Jo Weldon

This is a list of articles about burlesque published online over the past several years.

I have spent several years and many hours compiling and posting this list of articles.
If you find it useful, I'd much appreciate if you credit my research and, when possible, link to my webpage.
You can email me at jo@gstringsforever.com

My Workshop in the News

Burlesque Class and Workshop Information

I've posted hundreds of my original photos of burlesque which you can find here:
Burlesque Galleries

Tooth & Nail will show some skin at benefit: Stirring burlesque from Dee Milo, Dirty Martini by Brandon Griggs, 02/26/2005, The Salt Lake Tribune by Rachel Shteir, 09/02/2005, The Chronical Review
"What's more surprising than finding an ex-burlesque queen living in Salt Lake City? The fact that next weekend, after 40 years of retirement, she's dusting off her nightie and returning to the stage...."

Strippers, Monkeys at Burlesque Show: The Lobster Boy Revue by Blair Mersinger, 2/16/2006
' "The Lobster Boy Revue" is a homegrown D.C. Vaudeville-Burlesque show that rekindles the absurdity that was burlesque theater. At trendy hole-in-the-wall Chief Ike's Mambo Room in Adam's Morgan on Feb. 12, the audience sits comedy-club style in front of an intimate stage to be entertained with corny stand-up, "self-help" videos, wacky interactive games and, of course, the most fabulous strippers east of the Potomac. Those who aren't faint of heart should gear up and get moving, because this is not your grandfather's burlesque show. ...'

Striptease, Porn, and Gender Politics: an Academic's Dilemma by Rachel Shteir, 09/02/2005, The Chronical Review
"It is admirable to see how tenaciously the best performers in the burlesque revival try to imitate the glamour of old-time strippers like Gypsy Rose Lee even as they send up that glamour. Many of the new performers -- with names like 'Dirty Martini' and 'The World Famous Bob' (a woman) and 'Jo Boobs' -- use striptease as a way to recall a vanished era, but they also deliver a hip, ironic aesthetic. They try to both entertain and titillate. They wear old-fashioned strip gowns and dance to jazz standards. They aspire to a more democratic ideal of the body than the porn industry -- not all the bodies on display are slim or perfect -- which is an ideal that burlesque also celebrated. There are now a number of national festivals dedicated to this revival...."

Burlesque History and Where to See Live Burlesque by Dr. Susan Block
"A great collection of photos of modern Burlesque performances can be found at G-Strings Forever, a site run by a former stripper that celebrates strippers."

The Innocent Art of Burlesque by Ross Tucker, 09.17.03, The Black Table
"Bambi and Jo do more than just the odd performance, they've made burlesque a part of their lives. On top of being veteran performers with national reputations they are both champions of the form. Bambi is a long time Coney Island fixture, playing a large part in the annual mermaid parade and putting on the Burlesque at the Beach show on the boardwalk every Friday night during the summer...."

New-age burlesque strips away X-rated sleaziness By Jayne Blanchard, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 6.12.2003
" 'The burlesque revival differs from Vegas or musicals or stripping because it is self-generated,' says Jo Weldon, a longtime burlesque historian and fan. 'New burlesque performers aren't auditioning for parts or being fitted for costumes — they create the roles, the choreography, the skits and the costumes...' "

The Stripper's Advocate by Ada Calhoun
nerve.com, 5.12.2004
"These days, Weldon, 41, is one of the lights of the burlesque revival (she performs as Jo Boobs) and a sexy librarian of kink, teaching striptease classes...."

Bawdy in Brooklyn by Ed Beeson, 2.14.2004, Go Brooklyn
"Not that burlesque has grown elite or pretentious with age. Fun is still its operative word - fun for the audience, and fun for the performers to dress-up in homemade haute couture and fun to take it off. 'It's fun,' concurs Jo Weldon..."

Chat: Julie Atlas Muz, Tigger!, Taylor Mac, Zebra, Wau Wau Sisters: Loving Outrage
'Tigger said “We’re putting the femme back in feminism,” pointing out that it’s a traditionally female art form, but that it had become mixed and quirky. Taylor Mac described a party he’d been to where he saw a crowd of gay men watching straight girls take off their clothes and cheering them on. He’d appreciated the moment, and felt it expressed an important focus of the movement, which was more on theatricality and expression than sexuality. The performers all agreed that the movement, as they had experienced it, was deeply inclusive and celebratory of difference.'

Taking it off takes off: Burlesque experiencing a revival By Jennie Dorris, For the Camera July 25, 2004
"Clubs in Denver have been hosting these PG-13 acts as large, vaudeville-esque productions (think pinup girls and peek-a-boo strippers out of the '40s and '50s), and also in conjunction with live music for the past three years...."

Gussie Kriss created fashions in old-style era when burlesque was less about skin. By Doug Irving, Jan 26, 2005, Daily Breeze. Torrance, Calif.
"[Gussie Kriss] is 87 years old now and lives in Torrance. She collects thimbles and angels. And she very well may have invented the twirling showgirl tassels that have become one of the most enduring icons of the old burlesque shows. "

The queer side of Burley Q By Amy Winn, Friday, November 25, 2005, New York Blade
"With hosts like Scotty the Blue Bunny and Rose Wood, New York’s ‘neo-burlesque’ nets a pansexual following"

The Crown Jewels of Burlesque, MOJAVE DESERT, Nev., June 6, 2004, CBS News
"Artifacts of burlesque's greats are displayed at [the Exotic World Burlesque Museum] — from Mae West's cape to Gypsy Rose Lee's trunk. There are displays paying homage to Hall of Fme artists, such as Tempest Storm's G-string and a picture of Lili St. Cyr, one of the most famous exotic dancers in the world, with Eleanor Roosevelt."

Little Brooklyn, Burlesque Star By Rachel Kramer Bussel, AUG 16 2004, Gothamist
"Q: Who are your role models/inspirations?"
"A: Little Egypt: the original 'hoochie-coochie' legend and my namesake. Laura Herbert: told me I need to be doing this before I knew myself. Now its her turn. My personal Holy Trinity: reigning Miss Exotic World Dirty Martini, Julie Atlas Muz and Tigger have and continue to inspire me. Everyone I've ever worked with: yeah yeah -- it's mushy, but the backstage camaraderie is a major draw. It's like being in a band, only with a different sorta g-string. Haw! "

About Town: The Redhots Burlesque By Wendy R. Williams, January 2005, New York Cool
"This show was fun. There was a large group of guys in the audience who simply loved the show (regardless of the body type) but the women in the audience seemed to be into it too. As Dottie said before the show, 'Women love us too. We are telling women it's OK to not to have a perfect body.' So if you want a hot night out in the old town tonight, go see Red Hots Burlesque. Those girls will definitely tickle your fancy."

BURLESQUE BRUMMIES By Cathryn Kemp, Jul 27 2004, UK Mirror
"THEY look like every man's fantasy in their lacy basques, six-inch stilettos, frilly knickers, fishnet stockings and suspenders. But saucy burlesque dancers Femme Fatale are a huge hit with women, too. Though their provocative dancing and girl-on-girl teasing may sound like staple boys'-night-out material, this is something different. ..."

Tassels will be worn Dee O'Connell, Sunday September 28, 2003, The Observer
"When is a strip club not a strip club? A good guess would be when the audience is made up of as many women as men, most of them under 30 years old, when there are male as well as female strippers and an elderly lady in top hat and tails singing 'La Vie en Rose'."

A Guide to Experiencing The Great Fredini's "This Or That!" by Jane Rose, August 2002, for Free Williamsburg
"Fred Kahl (a.k.a. The Great Fredini) started getting involved with Sideshows by the Seashore. Together with burlesque performer Bambi (a.k.a. 'The Uncontestable Queen of Coney Island') he started hosting a series of burlesque performances at Sideshows, culminating in the Burlesque at the Beach summer series...."

Sneakers by day and stilettos by night By Chantal Eustace (CUP), December 4, 2002
"As the dancer's shoulders move to the music and her pasties sparkle, I am aware that there is a half-naked woman onstage right now shaking her 'groove thing' and I am not at all offended. In fact, I'm filled with a kind of illicit admiration...."

New York Burlesque

One Shake at a Time By Susan Kuchinskas
"If neo-burlesque plays with and pushes our ideals of the feminine, the Oakland-based dance troupe Harlem Shake pushes it further. Today's burlesque, and the lounge/tiki/Burning Man culture that spawned it, is lily-white. As far as its members know, Harlem Shake is the only African-American burlesque troupe in the United States."

Bambi and Jo do more than just the odd performance, they've made burlesque a part of their lives. On top of being veteran performers with national reputations they are both champions of the form.
Black Table

Tease-O-Rama Glorifies the New Burlesque by Susan Kuchinskas
"The tease scene is an alternate universe that for the most part likes to keep its distance from the strip joints, peepshows, and gentlemen’s clubs. It’s a world of frou-frou cocktails, ponytails, perky tits in pasties — and glitter, lots and lots of glitter. But it’s far from homogenous, in the routines, the outfits, and the women themselves. While you have to be practically bionic to be a triple-X star, all kinds of women got enthusiastic applause for showing their tits and asses, from exotic divas to giggly girls next door to big-bellied sluts. The good cheer with which all these women showed what they had and were thanked for it probably made every woman in the house think, “Hey, I could do that.” Which is a pretty huge public service. "

Honi Harlow's Moulin Rouge Reviewed by Yolanda Shoshana, April 1, 2006
"The show was packed with storyline twists, sexy moves and diva madness. A unique element of the show was that dancer, Loretta Love, interpreted the show in sign language. Love signed lyrics to songs throughout the show as well as during her own dance routine. Love was literally a last minute addition to the cast, but she did not miss a step or a beat. In her own act, she got inside of a blown-up balloon and did a dance routine until the bubble popped...."

Veronica Varlow, Boutique Owner, Model, Actress by Rachel Kramer Bussel, March 14, 2006
"The more I do [burlesque], the better I get at weaving spells on the audience. I want to tease an audience to death. I want to bring them into this sultry world and ruffle their hair a bit. I want to make them feel like they are going to die if they don’t see my bare elbow. I learned that from Jo Boobs. She can put you in delirium watching her take off a glove. I strive to have a very nail-biting, goosebump inducing experience with my audiences. This exchange of energy is the agony and the ecstasy...."

Vaudeville Vixens Get Fit With 'Burlesquercise' By Sara Bonisteel, March 15, 2006
'"It was great learning about the basic shimmy, bump and grind, and how to make pasties gyrate to the left," said Halasa, who is now inspired to create her own ice-skating burlesque act. "But really the class was an exercise in freedom and unabashed exhibition. The moves were fun, flirty and very 1960s Americana — you couldn't help but get in touch with your own inner goddess....

Burlesque of the 1950s by Jessica Glasscock
The present fallacy is that burlesque is again dead, except in revivals like *BOB*’s, and that now degraded nudity reigns supreme. In fact, current striptease require some sort of clothing by law in most areas of the United States and the aspects of make-up and plastic surgery in striptease as a form of costume and a denial of the still elusive flesh remain unexplored. ...

With pasties twirling, burlesque returns to New York By Devin Smith April 27 2003 The burlesque movement, which has its roots in the bawdy French-cafe performance of the late 1800s, has gained momentum in New York within the last decade. Now, the genre's burgeoning popularity is in line with its history, which includes upswings during times of economic hardship when people tighten their belts and look for affordable entertainment.

A Real Kick for Dancers by Claire Zulkey, June 30 2004, Chicago Tribune
'The essence of burlesque is questioning norms while using humor,' says Tara Vaughan Tremmel, a founder of Gurlesque Burlesque, a show featuring about 50 dancers. The female form, in all shapes and sizes, is celebrated, but so is the performer's personality, Tremmel says."

Teasy Does It by Amy Sohn
"Tired of the constant barrage of in-your-face sex in popular culture? You’re not alone—which may explain the comeback of good old-fashioned burlesque."

New-age burlesque strips away X-rated sleaziness By Jayne Blanchard SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES June 13 2003 A cross between vintage bump-and-grind beats, kitschy lounge acts and the sight of naturally buxom (or not) women who sing, dance and tell jokes (but would never do anything as vulgar as flash a thong), neo-burlesque is what producer Lyn MacNeil calls "the art of enticement."

History of Burlesque

Important Dates in Burlesque History

Bawdy Burlesque Is Back Why Retro Booty Shaking and Ribald Jokes Are Finding New Fans By Andrew Chang N E W Y O R K, Oct. 21 As the Pontani Sisters move into their next act, dressed in little straw sombreros and macramé bikinis, set against a cha-cha-cha beat, a table full of young women lets out a series of whoops and hollers worthy of any bachelor party.

Velvet Hammer Documentary Press
"But wait--what’s that? —It’s the sound of these champagne-swilling, post-modern, punk rock minxes debating feminism and costume catastrophes."

Pasty-Happy: A Take on the New Burlesque by Barry Yourgrau 2/16/03

The Fabulous and Unique Exotic World Burlesque Museum is struggling. Please click to find out more and to support the museum:
Exotic World Support

Sunset strip The bare facts on the new burlesque BY LIZA WEISSTUCH june 5 2003
Her entrée from backstage to on stage came when she and a friend, the gothic cartoonist Dame Darcy, developed a play, Meatcake (based on Dame’s indie ’zine of the same name), that got the pair invited to perform burlesque acts at Ladyfest, the feminist ?esta in Washington. Now she regularly exposes her talents alongside neo-sideshow marvels and old-school burlesque legends.

Boobs and Babes by Tricia Romano, May 1 2004, Village Voice
"In between giving out the Pasties, class act JO BOOBS did a classic strip, and COCO LA CREME of SKIN TIGHT OUTTA SIGHT took DEPECHE MODE's "Personal Jesus" literally and stripped from her Scarlet Letter outfit while a deadpan JESUS stood by and snapped his fingers...."

The Off-Stage Shenanigans of Strippers (Vintage Article) by Franklin Thistle
"When the big time burlesque gals act up for publicity it's a barrel of laughs and trouble a minute!...Jean Smyle, professionally known as "Venus the Body," recently got a lot of coverage in the newspapers by opening a striptease school in Hollywood for advanced study in the fine arts of the bump, grind and tassel-twirling. Venus claims she launched the school to supply a more refined type of striptease for the country's burlesque theaters."

Tassels will be worn Dee O'Connell, Sunday September 28, 2003, The Observer
"When is a strip club not a strip club? A good guess would be when the audience is made up of as many women as men, most of them under 30 years old, when there are male as well as female strippers and an elderly lady in top hat and tails singing 'La Vie en Rose'."

Bawdy Beautiful New Burlesque shakes up San Francisco By Sandra Nygaard, Friday November 7, 2003, sfgate.com
"The most noticeable recent shift in the new burlesque is the transformation of its audience. Once a predominantly male diversion, this iteration is more popular with women. " 'What makes it so amazing and so important right now is that it's not entertainment for men,' Laura Herbert says. 'It's not your grandfather's strip tease -- it's very much entertainment for women.' "

Bombshells Away! by Tricia Romano
"On any given night, there are countless burlesque shows around town: at Fez every Saturday, Kate Valentine's Va Va Voom Room packs 'em in; at the Lower East Side's Slipper Room, burlesquers like Dirty Martini and the World Famous *BOB* teeter about wearing titty tassels; at Chez Es Saada, an East Village Middle Eastern restaurant, former members of the infamous nightclub crew Jackie 60 host Cabaret Magique; at Marion's Continental every Monday, the World Famous Pontani Sisters kick their heels up in the narrow aisles while customers eat dinner; and in midtown, just a few blocks from where the Ziegfield Follies once lived, Show, a burlesque and cabaret venue that opened last month, features performers like the Rouge and Le Scandal troupes...."

The New Burlesque by Felica Feaster
"For now, the local scene is dominated by a one-woman impresario of the shimmy-and-shake. Enter the aforementioned redhead: Eve Wynne-Warren, aka "Torchy Taboo: The Human Heatwave." As the fire-wielding, flame-haired temptress and headliner for her deliciously old-style dance troupe Dames Aflame, Wynne-Warren has resurrected the lost art of burlesque, juicing it up for the 21st century's gimlet-eyed scenemakers...."

Tease-o-Rama 2002 in Degenerate Press
"They started off with impressive gymnastics. Then they tossed their Bibles aside and began shedding clothing...."

Lezbosagogo by Susy Buchanan
"Phoenix's gay burlesque troupe's starring at a mega-lesbian-fest beside the ladies' pro golf championship. Could fortune and fame be next?"

Download Striptease

Burlesque is Back! Entertainment Tonight blurb
"At the El Rey theatre in Los Angeles, a semi-annual burlesque show, called 'The Velvet Hammer,' plays to a packed house every time. There, thousands of people hoot and holler as characters such as MING DYNATEASE, MISS ASTERID and SPIDERWOMAN VALANTINA VIOLETTE perform a vaudeville-type strip show (complete with hand-stitched, elaborate costumes valued at thousands of dollars and a live band)...."

Modern burlesque spreading from coast to coast The Associated Press
4/13/2006, BY JESSICA M. PASKO
'Jen Gapay, co-founder of the New York Burlesque Festival, has seen the number of festival entries more than double in the three years since it was created. With entries now totaling more than 200 from national and international contestants, Gapay's had to make the application process a little more stringent. Entries have come in from troupes and performers all around the U.S. and Canada, and even as far away as Japan....'

The New Burlesque: Boom or Bust? by Rick Palley
"Miss Jenny Lee, a well-proportioned singer/dancer accurately described by Miss Astrid as “healthy-lunged,” appeared in two skits. In the first she stripped in front of a large stuffed ape doll while eating a banana; later, she belted out a hot little number called the “Halo Hop” while dancing around in a bra, panties, and angel wings...."

The New York Burlesque Festival by Diedre Kilgore, February 2004, New York Cool
"We turned the corner and were immediately swept off our feet by the spectacle of a stripping Godzilla, performed by the utterly amazing Jo Boobs...."

Christina, Gwen Stefani, Dita Von Teese Help Bring Back Burlesque mtvnews.com
"Dita Von Teese, probably the most sparkly performer in the neo-burlesque movement, creates her fabulous costumes with fellow entertainer Catherine D'Lish. "We usually spend about a month making each costume — one of my last costumes has about 20,000 rhinestones, put on by hand, one by one,' Von Teese explained...."

The Big BRA by Saleos
"With characters the likes of, Dee Dee Cups, Rosie Cheeks, Miss Tallulah Starlight, Lola Freebush drag-queen Lady Godiva, and the Burleycue Dancers all backed by the BRA house band, The Lenny’s, there’s sure to be something titillating for everyone at every BRA show...."

Burlesque History, and Where to see Live Burlesque by Dr. Susan Block
"To get a better sense of the history, we made the hot dusty trek out into the desert to visit Exotic World, a museum dedicated to the art. It is run by Dixie Evans, who was the Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque, and looked just like her. It is an amazing place, with room after room crammed with thousands of photos, costumes, and other memorabilia...."

"Is It Live, or Is It Burlesque? by Bill Picture
Boyreau describes the production as "a pulsating federacy of jazz fashion, robo-noir and modern dance erotica," interspersed with his left-field poetry and 1930 and '40s black-and-white film reels showing cutesy Judy Garland-and-Mickey Rooney-style duets and politically incorrect tap-dancing black men wearing pearly white perma-smiles...."

Burlesque returns, finds local niche By Laura Carroll, Las Vegas Business Press
'Dancers and band members for Forty Deuce are chosen through rigorous auditions. The performers are under contract to Kane exclusively. In return, he provides full salary and benefits....'

Atomic Magazine
The Essential Guide to Retro Culture--love those Atomic Girls!

Bust Magazine
The Guide to the New Girl Order, and home of the Boobtique.

Bawdy Burlesque is Back by Andrew Chang, abcnews.com
"During the last Tease-O-Rama, some of the dancers from burlesque's heyday, now in their 70s and 80s, appeared on stage. Clisby's mother attended with her. She says her mother said, "It's all exactly the same, except for the tattoos" sported by the younger performers...."

Stealing the Show by Erica Gallagher
"The World Famous Pontani Sisters have charmed Conan O’Brien, won over surf rockers Los Straightjackets, and captivated thousands of audience members across the country. And it’s no surprise — when these New York–based performers hit the stage in flashy costumes and heady routines, something appears that modern-day entertainment has failed to deliver: smiles...."

The art of burlesque by Sean Smith
" '"I would say the interest in the crowd is a lot more profound,' says Sasha on what happens when the nudity is left up to the imagination...."

Bring on the dancing girls By Amy Diluna
"Bawdy burlesque makes its corseted comeback in New York"

Tip of the Week by Michael Weinstein
"Burlesque marks the point in Western erotic culture where mockery and seduction meet to create ironic desire. The accent is firmly on irony in Finnish-German photographer Katharina Bosse's saturated color portraits of American burlesque queens..."

Stripping Down to the Roots (Article in Time magazine by Ben Nugent)
"This is New Burlesque, the artistic stepsister of stripping. Performed mostly by and for twenty- and thirtysomethings, it has been spreading across North America for the past five years, practiced by troupes from New York City (Le Scandal) to Vancouver, Canada (Fluffgirls Burlesque), to New Orleans (the Shimshamettes)...."

The Showgirls Exhibit Press Release from Harrah's
"The Showgirls Exhibit at the Rio Hotel & Casino showcases dazzling sequin costumes dating back as early as the 1920's as well as original feathered headdresses worn by showgirls, magnificent feather boas, vintage magazines and posters, exquisite jewelry and intricate beadwork. The mesmerizing experience details the history of the art of the showgirl performance and educates visitors to its rich history. The free Showgirls Exhibit is located at the entrance to the Samba Theater and is open at 12pm daily to the public...."

Back to Burlesque by Amy Barrett
"Strippers, magicians, drag queens and bakers embrace irony at Kiss My Cabaret"

Burlesque is Back in Town by Andy Steiner (Utne)
"A new generation of feminist-inspired performers is reviving the art of striptease"

Review of the Blue Angel (AKA Le Scandal) by Roy Edroso
"The performers knew their stuff and obviously enjoyed it. Neither was the subtle, traditional contempt of the sex performer missing: We were repeatedly teased, flashed, warned off, left wanting more...."

Burlesque? by Susannah Breslin
"Today, a new generation of history-in-the-buff strippers from California to New York are resurrecting burlesque in sassy strip shows that leave something sexy to the imagination...."

Bombshell-Shocked! by Deborah Shoeneman
"Picture three sexy young women dancing in a large metal cage, sequined pasties - and a crowd that's as much 'Queer as Folk' as it is 'Sex and the City....' "

Dressing Up the Old Art of Seduction by Deqan Kuipers
"In an era of explicitness, the new burlesque thrives on leaving something to the imagination...."

Talking the Walk By Eileen Loh Harrist
"Kitty West shows dancers how to strut their stuff as part of this weekend's Tease-O-Rama burlesque convention...."

Welcome to the New Bump and Grind by Lenny Stoute
"Neo-burlesque comes out of two tendencies: One is the American Gothic stream, the stomping ground of David Lynch movies, S-&-M punk band the Cramps or drag queen Divine; the other is pop culture's ongoing affair with nostalgia...."

Tease-O-Rama New Orleans, May 18-20, 2001 by Degenerate Press
"The room was packed with pretty girls, about a 5 to 1 girls to guys ratio, basically paralyzing me. I couldn't speak, I just stood around gawking like a kid in a candy store with no money. Delightful, but nothing compared to what was to come...."

The Pursuit of Beauty by Eric Nuzum
"Exotic World's yearly pageant celebrates the bygone era of Burlesque"

The Hip Strip by Tristan Taormino
"At its current home in the Cutting Room (19 West 24th Street; thecuttingroomnyc.com), the Blue Angel has a new name (Le Scandal) and the show is hotter and wilder than ever. Hostesses Bonnie Dunn and Dillon bring such a diverse lineup, one wonders why there isn't a year-long waiting list to get a piece of this action...."

Julie Atlas Muz: Love, Guts (Cha Cha Cha) by Karinne Keithley
"Even as the show moves toward the point where half the cast kill themselves (their stabbed, poisoned, hanging bodies only to become the set dressing for an Yma Sumac bright pink mambo), the humor doesn't feel dark..."

Girlie Show! by Melissa Starker
"Miss Kitty’s Hot Box brings burlesque back to the Columbus stage"

Freedom of Expression: Burlesque Passes as Performance Art
"In a burlesque show like the Blue Angel, the strippers range from the barely daring to the genuinely scandalous..."

Fire Dancing by Tai Moses
"The attraction to fire, says Crimson, is very simple: 'Mom said: Don't play with fire.' " I'm a fire-eater. My mother never said not to eat it.

Only the Best Make it to Miss Exotic World by Lola Brown
"These girls don't just strut their stuff and rub your roost--they tease, wink and breathe life back into the art of flirtation...."

If You're Bringing Something Back, Why Not Burlesque? by Laura Bond
"Equal parts variety-style vaudeville, turn-of-the-century striptease, B-movie camp and modern theater, Burlesque As It Was aims to re-create -- and update -- an era that was more tease than T-back, a time when a little belly-wiggling was the closest one might come to a lap dance...."

Show Me Your Pasties by Tristan Taormino
"With spangles and sequins galore, 'The Velvet Hammer' recalled the old days of burlesque, where luscious ladies told stories as they disrobed, and seduced with every shake of a finger or an ass...."

Backstage with the Velvet Hammer by Judith Lewis
Onstage, the show might be for the screaming, adoring fans who fight for sightlines at the El Rey, but their performance in the dressing room is for each other. "The gals who make it into the show," says associate producer Rita D’Albert, "are gals’ gals...."

Celebrating the Tease without the Sleaze by Shelley E. Preston
"During their multi-act performance, [the Wau Wau Sisters] may jump through burning hoops in flame-printed bikinis, swing above the bar on the trapeze or serve the audience deviled eggs. One thing is for certain, at some point during the show, the Sisters will have managed to discard their clever outfits and be left standing in their skivvies...."

Burlesque Comback Tries to Dance with Feminism by Kelly DiNardo, December 7 2004, Women's E-News
"As burlesque becomes increasingly popular, showing up in clubs across the country, online, and in exercise classes, some performers are claiming the acts as part of a new feminism. Some scholars argue, however, that burlesque can still be interpreted as a form of exploitation of women's bodies."

Grin and Bare It by Lynn Braz
"Although she'll tell you she still fits into a 'gown' whipped up in 1955, her cabriole legs and bombe bazooms remain the only relics of her years in the limelight. Back then, Flame reigned supreme as 'Queen of Burlesque....' "

A Rebirth of Burlesque by Joshua Brandt
"The audience gets to have a lot more fun than at a regular strip show because the interaction between the performers and the audience isn’t canned or faked...."

Teasing, Pleasing--The Shimshamettes turn Stripping into an Art Form by Bill Sasser
GREAT PHOTOS WITH THIS ARTICLE
"Several members of the troupe have done duty on Bourbon Street, but the 20 performers include business owners, bartenders, cocktail waitresses, a librarian, a physics student and a medical student...."

Not with a Ten-Foot Pole by Eric Searleman
" 'No way burlesque will happen here,' predicts Charlie Levy, promoter for Nita's Hideaway in Tempe...."