her fanbase is female. "It"s mostly women who are having fun with glamour instead of trying to fit into the mainstream version of sexy," she says. "If you look at what"s considered sexy most of the time, it"s natural - no make-up, a really healthy-looking tan, running along the beach in a bikini - that"s what we"re fed as sexy. But that"s not an easy image for a lot of us to attain. I certainly couldn"t fit into that image. So I"m offering an alternative. I wanted to get in touch with what I thought was sexy - which is the opposite of the blonde bikini babe."

Von Teese prides herself on her "artificial glamour", which she believes is more easily achievable than the natural beauty that women are encouraged to aspire to. "I"m a big fan of movies of the 1930s, "40s and "50s and it was the look of the stars of those eras that appealed to me: false eyelashes, red lipstick, lots of blush, blue eyeshadow. Those stars had a commitment to glamour. It appealed to me not just because it was beautiful to look at, but because I thought: 'I can make that." I don"t think I can look like Cindy Crawford or Gisele but I can certainly paint my way to look like the stars of the past - and I thought I could be more interesting looking like that than I ordinarily was."

Was she born in the wrong era, then? "No," she says categorically. "I like having my cellphone. I like the internet. I like being different. I always wonder: "If this was 1945, would I be dressing in turn-of-the-century clothing - because I might still want to be different from everyone else?" Plus, being born when I was born, I have my pick of the fashions from the past."

THE FASCINATION WITH MOVIE STAR glamour began when Von Teese was a child. Back then, she was a natural blonde named Heather Sweet (she took her stage name from the German film actress of the 1930s, Dita Parlo), living first in Michigan then, from the age of 12, in California"s Orange County. Watching old movies on TV with her mother, she became obsessed with some of the musicals made during the Second World War, especially Cover Girl, with Rita Hayworth ("all these tilted miniature hats that sit on one side, and the suits with brooches, and the gloves," she gasps), and those with bubbly pin-up Betty Grable, who, despite her peroxide blonde hair, has proved to be Von Teese"s ultimate style icon.

Relishing the chance to talk about her heroine, Von Teese enthuses: "One of my favourite, favourite movies is a Betty Grable one called The Dolly Sisters. To me, it"s just the best hair and make-up of the 1940s. I love all of her films but those Technicolor movies where she"s a showgirl are the ones which inspire me most, especially in terms of hair styles. People say: 'Oh, I love the old black and white movies," but it"s Technicolor, glorious Technicolor, that really gets me. Nothing compares to the beauty of Technicolor - that"s what I always want to look like, and these movies have really influenced my shows."

Betty Grable is not often cited as a style icon, and, indeed, her name isn"t even very well remembered these days - which is pretty shocking, given that she was the most popular star of the war years. Perhaps now her time will come - at least, it will if Von Teese has anything to do with it. Clearly the 21st-century burlesque queen identifies with the 1940s pin-up girl, and not just in terms of appearance.

Von Teese says: "Betty was a real girl"s girl. She had a reputation for being fun and great to work with. She never wanted to be a serious actress - she just wanted to be Betty Grable and she was totally happy in those showgirl roles. She was made to do serious roles a few times, and she said: 'I don"t want to do that - I want to sing and dance and do what I do best." She knew that about herself, and I love that.

"I think that there are only a few people in the world who are that way about their career now. Pamela Anderson, for example, is great. She doesn"t take herself too seriously.

"I like when people know who they are, know their limitations and what they want to do. It"s the same thing for me. I want to be a burlesque star. I don"t want to be a singer. I don"t want to be an actress. I want to be known as a great burlesque star, a great stripper, and that"s what matters to me the most. I want to be known for what I"m really good at, not something that I"m just OK at."

The fascination with Grable was underpinned by another fixation. "All these scenes of showgirls backstage getting dressed, tightening their corsets . . . I became obsessed with lingerie and how it was a secret code of women, a sort of ritual - I never thought about it as something to seduce men. I was obsessed with the idea of 'when do I become a woman and get to wear this stuff?"

Appropriately, given her new role as designer and model for Wonderbra, Von Teese began her working life in a lingerie store, while she was still at high school. "I was enthralled by lingerie and immersed myself in it. I wanted to learn about the history of lingerie, the way the shapes changed, and what women wore in different eras." She bought her first garterbelt at the age of 15, and since then, tights haven"t had a look-in.

After she left school, Von Teese, who was by now dressing in a retro style - right down to the undies - was studying fashion design and the history of fashion at a local college by day, and working as a go-go dancer by night. Her career as a pin-up began when she decided that she"d like to be photographed wearing some of her vintage lingerie - and recreate the classic pictures of such fetish stars as Betty Page.

Von Teese was fortunate to be going out with a computer nerd at the time: "He told me about this new thing called the internet, and he set up a website for me - this was one of the first adult pin-up websites and certainly the first-ever retro one. At that time, you could only have one page. People would order photos and send us a cheque."

College and a potential career in costume design went by the wayside as Von Teese became focused on "bringing back the glamour to the fetish world". That led to stripping, and a fascination with burlesque which, with characteristic zeal, Von Teese has studied in great detail - reading every book on the subject, watching every documentary, even tracking down old burlesque dancers and interviewing them about their careers, finally producing a book on the subject.

She may be genuinely coy, but Von Teese clearly has an inner confidence which, along with her savvy business sense, has served her well. She was barely out of her teens when she launched her own, unique, take on burlesque. "Fetish magazines were really hardcore," she explains, "but I thought: 'I"m going to make it soft and pretty and elegant." Then, when I went to a strip club and I saw blonde girls swinging around poles in bikinis, I thought: 'There"s a goldmine for me because I"m different and I have something to offer that nobody else here has." I"ve always thought like that.

"Somebody else might have thought: 'I don"t fit in here, how can I fit into this?" I"ve always seen the opportunity. I still can"t understand why people don"t get that; that what makes you different is what makes you good. Don"t try to be like everyone else."

• The limited edition collection Wonderbra by Dita Von Teese goes on sale on Tuesday.

Dita Von Teese on Marriage

Dita Von Teese has said if she ever marries again it will not be "til death do us part".

The burlesque star and model divorced goth rocker Marilyn Manson last year.

Dita, 35, told The Daily Telegraph: "I loved the ritual of being married but if I marry again I would change the vows from 'til death us do part' to 'I'm really in love with you right now'."

Of their divorce she said: "In California you're meant to split things 50:50 no matter whose fault it was, but I'm the only one who worked the whole time we were together. I worked my ass off and he took the year off."

Dita revealed is dating "casually" and "loving it". She said: "I'm finally living up to this whole image that people have of me, being the seductress after 15 years of playing one."

And the starlet is on the lookout for a British boyfriend.

She added: "You know how Hugh Hefner is in his 'blonde phase'? Well, I'm in my English phase."

The curvaceous model also revealed the secret of how she keeps her 16 inch waist.

Dita said: "If ever I do reach for the tenth chip, I'll picture myself in a G-string and suddenly it doesn't seem so appealing to carry on."

Dita Von Teese PETA photoshoot and interview

Dita Von Teese PETA photoshoot and interview - talks about her pets, growing up animals and looking after them.

Vintage Von Teese Interview

The world’s most famous burlesque queen. Marilyn Manson’s embittered ex. Stripper. However one chooses to describe Dita Von Teese, the labels are certain to fall short. One thing that cannot be denied, however, is her allure, which isn’t at all the sum of her fleshy parts, her sparkly stage gear or even her affinity for public sponge baths. There’s a mystery that surrounds the Michigan native. One finds, when speaking with her, innocence mixed with irony, self-confidence muddled in with a knee-buckling hint of self-deprecation. This reporter, obviously smitten, stutters and stumbles his way through an interview with the smoldering brunette -- knowing full well that the voice on the other line is lying in bed, wearing a vintage slip. Gulp.

Is your show more about style or sex?
If it’s one or the other, then it’s not really interesting. The fact that I’m doing a striptease is obvious, so for that, I have to think more about the sexual side of things, the sensual side. But when sexuality, style, humor and playfulness all come together, along with a bit of innocence, well, that’s when a burlesque show becomes great.

I saw you perform a few months ago in New York. I was so flustered I spilled my drink all over my shirt. How much of you, the real you, comes across on stage?
My show is the real me. I never ever do a show and think about what character I’m going to create, who I’m going to be. I figured out a long time ago that I’m at my best when I’m comfortable and confident, rather than pretending to be sexy or trying to vamp it up for the audience. I’m just out there having a good time, and it’s all kind of a big joke.

I read an interview in which you said you’re not the blonde girl-next-door. But you were until you dyed your hair.
Everyone hears my Michigan accent, coming out of this girl who looks like she’s from Germany. It was really confusing for people, and I certainly could have faked it all the way, but what I’m getting at is the way that I dance, the way that I move, and my personality—it’s not just a look. If it were just about looks, I probably wouldn’t be the most famous burlesque star in the world, because I’m sure that I’m not the most beautiful one.

When you’re at home, alone, are you a total mess?
People always think I just hang around in jeans or a tracksuit, and I’m like, Well, no. I’m sitting here right now, having just rolled out of bed, wearing a vintage slip. I don’t have any makeup on, my hair is probably a disaster, but that doesn’t mean I’ll put on jeans and a T-shirt because no one’s looking. I mean, I don’t put on a full face of makeup, heels and a little black dress every time I walk out the door—I’m not an alien from another planet who doesn’t like to be comfortable—it’s just that, for me, the natural version of me, is only for people who are close to me. I don’t know why everyone wants me to wear jeans so badly.

Is burlesque still exciting the way it was when you first started?
There are upsides and downsides. I sort of miss the old days when I walked on stage and there were no journalists, there were no cameras, CNN wasn’t there.

When you were in New York last, reporters were jotting everything down, and I remember thinking, Um, what exactly are they writing?
I remember that day! When I walked out, there were three people with pads of paper writing down everything I was doing when I was onstage. I was like, Really, are you kidding me right now? You can’t just watch and remember what you saw without jotting down notes? That part sucks. I sometimes think, Wouldn’t it be great if I could go back to those moments when I could walk out on the strip-club stage and just let it all go.

When you were working at those strip clubs, were you satisfied?
I had little ambitious moments where I thought, Okay, so now I’m this famous fetish model, I’m going to be the best fetish model I can be. And when I was working in the strip clubs I thought, I’m going to be the best headlining stripper that I can be. I didn’t ever think, Oh, I would really love to dance at a Louis Vuitton opening.

Is it difficult to negotiate the glamour and empowerment you feel during performances, with the suspicion that you’re being objectified?
You always have that double-edged sword. You’re like, Well, I feel empowered because I’m independent and no men in my personal life can tell me what to do. I’m paying my own rent, and no one can tell me where to be. But then there’s the other side of things: Am I using my body? I’ve had a lot of arguments with myself over this, but I think that if I were Nicole Kidman, and I were in a movie, and they were negotiating over my body parts—what my tits are worth, what my ass is worth, how much extra money that’s going to get me—how is that any different?

You were married to Marilyn Manson at the Helnwein family mansion in Ireland. It was officiated by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Weirdest day ever?
No, because you have two people who are very theatrical and are both from unglamorous places. So, it made sense that when we got married, it became a kind of performance.

You wore a stunning purple Vivienne Westwood. Is that your favorite gown?
No. I mean, I enjoyed it, but I have lots of really great dresses. I still have it, of course. It takes up a lot of space in my storage.

Must be a big storage room.
I go shopping in my own storage unit. And I have another room in my house that’s been converted into a walk-in closet and another one where I keep all of my big hats. I have a really big hat collection.

How do you feel about the burlesque revival?
I think it’s great. I’m never threatened because I definitely have a specific brand of burlesque. How should I put this? I’m not really concerned by the competition, because I’ve already moved on to the next thing by the time they think they’ve caught up to me. I used to be the only one who did the fan dancing and now it’s like, Okay, that was a long time ago and I’ve already moved on. Then I made a martini glass. And now other people are making martini glasses, so now I’m making other things or making bigger martini glasses.

You must get really sick of that huge glass routine.
Yeah, totally. Every once in a while, I tell people that the glass is broken. I have this big, beautiful birdcage, I have this opium den set, I have a big swan fountain—I have all these cool things. But it seems like no matter what I do, I’m the girl in the glass.

Let’s go back to before when you said that you’re a stripper, plain and simple. That seems a touch reductive.
Yeah, it is. But it’s like, if I say it first, what are people going to say? It’s one thing I learned a long time ago: if you just agree with people then there’s nothing they can say. Everyone has the right to define talent and beauty. I’m not against the word “stripper.”

But critics use it to be hurtful.
I guess I don’t want to be a holier-than-thou stripper, because I worked at a strip club and, 10 years ago, you could have paid $20 for me to sit on your lap any night of the week. It would be rude of me to say, I’m not a stripper, I’m a burlesque queen. I don’t think I’m better than the pole dancers.

Are you at all interested in contemporary fashion? Everything you wear seems to reference the past.
Since I was 16 years old, everything I’ve done has been a little retro. I’ve gone through my phases where I’ve thought, I’m going to be really modern today. For years, I had this Diane Von Furstenberg black wrap dress, just sitting in my closet. I recently gave it to my mother. When I put on a really modern dress or jeans, it looks like a Halloween costume. Actually, every year I say I’m going to dress up as a normal girl for Halloween. I haven’t done it yet. One of these days, though, I’m totally going to get a bunch of spray tans and put on some jeans and get some high-heel sandals and see what happens. There’s something deeper in me that makes me like things from the past. I never ever wanted to be a little girl, ever. When a lot of friends were into the whole schoolgirl fantasy, I was always like, I wouldn’t be caught dead. I’m 35 years old. I’m not 19 years old anymore, playing around with different looks. I know who I am and I’ve known for a long time.
By Nick Haramis

Success in Risque Burlesque Business

Woodbridge actress Helen Spall is due to make an eye-poppingly spectacular home-coming this weekend when she a touch of retro-sophistication to the Riverside Theatre. But, as she told Arts Editor Andrew Clarke, Caburlesque is a long way from her am-dram days of the past.

Feathers and fireworks, basques, stockings and bowler hats - Caburlesque summons up the sights and sounds of decadent past which is neither gone nor forgotten.

The sexy, naughty but nice era of The Windmill and Cabaret is back. London is being overwhelmed by high class burlesque and Woodbridge actress Helen Spall is at the cutting edge of this dazzling form of 21st century retro entertainment. It's an art form which is both sophisticated and not afraid to tantalise, tease and show a little flesh.

Retro-cabaret star Dita Von Teese has helped bring the art-form into the spotlight while the film Mrs Henderson Presents recreated the variety world which made burlesque into mainstream entertainment.

Helen said that both factors have helped bring burlesque back into the spotlight but she is pleased that her own efforts to revive this trend pre-dated those current trend-setters.

Helen Spall, daughter of Woodbridge am-dram impressario Don Spall, started her celebration of variety four years ago during her final year at Middlesex University. This coincided with a boom in similar entertainment in the capital, so when she and her friends left university they decided to turn her part-time interest into a full-time profession.

She said that the company Caburlesque was born in her final year of university to provide her love of dance with an outlet. “In my third year of university I decided to put together a show so I could do some choreography, I love doing shows, and I quickly ended up doing one a month - that went on throughout my third year. Along the way three other guys joined in - Tom Course, my partner, Graham Cutting and Wayne Burke and we became the four who founded the company.

“After uni ended we decided to keep going and we found a venue under London Bridge called Jacks. It was a horrible little place under one of the arches and we had to build our own theatre in the place, put in lights and everything, but it was a real success. It was really well attended and we found that a lot of guys from our course wanted to join in and keep the thing going.

“We decided to do two more shows there and it really took off.”

She said that they were now so in demand they are supplying entertainment to events all over London. “We are able to provide as little or much entertainment as they want. If they want some can can girls we are happy to just send those. Other times we will send along a short hour long package or maybe just a ten minute turn or, as we are doing for Woodbridge, an entire two hour, West End style show.”

She said that although she hates the phrase “naughty but nice” it is an apt description of the sort of show they perform. “Some people say: “Well, are you strippers then?” and I say absolutely not. You will never see a completely naked girl on the stage at any point. That's not what burlesque is about. It's about the point before that, the tease and the artistry. It's not about the sordid. It's about what is hidden and yet not hidden.”

She said that although the company has grown quite large since those days 60% of their core performers are those original students from Middlesex university performing arts course. “We do audition for new members for the company, because it's important to have an influx of new blood every now and then but having said that - when we first founded the company after university, a lot of our university crowd came with us and many of them are still onboard and they have grown with us. But we do always audition for new talent every time we have a new show and refresh the talent pool.”

She said that it is gratifying to be in a position where they deliver a show that immediately connects with an audience.

“The show Caburlesque is the exact name for it. It's not cabaret - it's not burlesque - it is its own combined new form of entertainment. We draw from entertainment from the part - the night club entertainments of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, even the 50s but we always put our twist on things, make it a bit more overtly sexy, put a bit of comedy in there - a real merger of different styles but with a contemporary 21st century feel to it.

“There has been a tremendous resurgence in interest in this type of entertainment - it's going back to real variety, of the type that was very popular at The Windmill. In fact the success of the film Mrs Henderson Presents has boosted interest and our last show was based very much on the type of experience that people would have seen at The Windmill. We incorporated a routine where the girls are frozen in a tableaux, then we have sexy dancers, there's a bit of comedy, Andrews Sisters-style singers and loads more. Each company member performs under a pseudonym. Mine is Miss Velvet Fortune, some others we have are Miss Sweety Whisper, Mr Wallace Sneek-a-peek, Mr Henry Copafeele and Miss Fee Fee La Minx.”

She said that traditional variety was at the heart of their act. “It gives you as artists and performers the opportunity to do so many different things. It gives you such freedom to perform. And it still works - particularly if you put all the various bits together in a clever way - which we do. We have proved that there is still a demand for this type of entertainment.”

For 25 year old Helen performing is in the blood. She said that she is so grateful that at a time when so many young actors are unemployed or spend more time waiting on tables in Covent Garden cafes than they do on stage, that she is employed full-time in the theatre.

When she is not running Caburlesque she is employed as a part-time technical manager in the West End but her real ambition is to be a choreographer. “I was always destined for the stage. If theatres didn't exist I don't know what I would do. I always knew what my career would be. Looking back on it now, I don't think I even consciously made a choice. I always knew what I would be doing. This is why I am never going to be rich.”

She said that passion was at the heart of everything she did. “It's about doing something you really enjoy. That's why I have put my own money into it. There's nothing like it in the world. You get such a thrill putting a show together.”

She said that her own performing roots stretch all the way back to Woodbridge and The Company of Four. She first ventured on stage at the age of two and has been happy to stay there ever since.

“I followed Dad around learning the tricks of the trade - both on stage and off - and as a result of the skills I learnt there, the first job I got in London was stage manager at the comedy store in Piccadilly Circus. I was recommended by my tutors because I had all this technical experience and expertise drawn from my time in Woodbridge. I loved working at the comedy store, met some great people and have had some great leads when it came to our own shows.

“But choreography is my absolute love. If I had to do only one thing for the rest of my life I would be very happy being a choreographer. Back in Woodbridge I owed my big break as a choreographer to David Caddick, who offered me the chance to choreograph Guys And Dolls but he gave me an awful decision. He said I could either choreograph the show or audition for Sarah Brown - what a choice. It was tough but in the end I chose to choreograph the show. Which is an interesting decision considering how young I was at the time. But, looking back on it now, I made the right decision.”

She said that such experience and her time at university gave her the knowledge and the confidence to set up her own company after she graduated.

Although she acknowledges that she has come a long way in four years, she says that she is impatient for Caburlesque to really hit the big time. “It feels that everything has happened incredibly slowly because I am such an ambitious person. It's in my nature to want things to happen quickly and I feel that perhaps I should be doing more. I have always had that drive. At 14, I was working as a part-time projectionist at the Riverside when all my friends were doing paper rounds. That was normal for me.

“I have always been doing stuff that's been ahead of what I should have been doing. So I think that by the same extension my company should now be world famous and it's not, so at times I find it rather frustrating. But when you do take a step back and view it objectively, I see that I am only 25. I do work full-time in the theatre, I do have my own company, it is doing well and yes I am pleased with our success … it's just we want it to happen on a bigger scale and just a bit faster.”

Her company is based in London and uses the refurbished Clapham Grand as a base for their showcase performances. “The Clapham Grand is a big theatre, a real Victorian Palace of variety which had all the old musical hall acts. It's now a nightclub, which remains pretty much the same inside except they have lost all the seats and there are now four bars. It's perfect for us because the whole point of cabaret is that you sit at tables with friends, have a drink and enjoy the show.”

She said that the nature of their shows means that they can take bits and pieces of the full show and re-package them as smaller themed entertainments at larger events.

“The last big show we did, Party in the Past, had a cast of 17 - prior to that we have another big show which can be resurrected when anybody wants it. We tend to do a big show and then work off that for the next several months. Because each number is a self-contained piece in itself, if someone phones up and wants an hour's worth of entertainment centred around a theme, we can mix and match items and put a show together for them.

“It's a case of tailoring the material we have to the way that people want it. We do a big show twice or possibly three times a year and we hire the Clapham Grand for those occasions. Other times we are designing shows and sending out shows for other events at other venues - places like The Café de Paris, the Pigalle Club, London Hippodrome - all high profile venues. Last year we had so many requests to perform at various events that it took up 80% of our time.”

She said that she is looking forward to bringing her show back to Woodbridge. She said that the title Party In The Past would deliver exactly what the title suggests.

“The premise of the show is that we take audiences through more than a century of celebratory hi-jinks. It's a real spectacle. We open with a masquerade ball from the mid-19th century, complete with pyrotechnics. Then have some wonderful ten-part harmony singing along with some vague sexiness. From there we are propelled into a 1920s speakeasy and the world of the secret underground party. Then we glide into the sophisticated '30s and that where we do our famous handclapping routine with ten girls wearing basques which always gets a rise from our audience.

“In the second half we are into the dance parties with a modern tango section, then comes the second world war section which I am particularly excited about we have a bit of The Great Escape in there and then into the 1950s, which is probably the most extrovertly sexy piece of the evening, and we end with our famous can can.”

Dita: What a Teese!

Last week, I went to bed with Dita Von Teese. No, really I did. And it wasn’t just any bed; it was a bed at the Ritz.

“Do you speak French?” I asked her at one point, looking deep past the girl’s Snow White veneer.

“Well, I took it in high school …” she started to say. “And I have” — she paused diva-liciously — “a French lover now.”

Figures. Just a few minutes together on this mattress, and already she’s thinking about other men.

The pin-up who made her name by splashing around in a monster martini glass, and also by taking Marilyn Manson for better or for worse — at least for about a year — had French, and lots of it, on her mind. French liqueur, that is. Which was, now that I mention it, what had led me to this dame of a hotel in this grande dame of a town at 50 Central Park West, to get a teaser from Von Teese about Cointreau. The living room was in shambles, which is how I ended up playing Barbara Walters in the boudoir.

“So, a blend of retro and modernity?” I interrogated, asking the hard questions, and doing what all press release-memorizing journalists do to keep the convo going. This is, after all, what I’d read in an official Cointreau write-up about their famous orange quaff, and about their latest and sexiest brand muse.

Dita told me that “a lot of spirit brands” had contacted her over the years — because, duh, she was “the girl in the martini glass.” But it never made sense until Cointreau, which she describes as “elegant” and “sophisticated” and, of course, French, which fits with the whole burlesque quelque chose.

Legs out and head on pillow, she also went on a little about her latest razzle-dazzle — this being the eve of a Cointreau-versial act she was unveiling the following night at a party. The elaborate costume, she said, weighs in at 70 pounds. Or, to put it another way, one Olsen Twin.

“Do you do carry-on?” I followed-up, only to get the response both you and I could have figured.

Getting deeper, I asked Dita — who looks up-close like a vintage-screen Hedy Lamarr, and was born Heather Sweet — “how long does it take to turn into Dita Von Teese?”

“I don’t have an alter ego,” the Michigan-born deity told me with feminine forbearance. “I have sides of me, of course, that I don’t present onstage, but when I walk onstage it’s always my goal to present a side of me.”

“So, there’s no Marilyn-Norma Jean thing going on?” I asked, sounding perhaps a bit too surprised.

No, she said. At which point, I wondered, if this was a mind-session more appropriate for a couch, not for a bed.

By the next night, gosh golly, Dita was not on a bed, nor on a couch, but back in a glass. Splashing around in her 70-pound get-up — it sparkled, and was tangerine-coloured — she did the stripper-next-door-thing with ease. Faster than you could say “Bottoms up!” she was down to very little except a necklace made of 350,000 Swarovski crystals. At one point, she took a cat-nap in her ’tini. At another, she wink-winked and sponged herself with a giant orange wedge.

Looking on? There was a wide wedge of notables, including Sex-pots like Jason Lewis, Baby Phats like Russell Simmons, fashiony scions like Dylan Lauren and a not-in-drag RuPaul! (Indeed, I never expected to be at a party where RuPaul was wearing four times as many clothes as the guest of honour!)

Did I mention that the non-alter-egoed burlesque dancer launched her own Teese drink — violet in shade, with a touch of ginger — at a synagogue in the city’s Lower East Side. Yes, a wonderful, decrepit synagogue!

Faster than you can say Bar Mitzvah, Dita’s tour of duty was done. Whether it’s a boudoir or a synagogue, she never does fail to make an impression, does she?

Rock-a-billy Weekender Burlesque Comp Winner Dizzy Von Damn

Every year, thousands of rockabilly enthusiasts, swing dancers, bands, vendors, and classic car owners, gather in Las Vegas for the largest event of its kind in the world. The Viva Las Vegas Rock-a-billy Weekender is the brainchild of British D.J. Tom Ingram and has been going strong for more than ten years.

The festivities include bands playing morning, noon, and night, room after room of shopping, a "jiving dance school," and an art show. One of the most popular events is the Saturday night burlesque competition. Dozens of burlesque performers submit their pictures and ideas for a performance to the website, where it is voted on by the populace. The six most popular choices are invited to Las Vegas for a dance off.

We spoke with this year's winner, Miss Dizzy Von Damn! A Boston native transplanted to L.A., Miss Von Damn is returning to Boston this week to celebrate her victory with family and to perform with The Boston Babydolls on Sunday, April 27 at Basta in Weymouth.

What part of Boston are you from?
I actually grew up on the North shore. My family lived scattered across several towns, and I have (for some reason) memories of all of them involving food! My great-grandmother used to take me to the Piantedosi bakery and buy me a roll to snack on while she picked out baked goods for the week- the smell in that place was amazing. Sometimes I still dream about being baked into a giant roll and gloriously eating my way out. (laughs) I remember going to Richie's Slush in Everett – that blue vanilla gets me every time. They have it down at Salem Willows too, which is another place I love. I love all those old games. Skeeball, Whack-a-mole and that spider stomping game over there. In spite of my well-known hatred of spiders I could never win. Maybe this year. I also used to drag my family down to that funny wavy-topped stage and perform impromptu revues for them.

How long have you been in L.A.?
I moved to LA four years ago - four simultaneously long and short years ago.

What's bringing you back to Boston?
I'm back in town to visit my family and friends, celebrate my win at Viva Las Vegas, and finally give my loved ones a taste of the Dizzy experience.

What's your favorite thing about Boston? About L.A.?
I love Boston's history. Everywhere you go there's a feeling of things past that you don't really get in southern California, since the cities are a lot newer. I love the different areas too, like Little Italy. L.A. has those neighborhoods but the whole city is so diverse you get a little bit of everything no matter where you go. My favorite thing about L.A. though is of course the weather… and that no matter where you are, you're never too far from a good taco or burrito.

What would you say the biggest differences between East coast burlesque and West Coast Burlesque are?
I don't know about a coastal difference, but individual cities certainly have different approaches over all. In my experience, New York has a much edgier, performance art sort of feel. That's not to say there aren't classic performers there, but as a whole, there's just an air of the avant-garde. LA has its rebels (whom I love) but as a whole it seems to be more on the pretty side. Perhaps that is the east/west split… though I definitely think the gap between the styles is closing.

How long have you been a burlesque dancer?
I didn't get into burlesque when I lived in Boston, but I really, really wanted to. I just didn't have the guts at that point I think. Moving across the country gave me a jumpstart. I started doing burlesque about a year ago. I had been interested for years and for one reason or another just hadn't been able to make it happen- and then I very randomly (at a knitting group!) met my now best friend, Vixen Violette, who in turn introduced me to some amazing women who took me under their collective sparkly wing, and the rest is history.

Who were your biggest influences or inspirations?
The girls I learned from have been - and continue to be - inspirational to me: Lux La Croix is just an astounding dancer, she always brings energy and attitude to the stage; Vixen Violette is remarkably graceful, and has a real knack for engaging the audience with just her face. She could go out there wearing a burlap sack and the audience would fall in love with her. Lili Von Schtupp is probably the most like what I aspire to be; she's a consummate entertainer, very smart and cheeky, and most of all, an all-around lovely person.

I also really love to watch Jewel of Denial, Diamondback Annie, Kitten DeVille, Penny Star Jr (and her grandmother, Penny Star!), and I got to see some incredible acts at Miss Exotic World last year - Kalani Kokonuts, Immodesty Blaize, Darlinda Just Darlinda… and the amazing Satan's Angel. I hope I'm half the entertainer she is when I'm her age.

Do you have any formal dance training?
I do! I took ballet, tap and jazz for years, though I wouldn't ever call myself a dancer. I can move, but I'm not technical in any way. I was also really into musical theater and performing in general - so my getting into burlesque is no surprise. I've always had a penchant for the larger-than-life.

There are a lot of different 'flavors' of burlesque. Describe your style.
That's a tough one. I think my intro helps with that- I'm described as the bastard child of Bettie Page and Liberace. Someone actually described me that way out of the blue- and it stuck. It's pretty accurate- I have a pinup look (with a modern twist) but I cannot hide my quirks. I like big, I like loud, I like sparkly, and most of all, I love to laugh. If it's funny, I'll probably do it. I have no shame.

Where does your stage name come from?
It was important to me to pick a name that reflected what people were getting when they came to see me. I liked the cheeky feel of a retro nickname (like Daisy or Bunny), but felt those didn't really capture it. When I hit on Dizzy I knew it was the one. The "Von Damn!" (and the exclamation point is important!) was a way to counter the cutesy- "damn" may not be a naughty word anymore, but it still adds the right edge and emphasis.

Describe Viva Las Vegas for someone who's never been there.
Viva as a whole was like a massive congregation of people who had great hair, clothes, and often tattoos. I loved it. The Tiki Pool party was like walking into a time warp, the bands were fabulous, the vendors were stocked up on all the goodies a retro-loving person could ever want… and then there was the competition! It was absolutely packed - the audience was so loud and inspiring. I was amazed to have even been there, and to win was a real gift. Everyone wanting to take their picture with me after was fun and weird and a bit overwhelming because the win really took me by surprise. I felt like a celebrity!

Do you have a signature routine, song, move, or costume/prop?
Now that I've won Viva Las Vegas, I'm sure the routine I did for that will become a signature. I have one act where I do a newspaper fan dance that is pretty distinctive, but I also take pride in being able to do something different every time.

The Burlesque Revival & its Impact on Feminism

Legs Malone, burlesque dancer and co-producer of Sugar Shack Burlesque, discusses the revival of the art form and its impact on feminism.

Slowly the young woman lowers the giant fan spanning her body—just enough that her shy eyes peek out. She blinks coquettishly at her audience before raising the fan again, high enough to show off her garter adorned with tassels that sway back and forth as her hips slowly undulate.

For most of the earlier part of the 20th century, this scene played itself out on burlesque stages across the country. Women adorned in lavish—often garish—costumes danced, performed novelty acts like fire-breathing, told comedic tales, satirized famous pieces of literature and took off their clothes.

The art of burlesque, with its vaudevillian origins, was virtually erased during the latter part of the 20th century. As our culture underwent a period of sexual liberation, burlesque dancers left their tassels, pasties and sequins backstage and began baring their bodies in an increasingly flagrant manner. Eventually, the art of burlesque dancing was all but extinct, leaving its descendant to take its place—stripping as we know it today.

The stripping genre today is associated with drugs, slutty outfits, seedy back room lap dances and, at least in Massachusetts, which doesn't require strippers to wear a G-string, gratuitous vaginal shots. Gone for the most part are the subtle tease, the feminine theatrics and witty commentary that make burlesque an art. In their place are blatant seduction techniques, pole theatrics and an element of voyeuristic prurience that permeates most strip clubs.

But over the last two decades, a burlesque revival has begun. The art of neo-burlesque is a modernized form of burlesque. While the costumes are similar if not more outrageous—think transvestite gear and putty witch noses—the shows feature a broader range of performances from mini-plays to robot dances, and, of course, the classic strip tease. Many modern burlesque dancers, including New York's Legs Malone, find performing burlesque empowering. Viewing the art of neo-burlesque as helping women feel comfortable with their bodies and their sexuality, Malone thinks the revival is a boon for feminism.

Malone, a 30-year old burlesque dancer and co-producer of New York City's Sugar Shack Burlesque, took time out of her tassel-rippling schedule to talk to the Advocate about how she began her career as a burlesque artist, how she thinks burlesque affects feminism, and how her family responds to her chosen career.

Advocate: How did you get involved with the neo-burlesque movement?

Legs Malone: This might sound a bit funny, but I literally heard a voice in my head during guided meditation. The woman leading us told us to ask ourselves what profession would bring us the most joy in our life. Literally, a voice in my head said, "burlesque dancer." I had no idea what it was.

What happened after that? How did you find out what it was?

I took a class at the New York School of Burlesque with Jo Boobs. Then when I was in England I started taking classes there. A friend and I ended up going to an amateur contest preceded by a class on how to bump and grind. As we were waiting for the show to start, the producer was frantically running around saying, "Can you perform please, please?" I guess some of the performers got cold feet.

Initially my friend and I said no, but then I decided to go for it. It was a complete disaster. Rehearsing in front of a mirror and being on stage are two completely different things. As soon as I saw the sea of faces, I just stopped listening to the music. Then I went back to an amateur contest two months later and I ended up winning.

How did you get involved with Sugar Shack Burlesque?

Runaround Sue [a founder and co-producer of Sugar Shack Burlesque] and I met at one of Jo Boobs' classes after I had moved back to New York. She invited me to one of their shows and although it took me a bit to make it down to one, I ended up going and having a blast. We became good friends and eventually we decided that I would replace Lady Satan (a founder and former co-producer of Sugar Shack) as co-producer because she was moving to the West Coast. She's now starting up Sugar Shack West.

What are you trying to give to the audience during a Sugar Shack performance?

I'd say the main thing I want to do is challenge the audience in a stimulating, not aggressive way—to take them out of their ordinary experience and generally wow them. While the strip tease is the center of a burlesque number, I usually work in a satirical or comedic vein. I find it much easier to be funny than sexy. To me that's much more classic burlesque. I think smart is a lot sexier than, "Oh, look at me, I'm beautiful," and "Oh, here are my boobs." I only perform numbers that I want to see myself.

Do you perform any straight strip tease acts?

I'm working on a few straight strip teases. They're hard for me. They require an enormous amount of focus—it's not something that comes very naturally to me but I'm getting more comfortable with it. Sue is a really gifted fan dancer. She does a lot more straight strip tease than I do, and it is just stunning.

Why do you think burlesque is making a comeback?

For a lot of different reasons, really. This grass roots movement started to happen in the mid '90s, sort of separately around the U.S.—New York, L.A., Seattle, Chicago. Then they banded together to create this neo-burlesque movement. It just keeps growing. There had always been Exotic World, literally a goat farm that had been turned into a burlesque farm. The Miss Exotic World Pageant was always held there until 2006, when it got so big it moved to Las Vegas. I went for the first time last year and it just knocked my socks off. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before—hundreds of people running around in G-strings, covered in glitter. They've just closed the application deadline for this year. Participation is at an all-time high.

How does being a burlesque dancer affect your sexuality?

Apart from being in a bathing suit on the beach, I'd never been naked in front of an audience. It's made me enormously comfortable with my body and comfortable in general. Being on stage in a G-string and pasties is a pretty good barometer of your comfort level. Some women go into it who have either been victims of sexual abuse, had eating disorders or body-centric issues. I think that's such a shame, because women are so gorgeous. This society—pop culture—keeps telling them they're not worth anything if they don't look a certain way. That's the most disempowering and evil thing I've ever heard in my entire life.

Are there many different types of burlesque dancers?

Everybody brings something wildly unique to the stage. A lot of burlesque dancers don't have conventional body types, like Dirty Martini, for example. She's incredibly voluptuous. She's got this amazing curvy body that's a proper hourglass shape. She just knocks everybody flat on their ass. It's not an aggressive thing. She's just celebrating her body and, in the process, opening doors for the audience and their perspective.

Women often come up to me and say, "Thank you very much for doing this." I'm rather slender, so I plug into the more mainstream appeal. But there are women who are a lot curvier and have beautiful round tummies and gorgeous rolling hips. They just knock men and women flat on their backs. Finally, women are empowered and owning every single inch of their curves, whether or not they have cellulite or freckles or whatever.

One of the amazing things about burlesque is that the body has ultimately no impact. It's the spirit and the strength of the spirit that comes across. The body is a beautiful vehicle for that. It flips a lot of preconceived notions on their ears.

Do you think the neo-burlesque movement is changing the way women view themselves?

The burlesque community, at least the one in New York, is nothing short of a modern-day Mount Olympus with gods and goddesses. There are female performers who, through their performances, take on a higher harmonic of feminism.

When you turn on the television, everything is so very homogenized and safe. It goes back to everything that made America and it's so fucking boring. It's all cookie cutters. Turning on MTV, I'd rather put my head through the window than constantly adhere to the norm. Growing up, it was terrifying to be an individual. It was so cliquish. Now to see women of all shapes and sizes just own it and celebrate it—not aggressively pushing it in your face, more like an offering—it's just stunning. It has helped me evolve as person.

What do you say to the feminists who see the neo-burlesque movement as detrimental to the feminist cause?

I would say we're helping the feminist movement. I think a lot of feminists who say that have never been to a burlesque show. They may have been to a strip club, but it's a totally different environment. I challenge the feminists out there to go to a burlesque show and then say what their opinions are. God bless every single feminist—the movement has brought fabulous things. But I have to say there are so many different performers with different backgrounds who are performing the art of neo-burlesque that for women to say it's cutting down feminism—well, I think they just have to go to a show and see.

The New York City burlesque scene is full of some of the most powerful feminists I've ever met. If anything, being a part of it has made me become a better feminist. The women up there on stage, they're the ones in control. There's nothing that happens on that stage that is against their will. Challenging yourself is the most empowering thing you can do as a woman.

Have you been influenced at all by some of the original burlesque stars like Gypsy Rose Lee and Lili St. Cyr?

If anything, they set the standard. That was the golden age of burlesque. Their performances are something I aspire to stylistically, meaning the execution of their acts. If you watch old videos of some of the stars' performances, it's just so beautiful. But our society is so oversexed that those performances would need to be tweaked a little bit. Today's audiences aren't so easily satisfied.

What is a typical Sugar Shack Burlesque show like?

We always bring on guest performers with different energies. That really brings such diversity to our shows. We have comedians, magicians, beautiful women, sword swallowers—lots of variety.

How does your family react to your profession?

I think it was pretty shocking to them, especially because I followed such an academic track—I have a master's in contemporary art from Sotheby's Institute of Art in England. My father wants absolutely nothing to do with [my career]. He's supportive of it but it makes him uncomfortable; he doesn't want to see it. My mom and my stepmom have seen my show. My mom didn't really know what to think, but she loved it. I don't think she's seen me naked since I was four.

Dita Von Teese Talks about Manson Divorce

Dita Von Teese had a "long list" of reasons to split from Marilyn Manson, including the shock rocker's drug taking.

The pair's yearlong union ended in December 2006, when the burlesque star moved out of their home.

The relationship had deteriorated so much, that when asked by The New York Times of the best thing about their divorce, Von Teese replies, "There's a long list of things."

She adds, "I am happy to have the drugs out of my life."

Von Teese celebrated becoming a single girl in an extravagant fashion: "I took my engagement diamond and had it transformed at Christian Dior in Paris into a beautiful ring. It's nice; it's big. I feel like I suffered greatly for that diamond, and it needed to be reborn into something better.

"One of my big extravagances when I moved out of my former husband's house was a matching pink stove and refrigerator in '50s style."

In Search of a Bygone Time of Tease and Titillation

Fluorescent and unflattering, the bar lights on. We live in a time when murders are no longer a mystery and sex has been dissected close-up, at every angle.

I was in search of a bygone time of tease and titillation.

Enter Clea Cutthroat, a burlesque goddess well versed in the art of slow eroticism and Michelle Danna, manager of divine Brooklyn boutique, SLEEP.

I coaxed the two of them into sharing an insight into Tease vs Sleaze.

In an age of performance sexuality and inescapable porn, how can we rekindle soft, sensual allure?

Clea Cutthroat: Getting to ourselves and our bodies. We see so much in the media, and instead of finding our own sexual voice or alter ego, I often see women falling back on the popular default. That is one of the things that burlesque helps me find: my own sexual voice and confidence in expressing it my own way.
Michelle Danna: I think it is important to understand who we are and what we as individuals find alluring. I feel understanding desire first and foremost is far more sensual.

What is appealing about Burlesque?

MD: Burlesque is appealing because it focuses on the creativity that lies in the tease, the process of titillation. Burlesque performers are in control of their performance, usually they are the one’s with the vision of their act. This is inherently empowering because they are the one’s defining what is alluring or sensual for themselves.
CC:: I think that Burlesque is so appealing because it is women celebrating women. Empowered, self-confident women, of all different shapes and sizes that give new meaning to the word “striptease”. It’s not as simple as just taking off a glove, or removing your bra. There is a specific mood and a strong story that is set by the music choices and style of each performer.

What is hot about pin-up girls? How are they different from Playboy bunnies?

MD: The pin-up girl signifies different things throughout her history; early on she was considered very risqué and her audience was probably mostly men. Currently pin-up girls connote an alternative to the extremely physically exposed Playboy bunny. The pin-up is more suggestive today, where the Playboy bunny is overtly displaying sexuality more or less through a man’s perspective.
CC:: I like to think of pin-up girls having the same attitude as burlesque dancers. We’re there just as much for the ladies as men. I believe that pin-ups have a really classic, beautiful, self-empowered attitude. I love Playboy bunnies, I am a fan, but I think that often women see them as a product catering to men. Pin-up girls play and tease their sexuality with common routine…housework, shopping, sun bathing, exercise, as well as with CC:upations. I think it’s something that most women can instantly connect to.

What is appealing about vintage, especially vintage lingerie?

MD: Vintage lingerie is appealing because it is a tactile representation of history. The literal construction of sensuality and the performance of femininity lie in its seams, the texture of the fabric, and the way it manipulates the body. The garter belt alone conjures up images of seemed nylon stockings and pageboy up-dos, placing the wearer and onlooker in a fantasy of the past.

CC:: I love vintage lingerie because it’s fun… in the sense that I feel like I get to play dress up, put on a costume. It has a glamorous feeling that sometimes can’t get with present-day trends. Plus, it makes me feel just so damn sexy. There’s nothing like walking around knowing what secrets lie beneath your clothing.

What are different lingerie options? What do they say about people?

MD: There are many lingerie options: bralets, or bras without underwire, for those who prefer a light comfortable support; balconette bras for those who enjoy a little décolletage; thongs, for those who prefer tiny knickers and a bit of exposure; and boy shorts for those that enjoy feeling sexy but relaxed. It’s difficult to say what exactly these preferences say about an individual, but I do find that many of the customers of Sleep have specific preferences, which to me signifies that they really know themselves and are conscious of their desires and what’s alluring to them personally.
CC:: Oh there are countless… classic vintage with black or nude lace, bows, garter belts, or something more modern or trendy with seamless lines, sharp edges. For myself, I enjoy mixing different influences. For example, I have a great pair of hot pink, black lace lined booty shorts that I love to wear with a black fetish style push up bra and thigh highs with a Cuban heel and seams going up the back. And always remember your shoes! Stilettos make everything better.

What can lingerie tell us about relationships? Is there underwear that matches specific time periods of relationships? Underwear that’s better for stranger? New crushes? Long love?

MD: I think lingerie speaks more about the relationship to oneself than about our relationships to significant others. Women who shop at sleep are shopping for themselves and they are investing in treating themselves to comfort, luxury, and feeling sensual in their own skin.
CC:: For me, well, I tend to stay the same throughout. Always a bit edgy…and I guess the longer the relationship, the less I wear. Lucky for my boyfriend…

Can lingerie keep secrets, or must it tell all?

CC:: Secrets! Yes! Mystery can be the biggest aphrodisiac of all. Make them pant for you and scream for more.

When is more better than less?

CC:: Good question. I believe that is up to each woman to decide. When you’re truthful with your boundaries, aware of how you are comfortable with your body, then that is when you can aCC:ess your inner sex kitten. Think of celebrities like Madonna. Even with all of her close on she has a sexuality that oozes forth from her.
MD: I think that depends on the individual, but many times I think the mere suggestion can be far more enticing than what is actually desired. We carry a simple cotton bra and bikini knicker by Eberjey in a café au lait color that looks camouflaged when worn. Even though the pieces are highly functional and comfortable, it is highly appealing because when worn the lingerie hints at being nude. Then again, we have a set of Huit lingerie called Garconne that is completely sheer, and is also very sexy in how it exposes the body.

What is magic about lingerie? Why is appealing? What drew you to sell skivvies?

MD: Lingerie is very transformative. It allows one to play a part, feel desire, and experience the body in a comfortable sensual way. Lingerie is appealing because in its creation there is a lot of attention to construction and how it will form to the body. A wonderful bra feels as though it was tailored to one’s body, and makes one feel confident.

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