MYNX D’MEANOR

I’ve been waaaaay behind on my burlesque news reading, and of course, blogging here, but I just had to share these recent articles– if you hadn’t read them yet. I’m especially happy not only because the articles are fairly well-written and approach burlesque as a legitimate topic, but for me it’s still pretty rare (and therefore a breath of fresh air) to read pieces that don’t go for the sensationalistic and ever-so-wrong “burlesque is back!” angle…

1) LAT: Burlesque era remains alive in hall of fame
- A wonderful overview on the history and current state of the Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly known as the Exotic World Museum). And it’s got a couple of the most adorable photos!

2) North by Northwestern: Michelle L’amour shows that burlesque is more than just a strip tease
- An inspiring article on Michelle L’amour’s fairly new burlesque dance studio.

Michelle L’amour walks gracefully into the studio and begins directing warm-ups for her ‘Beginning/Intermediate Burlesque’ class. The former Miss Exotic World (2005) is Dita-esque in appearance, petite and pale with short, black hair and dark red lips, and she wears an ornate feather clip in her hair, shaped in an apropos heart. She swings her hips to the sultry beat, leading the girls in the “sexy walk” warm-up, and talks all the while, making splits and turns look effortless. The atmosphere in the studio is fun, playful and very comfortable, despite the blatant sex appeal.

3) BroadwayWorld.com: Burlesque Theatre Open[ed] 3/13 At The Denver Civic Theater

For the first time since the 1930’s a theatre is being built specifically to house burlesque, headed up by Reyna Von Vett of last fall’s acclaimed Leadville or Bust– a playful romp through 1880’s burlesque (Reyna played Tanya for 2 years in the Las Vegas company of Mamma Mia!) and Michelle Baldwin, a.k.a. Vivienne VaVoom, the Mother of Neo-Burlesque in Denver and creator of one of the first neo-burlesque troupes in the U.S., Burlesque As It Was. Converting the space recently known as the Black Box Cabaret in the Denver Civic Theatre ( 721 Santa Fe Dr. , Denver ), Von Vett and Baldwin aim to bring burlesque back while playing homage to the great tradition of burlesque that began in the late 1800’s and all but disappeared in the 1960’s.

While it seems ‘crazy’ to start up a theatre in this economy, Von Vett and Baldwin point to the Great Depression and how burlesque was the one form of live entertainment that survived and thrived, even moving into the Times Square theatre district of New York when ‘legitimate’ theatres closed their shows.

… In other (non-)news, I’ve recently been in touch with a couple of local media reps who expressed interest in interviewing me for their own “burlesque is back” news pieces. There was even talk of doing a video segment of a demo Burlesque Boot Camp class. Alas, I think the ball’s been dropped somewhere, as I no longer hear back from them. We’ll see…