Jo Weldon

Performers and Venues
Things that go bump n grind in the night!

What Burlesque Looks Like Today
Hundreds of original photos of burlesque performers on stage.

Articles on the Web
Dozens of recent articles about burlesque.

Ed Barnas' New York Burlesque Calendar

The New York Burlesque Festival

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

Amber Ray (New York)
Burlesque performer and promoter Amber Ray presents herself as a "conscious muse." Guaranteed to dazzle!

Bambi the Mermaid (New York)
A baton-twirling troll? The chicken that laid the golden egg? A goldfish-geeking mermaid? She's all that and more. I love this woman!

Badass Burlesque (New York)
A night of Burlesque that explores the underside of the female psyche.

Bindlestiff Family Circus
The legendary!

Le Scandal, formerly The Blue Angel (New York)
Gallery
Featuring the New Orleans burlesque styling of Miss Bonnie Dunn. One night one of the waitresses, who had never seen burlesque or strippers before Le Scandal came to The Cutting Room, told me that she brings people to see the show. She said, "I tell them, 'If you don't like THIS, I don't like YOU!' " I know what she means!

Bella Beretta
Burlesque raconteur, teacher, and performer!

BettiLu Bombshells
Fabulous new burlesque!

Big Al's Caricature and Pin-up Art
Lots of fun with burlesque gals and other folks--you can even get your own custom caricature!

Black Cat Burlesque
They put the "bump" back into the night!

Bombshell! (New York)
It's just not a party without the Bombshell Girls!

The Bump and Grind Show
As far as I know (and don't hesitate to let me know if I'm wrong), this is the only place where you can watch a burlesque show on the internet.

Burlesque as it Was (Denver)
Current Burlesque Troupe in the city where I was born, headed by the fabulous Michelle Baldwin, author of "Burlesque and the New Bump n Grind." If this site has piqued your interest in new burlesque, you need her book.

Bump and Grind Book
A forthcoming anthology on the burlesque revival!

Burlesque Costumes by Inga
Because you've got to put it on if you want to take it off!

Burlesque for Peace
Burlesque the Vote!
Burlesque the Vote in the New York Times

BurlyQ
Queer Seattle burlesque--if you want to see it, you gotta go!

Burlesque at the Beach (Coney Island, New York)
Gallery
A very special combination of burlesque and performance art by regulars of the Va Va Voom Room.

Burlesque Revival Association
You gotta love a troupe whose acronym is BRA.

Catherine D'Lish
Possibly my favorite feature dancer ever. You have to see her amazing designs! To see photos from her tour on Devotchka's site, click here.

The Cantankerous Lollies (San Francisco)
Current Burlesque Troupe.

Cherry Malone
Fan Dancer and Miss Exotic World 2001.

Miss Clams Casino
One of my former students who now performs regularly in New York!

Creamy Stevens
The devasting, devilish co-producer of Starshine Burlesque in New York City!

Torchy Taboo (Atlanta)
My evil twin, Torchy Taboo. Or am I the one that's the evil twin? I forget....

Dane's Dames

Dare Devil Opera Company
Unfuckingbelievable. Just take a look.

Miss Delirium Tremens
Supremely gorgeous New York Burlesque Artist, no detox needed.

The Devil-ettes (San Francisco)
Current Burlesque Troupe.

Dee Milo (Legend)
A burlesque legend with an amazing story.

Deville Dolls London

Darlinda Just Darlinda (New York)
And isn't Darlinda enough?

Dirty Martini (New York and Velvet Hammer)
Miss Exotic World 2004, tassel-twirler extraordinaire, a beauty and a charmer! If you haven't seen Dirty Martini perform, you haven't lived!

Don Spiro
A great burlesque photographer who shoots from coast to coast!

Dita Von Teese
Glamour revivalist and fetish model, performing gorgeous upscale burlesque. There's just nobody like this smart, savvy, original lady, who's known for her attention to detail and exceptional shows. Not to be missed, especially with her ravishing partner Catherine D'Lish.

Adam Dugas
Adam Dugas HIMSELF. If you like Tom Jones you'll cream for this!

Ducky Doolittle
The adorable Dr. Ducky, Crackpot Sexologist, teaches burlesque, among other things!

Shimmy Magazine, the magazine about burlesque!

The Eccentric New Orleans Burlesque Project
A wonderful project that focuses on burlesque queens on Bourbon Street in the 1940s-1960s. Great interview and photos of Kitty West, whose act portrayed "Evangeline, the Oyster Girl." The rest of the site is amazing as well.

Epicurian Productions
Produced by the Josephine Baker of the 21st Century, Miss Ami Goodheart, this is a fabulous cabaret!

Evelyn's 1955
New Pin-up Art!

Exotic World Burlesque Museum (Helendale, California)
A fabulous museum of striptease history, and the hosting site of the Miss Exotic World Contest.

The Fluffgirl Burlesque Society (Vancouver, BC)
Current Burlesque Troupe.

Fisherman's Famous Burlesque
Relocated from San Francisco to New York!

Forty Deuce
The world's most famous burlesque clubs!

The Flying Fox (San Francisco)
Brilliant and beautiful.

The Fuckerettes
Rope-twirlin', high-kickin', trash-talkin' rodeo sweethearts who tour with the band Uncle Fucker.

Galatea
Personal web site of MisGalatea, a burlesque queen and daughter-in-law of burlesque king Billy Taylor. She offers her video about how to become a burlesque queen yourself.

Girly Freak Show
A girlie freak show, of course!

The Glamazons
Plus-Size Pulchritude in NYC.

3D Bob (AKA Gorilla Bob) (New York)
New York 3-D photographer, stage manager, and house gorilla!

Burlesque Bitch
" In addition to a seasonal E-Zine, we at the BB bring you a complete calendar of all the Burlesque shows we can find across the country."

The Golden Days of Burlesque Historical Society
" We re-connect old friends who worked in burlesque with one another, and share information."

The Great Fredini
The host of This or That!, America's Favorite burlesque game show, and a real blockhead!

The Gun St. Girls (Seattle)
Rock n Roll Burlesque!

Gurlesque Burlesque Lezzo Strip Club (Australia)
Hell yeah! Raunchy, raunchy lezzos!

The Goddess Perlman (New York)
Jewish Girl Gone Bad!

Gorilla X, Gorilla to the Stars
The Liberace of Gorillas!

Harlem Shake
The Black Beauties of Burlesque
Changing History One Shake At A Time!

Hot Pink Feathers
A Brazilian burlesque troupe, unbearably and irresistably cute!

Kaplan's Burlesque (New York)
Current New York Burlesque Troupe

Miss Indigo Blue (Seattle)
The brilliant performer and maker of amazing pasties presents burlesque workshops!

Immodesty Blaize (London, UK)
Superstar of London's infamous Whoopee club!

Ixion Burlesque (New York)
...

Julie Atlas Muz (New York)
The Coral Room's Mermaid--underwater burlesque, among other things!

Kara Mae
Burlesque performer and Lily St. Cyr fan.
Be sure to check out her burlesque magazine, Star and Garter!

Katharina Bosse's New Burlesque
Fabulous Book of Photos of New Burlesque.

Kitten DeVille (Los Angeles)
Miss Exotic World 2002, and a true shimmy queen!

Kitten on the Keys
Pianist and singer for the Cantankerous Lollies. Check out her gallery of "encounters"!

Kitty Diggins
Cabaret , Fan dance specialist ,plays historical figures,performs regular nite club shows in Los Angeles , producer of Miss Exotic world event. Fabulous Burlesque preservationist!

Kitten Coquette
Burlesque performer and pinup--the tattooed blonde bombshell of your dreams!

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang
Austin Texas brings you hot burlesque and rowdy kitties!

Lavender Cabaret (Chicago)
You gotta have burlesque in the Windy City!

Lili's Burlesque
Lili's Burlesque Revue (formerly of Le Cirque Rouge de Gus) is the Twin Cities' premier burlesque & cabaret troupe, where every night offers a new tantalizing treat! Featuring Opheliz Flame, who's just as hot as her name implies!

Ms Lili VonSchtupp
She took her name from a Mel Brooks character, so you should love her just for that!

Lola Staar
The adorable creator of the New York Burlesque Calendar, plus the cutest burlesque t-shirts ever! Check out the Coney island and Brooklyn gear, too.

Lolita Haze (Phoenix, Arizona)
The Nymphet of Burlesque!

Lukki

Lola Pearl
One of my former students, very talented and hot cha cha!

Lucy Fur (Portland, Oregon)
Gorgeous pinup who takes pinups!

Lucifire (UK)
Pyromaniac burlesque superstar!

The Mermaid Parade
Gallery
Okay, it's not really burlesque. But if you like burlesque, you'll like this.

Mimi LeMeaux (San Diego)
Pin-Up and Horror Queen! Founder of Dames in DisDress!

Ministry of Burlesque (UK)
Burlesque Agency in the UK! Site has forums and galleries.

Miss Saturn (New York)
New York's Stripping Hula Hoop Queen!

Mistress Persephone
Horror fan extraordinaire, famous dominatrix, burlesque star--she's got it all!

Miss Behave (London, UK)
Female sword swallower, mad cabaret artist!

Murray Hill (New York)
Drag King vaudeville--definitely something you don't see every day, but should see when you can.

Ms. Demeanor's Fat-Bottom Revue
A whole lotta show!

Ms. Firecracker
Burlesque performer and burlesque fan. Hot damn!

Nasty Canasta (New York)
Super cute and inventive, smart as a whip, and a member of the Red Hots!

Natasha Veruschka--Female Sword Swallower
A woman with the body of Jayne Mansfield and no gag reflex whatsoever. A mystery to modern medical science. Surely you don't want to go your whole life without seeing this!

Pain Proof Rubber Girls
Beautiful contortionists and trapeze artists!

Roky Roulette (San Francisco)
Stripping while on a pogo stick!

Eliza Bane (Los Angeles)
Costume Designer goes Burlesque!

Allison Tilsen (Location)
One of the cofounders of the Glamazons--mindblowing every time!

Vienna Le Rouge (Seattle)
Glitzkrieg regular, winner of the Viva Las Vegas burlesque competition, a seamstress and a stunner!

Panty Raid (Nashville)
Music City's premiere burlesque revue, PANTY RAID!, is taking over the world!

The Pyrate Sisters (NYC)
All-pirate, all-girl sideshow!

The Palomar Agency
You can hire your burlesque performers here!

Pink Pussycat Productions
Great resource for new burlesquers! If you want to do burlesque, this is a good place to start.

The Pussycat Dolls (Los Angeles)
Carmen Electra has been leading this celebrity girlie show (Charlize Theron, Christina Applegate, and Gwen Stefani have all participated) since 1997.

Red Hots Burlesque
Red Hots is a queer, straight, gender friendly show and we welcome people of all identifications to join us in enjoying the experience.

Red Light Burlesque
Live from Austin, so you KNOW they're hot!

Red Light Ray's Bootleg Burlesque
Get the skinny on lots of burlesque performers and history here.

San Francisco's Famous Burlesque Revue
Home of The Cantankerous Lollies, Gorilla-X, and other performers guaranteed to keep you grinning.

Starshine Burlesque
The cutting edge in burlesque! Brought to you by Little Brooklyn and Creamy Stevens!

Miss Scarlet Rose
Seattle's Newest Burlesque Darling!

Scarlet Sinclair
Sparkling Star of New York!

Scotty the Blue Bunny
Incredibly funny man in a blue bunny suit who MCs many of New York's burlesque events.

Screaming Queens
An agency that represents some of the most elaborately dressed and talented drag queens you can imagine, as well as circus acts and burlesque performers.

The Shimshammettes (New Orleans)
Current Burlesque Troupe.

Skin Tight Outta Sight (Toronto)
Uberbabes shakin' their leafs!

The Slipper Room (New York)
A cabaret featuring nightly burlesque, vaudeville, gender-bending, and more. Support downtown New York and go there.

The Spagettes
Detroit Bad-Ass Burlesque!

Sparkly Devil
Detroit's Golden Burlesque Beauty!

Tease-O-Rama (New Orleans)
A convention for burlesque fans and new artists.
Tease-O-Rama in the Spectator
This is what it's really like!

Trixie Little (Baltimore)
Outrageous acrobatic burlesque superhero, battling the Evil Hate Monkey!

Tyler Fyre (NY)
Coney Island's sword-swallowing, fire-breathing sideshow host!

Twirly Girl
Not a performer's website. They make and sell "pasties for discriminating nipples," in a variety of sizes and materials. I like the "tribbles."

Vaudevillainy (New York)
Current Burlesque Troupe, featuring the World Famous *BOB*.

The VaVaVoom Room (New York)
The Greatest New burlesque in the Greatest City on Earth, faturing Your New God, Miss Astrid!
VaVaVoom Room Schedule
Photos

The Velvet Hammer (Los Angeles)
The Gold Standard in West Coast Burlesque!
Check out the amazing documentary by Augusta!

Venus Delight
For over fifteen years, I've been watching Venus skillfully perform every classic, historically authentic burlesque routine there is. Fans, fire, the Dance of the Lovers, she knows it all by heart and has an R-rated and an X-rated version for every one--a repertoire that few can match. I have found a link only to her porn site, on which I have been able to find none of her performance photos. But I wouldn't dream of leaving her out, and anyway, I LIKE porn.

Voodoo Dollz (Vancouver, BC)
Burlesque with a voodoo edge. Peacock-feather fans and platform boots. What's not to love?

The Wau Wau Sisters
Current Unique Burlesque, Music, and Acrobatics. Also here.

Windy the Snake Lady
History and pix from Windy herself. Great stories about her burlesque friends and her leopard, Sheba. You must see her paintings of herself, Cherry Malone, and the Pontani Sisters!

The World Famous Bob
The ever-lovin', ever lovable Bob struts her stuff!

The World Famous Pontani Sisters
Current. Possibly the most fun you can have going out in New York is to have dinner at Marion's Continental while the Pontani Sisters tap dance around your table. I moved here just so I could experience stuff like this.

Julie Atlas Muz
I couldn't love her more!
Chashama

GENIUS STRIPPER LINKS

Bullet Bras!

Books

Allen, Robert C. Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture. The University of North Carolina Press, 1991.
An academic cultural analysis of burlesque, and a personal favorite of mine. Excellent descriptions of burlesque routines and public response to them. Includes gorgeous reproductions of promotional posters from the turn of the century.

Burana, Lily. Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America. Talk/Miramax Books, 2001.
Not about burlesque, but a great read about the things that go through a stripper's mind before she gets on stage. I have to admit that her experience pretty well parallels mine. I have no argument with anything she says about stripping. Lily's website

Dragu/Harrison. Revelations: Essays on Striptease and Sexuality. Nightwood Editions, 1988.
Inside and outside views on stripping, including interviews with strip joint customers. Not as comprehensive as it would like to be, but pretty interesting.

Futterman, Marilyn Suriani. Dancing Naked in the Material World.
This book is about the opposite of burlesque, and is rather poignant. I mention it here because it includes a section on "Sintana, the Fabulous Flame," a burlesque stripper who retired in 1975. I really like this book, and I'm featured in it--I'm "Cheryl." Read my poetry, I dare you.

Gabor, Mark. The Pin-Up: A Modest History. Universe Books, 1972.
Fantastic picture book of pin-ups from Botticelli to Guccione. Foreword written by Joan Nicholson characterizes the pin-up tradition as "The Packaging of Rape." Yowch!

Meiselas, Susan. Carnival Strippers. 1973.
Susan is an amazing photodocumentarian. Click on her name to read more about her. Anyway, I've been wanting this book for years. One day I saw it in a used book store on 18th Street for a mere $125, and I told the store clerk I was going home to get some money and I'd be right back (I was living on Christopher Street at the time). I guess I took too long, because when I got back less than an hour later, the book was gone. That's how good it is.

Rothe, Len. The Bare Truth: Stars of Burlesque From the 40s and 50s.
Do you like pictures? I like pictures. I especially like THESE pictures.

Sante, Luc. Low Life.
A description of underground cultures at the turn of the 19th century in New York City. It's not specifically about burlesque, but it gives some history of burlesque theatres. Sure to dispel any notion that burlesque halls and strip joints were just the sweetest, most artistic things until this nasty table-dancing stuff got started.

Stencell, A.W. Girl Show: Into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind. ECW Press, 1999.
The story of girl-show tents on fairgrounds. Great pictures, fantastic interviews, and lots of surprises. Also shows that there's more to burlesque than just the girls--but you knew that, didn't you? Excerpts and Photos

Sullivan, Steve. Va Va Voom! Bombshells, Pin-ups, Sexpots, and Glamour Girls. Rhino Records (publishing division), 1995.
Biographies and excellent photos in color and in B/W. Worth reading for the section on Candy Barr alone.

Zeidman, Irving. The American Burlesque Show. Hawthorne Books, 1967.
History of burlesque from the Black Crook to the Great White Way. Outstanding research and quotes from the media of the day--lots of outraged citizens and public officials!