The Essential Backstage Guide...
...to understanding and performing both classic and neo-burlesque. Written by Jo “Boobs” Weldon, award-winning founder of the New York School of Burlesque, this guidebook provides step-by-step instructions on basic moves, provides worksheets for costuming and music selection, and gives backstage insight from one of the most established and respected stars of the burlesque scene. Also here are insider tips from dozens of performers whose combined careers span six decades and an illustrated section on how to make and twirl tasseled pasties!
For less than the price of a burlesque workshop, you can get a handbook that teaches you classic moves, basic principles of fan dancing, concepts in costuming and makeup, how to make and twirl tasseled pasties, and how to get started performing! The book is fun for performers and non-performers, packed with quotes from burlesque legends of the 1940s and 1950s as well as neo-burlesque stars. Sourced from both original research and available literature, the book is also based on the author's decades backstage, where performers give each other the most useful tips and secrets!
Table of Contents
Foreword by Margaret Cho
Introduction:A Lifetime of Discovering Burlesque and a Brief History of Bold Women
1 Inspiration: Opening the Curtain on Your Internal Theatre
Burlesque Movement
2 Classic Moves: The Old School Way
3 Pasties: They're Revolutionary [includes instructions on how to make and twirl tasseled pasties]
4 Fans: Your Fine Feathered Friends
Act Development
5 Music: The Basis of Every Successful Seduction
6 Costuming: Constructing Outfits for Deconstruction
7 Character: Getting Into It
Refining Performance
8 Makeup and Hair: You're Never Nude Up There
9 The Big Reveal: How to Get a Gimmick
10 Etiquette: How to Win Naked Friends and Influence Nude People
Take a Bow
11 Identity: What Makes You So Special
Appendices and Resources [includes a burlesque history timeline, reading recommendations, film recommendations, website recommendations, and worksheets]
Recommended by Dita Von Teese on Twitter: "Insightful how-to book on #burlesque~ http://dita.tk/jo About the neo-burlesque scene, tips & even clip art to make your own pasties! Nice!"
"I love Jo because not only is she absolutely gorgeous, she is incredibly smart. She is a burlesque performer, teacher, historian, and photographer. She shows us our present while preserving our past." -Margaret Cho
"I love Jo because not only is she absolutely gorgeous, she is incredibly smart. She is a burlesque performer, teacher, historian, and photographer. She shows us our present while preserving our past."
Margaret Cho
"Jo has been a fantastic entertainer at Exotic World and a great inspiration to everyone at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. It's an honor to have her working with us and a thrill to have her on our stage!"
Dixie Evans, Founder of the Burlesque Hall of Fame
"Jo is a generous teacher whose enthusiasm and dedication to the art form shine through her every word and movement. She's also a burlesque force of nature, a performer who unapologetically embodies the classic tease alongside the edgiest neo-burlesque without a hint of
contradiction."
Michelle Baldwin, Author of Burlesque and the New Bump N Grind
"Jo has been a fantastic entertainer at Exotic World and a great inspiration to everyone at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. It's an honor to have her working with us and a thrill to have her on our stage!" -Dixie Evans, Founder of the Burlesque Hall of Fame
"Jo is a generous teacher whose enthusiasm and dedication to the art form shine through her every word and movement. She's also a burlesque force of nature, a performer who unapologetically embodies the classic tease alongside the edgiest neo-burlesque without a hint of contradiction." -Michelle Baldwin, Author of Burlesque and the New Bump N Grind
It's the first book ever published on how to put together a burlesque routine!
Read the reviews on Amazon, then order it from your favorite independent bookstore.
If you have enjoyed the book or found it useful, consider posting a review on amazon.com -- it will help us keep it in print!
The book features easy-to-follow suggestions and exercises for developing stage-worthy confidence, presence, and sexiness. You’ll learn about the fabulous makeup, costumes, pasties, moves, grooves, and attitudes of burlesque. The Burlesque Handbook is the must-have guide for everyone interested in this vibrant and wildly popular performance art, providing inspiration and practical information that readers can take straight from the page to the stage!
See Headmistress Jo in action on ChristinaAguilera.com!
