Burlesque is described as a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. Burlesque shows are associated with striptease, in a more arty and showy sense than the conventional form. The most recognizable faces of burlesque of the past have included Mae West and the beautiful Josephine Baker (who was also the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall).
Today’s face of burlesque and everything kinky is Dita Von Teese. Her milky, smooth as a baby’s bottom skin betrays nothing but mystery and her red lips tell stories of seduction that you wish you played a part in. Her CV is long and interesting; she’s trained at ballet, she’s a trained stylist, has done porn, was a known tightlacer (the practice of wearing corsets to make ones’ waist smaller) and she’s been featured in fetish magazines. If anyone ever rocked vintage style –complete with the hair and lipstick, her name would be Dita Von Teese. Dita constantly seems to push boundaries: A lover of fashion and a fan of Dior and Marc Jacobs, it’s great to see her acceptance into the fashion industry as a muse and a model; she’s modelled in runway shows for Richie Rich (Heatherette), Giambattista Valli (Ungaro designer), Moschino and Jean Paul Gaultier. By her own admission, Von Teese has put the “tease back into striptease”, insinuating that the gap between the burlesque acts of old and now opened a space for classless, unartistic stripping.
In stark contrast to “regular” stripping, her dance shows include ‘30’s and ‘40’s inspired props and characters. In her routines, Dita has featured a giant powder compact, a clawfoot bathtub, and a carousel horse. The giant martini glass act that was used by Cameron Diaz in Charlies’ Angels is actually Dita’s current signature show (she is credited for it at the end of the movie), and who could forget her appearance at a New York charity function covered in nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds.
Dita inspires an appreciation for art in its various forms: dance; music and fashion by just being her. She has no aspirations to become an actress, having been quoted as saying "I don't understand why women feel the need to go into acting as soon as they become famous...But I suppose if the part were aesthetically correct, then maybe I could consider it.” For those who look at Dita and assume she is a regular run of the mill skank/scallywag just because elements of her art include sex and nudity, always remember that she walked away from a divorce with Marilyn Manson without asking for any of his money. And this is why I love this seemingly independent, artistic, beautiful and intelligent woman.
For more Dita, click here to visit her official website or follow her on twitter.
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