Burlesque

Summary

Many people think burlesque was all about stripping and the sex appeal. Although removal of clothes happened that is not all burlesque was and is.  During a burlesque show one could have seen comedy acts, acrobatic bits, and musical numbers. Although burlesque was heavily criticized and considered  in the wrong, they even outlawed it in the early 1900s.  Which obviously led the burlesque scene to die down a bit.  But in the mid 1900s the world was taken by storm again with a new wave of burlesque performers. This time burlesque caught on and stayed in the know.  To people burlesque could still be considered dirty by their standards, but to many others burlesque is more empowering. In early years of burlesque there would not be many things on stage and the clothes were not flashy. But now the stages are magnificently done up. And the clothes are so elaborate. The audience has changed now as well, before it was mainly men that  watched  the performances but now more women are taking time out to see the shows because it is empowering to be in control. I would not say burlesque is easy, but there are lessons women could take if they wanted to try out and see what it is like or all about. The atmosphere is different than it used to be before. When one would attend an earlier show of burlesque they clubs could be small and congested but now there are large arena-like places that the shows are held. It is more active and alive.  Especially with a movie entitled ‘Burlesque’ shows that it is still around and is going to stay around for quite some time even if the acts, stage, or performances change.

This image is of an older poster for a show

This is a new modern burlesque outfit

Interesting Facts

• Burlesque actually comes from Italian meaning “mockery” 
• Burlesque performers came up with their own language, as an example one of the terms could be “from hunger” which means a lousy performer.

Video

Sources

"Burlesque: a Short History." QueensOfVintage.com. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://queensofvintage.com/burlesque-a-short-history>. 

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation.   Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2006. Print 

"History of Burlesque - Part I." Musicals101.com - The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musicals. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. http://www.musicals101.com/burlesque.htm. 

Pictures received from google images

• http://members.tripod.com/p_rosebank/burlesque_costumes/Complete_with_hat_-_on_black.jpg
• http://allieallbright.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/full-burlesque.jpg