For the last few years, I’ve been involved with the Burlesque group in my home town. We do theatrical shows, events, modelling, photo shoots, all sorts. It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life and my career getting to work with the team and learning the ropes an picking up new skills and confidence along the way. But what is Burlesque?
Strap in, hold on to your garters and cover your exposed parts with feather fans as I take you on a little shimmy through the history of this stunning and fascinating art form. The word ‘Burlesque’ derives from the Italian word ‘burla’ which means ‘mockery’ or ‘joke’ or ‘ridicule’. It contains elements of satire, caricature and parody and also variety performance. There may be musical numbers, dramatic readings, dance, any number of routines, but the primary goal was to amuse and delight, with the roles played mostly by women. In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, Burlesque was mostly known for performing literary parodies and mockeries of politics or other serious subject matter and was strongly connected with the Farce genre.
Victorian Burlesque, often also referred to as ‘Travesty’ or ‘Extravaganza’ was the style popular from the 1830s to the 1890s and featured heavy parodies of musical theatre, well known operas or plays, comically altered for the amusement of the crowd. Classical costumes and stories would be juxtaposed with modern activities and references and amusing music. This would also evolve with the addition of more jokes, gimmicks and ‘turns’, some would add lyrics to existing popular songs for comic effect while some more ambitious shows had their own composed. Shakespeare’s plays were frequently adapted to the Victorian Burlesque style, often being rewritten in rhyming couplets and featuring women in tights, which was at the time considered moderately racy. This style even became the specialty of certain London theatres and around the 1870s had grown from single, one act pieces of less than an hour into longer features, by the late 1880s becoming a whole night of entertainment!
Burlesque in this style saw a decline in the early 1890s as former specialist theatres began to favour more wholesome and simpler musical comedies. This led many Burlesque performers to either adapt, find a new trade or emigrate – And emigrate many of them did.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Burlesque was thriving. Derived from the old Victorian Burlesque, it had become more popular especially with the visiting troupe from England known as Lydia Thompson and the ‘British Blondes’ starting in 1868. Though strongly inspired by Victorian Burlesque, the New York scene fused it with elements of Dance Hall, Vaudeville and Minstrel shows, often dividing shows into three sections, starting with a musical act constructed around comical or satirical songs. The second act would feature male acts, acrobats or magicians or sometimes a singer of a more traditional style. The third part would often consist of chorus numbers further satirising politics or other supposedly serious subjects, much like the old English style. Shows would often conclude with a wrestling match, boxing match or an exotic dancer.
On both sides of the Atlantic, Burlesque began to fall from fashion. It did cling on much longer in America, even enjoying a resurgence as it evolved to incorporate an increasing focus on female nudity. This newer, more risqué form of Burlesque found a home in clubs and cabarets in addition to its traditional homes of theatres and music halls.
By the early 20th Century, there were two main Burlesque companies working the American entertainment circuit travelling across the country, as well as fixed, resident companies in New York. Minsky’s Burlesque was one of the most notorious and revolutionary of these companies, changing the face of Burlesque forever. Following a trip to France, Minsky’s were the first to bring a trademark of Parisienne Burlesque to the U.S. after frequenting legendary shows such as the Folies Bergère and the Moulin Rouge – this being the addition of a runway to the stage to bring the show out into the audience.
With the shows becoming slowly more risqué, a dance with the morality brigade was soon to ensue. Police would raid Minsky’s for the first time in 1917 after reports of performer Mae Dix undressing on stage. It had begun innocently enough. Dix had simply started to remove her costume before actually reaching the stage wings but when the crowd began to cheer, she returned to the stage and span it into an act, not wanting to disappoint the crowd who were now in a state of rapturous applause. The director ordered this ‘accident’ to be performed every night.
And so began the other dance that Burlesque would perform. If the shows became too risqué, they would be shut down but in order to please the customers, they would have to take risks. The right balance was the difference between success or failure for a Burlesque theatre. A balancing act Minsky’s performed expertly for years!
Around the 1920s, it became permissible for women to appear topless as long as they did not move. This is possibly what led to the incorporation of statuesque poses in Burlesque acts along with clever use of props such as fans and feathers to conceal certain areas.
By the late 1920s and early 30s, Burlesque saw a gradual move towards striptease. More complex vocal, theatrical or comic acts were mostly dropped – along with many of the clothes. By the early 30s, there were over 150 strip principals across America, with famous stars including the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr and Sally Rand, to name a few. By the late 30s, Burlesque shows would typically consist of several striptease artistes supported by a comedian or two and possibly a master or mistress of ceremonies. A young Mae West would get her start as a comedienne on Burlesque shows, which was probably amazing to watch, likely shaping her risqué and flirty humour that she would become known for. The marriage of West and Burlesque is obvious!
Burlesque as an industry became severely damaged by Prohibition and clampdowns, particularly in New York which had almost killed it entirely by the 1940s. It clung to life in some regions but often would become tired and neglected and by the 1970s, theatre Burlesque was all but extinct. If a glimpse of flesh was what the audience craved, cinema was becoming quite revealing and the dawn of the mass-produced pornography industry provided them with that. Entertainment had changed and so had demand. The theatre, the spectacle, the class and glamour of Burlesque has been replaced by strip clubs who would perform the striptease as it’s own form of entertainment, but with many using the name Burlesque, the name became connected with that instead of its traditionally strong, theatrical roots.
The closing years of the 20 th Century and opening years of the 21 st would see an explosive revival of Burlesque, both in its traditional forms and also Neo-Burlesque, Boylesque (for the fellas) and Draglesque to name a few, introducing new themes, motifs and acts and combining them with the traditional in a spectacle of self empowerment, glamour, elegance and fabulousness married beautifully with the return of vintage hair, makeup, clothing and music styles making a long overdue resurgence. Las Vegas has long embraced strong elements of Burlesque with its showgirls and still nowadays has live Burlesque shows, both traditional and non. Also, thanks to films like Moulin Rouge and Burlesque (starring Cher), singers like the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera (who was Burlesquing long before starring in Burlesque with Cher) and celebrity Burlesque Artistes like Dita Von Teese, Burlesque is now more popular than ever before!
It’s a game for everyone to enjoy and you’ll notice that many burlesque audiences contain more women than men. There’s a good reason for that. Burlesque is all about owning yourself, empowering yourself and being confident in your own skin. You’ll see Burlesque performers of every shape, size and age and they’re all as much of a part of it as each other. Burlesque is one of the most empowering forms of entertainment you can find and has now become so trendy, you can take classes all over the place!
I can honestly say, Burlesque has not only made me a better performer but has changed the way I think about myself. Maybe it’s time you shook off any preconceptions you might have had and dip your toe in. Surrender to the fabulousness. It’ll be the best fun you’ll ever have.
Stay Safe, Stay Sane, Stay Vidalicious x
