A Journey Into The Burlesque

Like most forms of risque art or theatre, Burlesque emerged from the clash of consciousness between the working class and the aristocracy. The mocking, parodic style of this form of entertainment was a reaction by the lower classes to established forms of aristocratic entertainment such as the Opera , Shakespearean drama and the Ballet.

While today, "burlesque" is a more crudely assocaiated with female strippers, dancing erotically to loud music, back in the mid 19th Century, burlesque embodied a wide range of theatrical productions, including comic plays and musicals which were created to entertain the lower and middle classes.

The productions typically mocked and made fun of the social habits of the upper classes and were bawdy rather than erotically suggestive. While the focus with modern burlesque is on the female form, the original burlesque productions were about comic wit and humour, usually expressed through the songs of their talented stars.

The more 'fun' the productions made of the upper classes, the more popular they were. In many ways the Burlesque productions were like the Stand-up comics of today, the more political in-correct they are, the funnier we find them. At the very least, they were a release valve for the poorer classes who possibly felt some form or empowerment or resistence by being able to laugh and ridicule their superiors.

It wasn't until the 1900's that Burlesque became racy. It's particular form of theatrical expression began to loose favour and competition was beginning to arise in the form of the Edwardian Musical Comedy. Burlesque production also had to compete with vaudeville and revues such as the Ziegfeld Follies.

The Olympic Theatre opened its doors to the public in 1806. The theatre had a reputation for producing comedies throughout much of its history.

The 1850s was the most successful decade for the theatre. Writers such as Planche, Dion Boucicault and John Maddison Morton wrote plays for the theatre during this period.

The Olympic was eventually demolished in 1904 to make way for the development of the Aldwych.

Dita is the biggest name in Burlesque since Gypsy Rose Lee. Thank you Dita for bringing the glamour and allure of Old Hollywood stars back to our time.

Visit this Great Dita Von Teese Lens

Neo-Burlesque is the revival of the traditional burlesque performance. Though it has its roots in traditional Burlesque art, new era Burlesque embodies a broader range of styles; performances can be anything from the classic striptease act to modern dance. Neo-Burlesque, like is fore-runner tends to focus on 'tease' in "striptease" and not so much the 'strip'.

Did you know the Pussycat Dolls started their career as a Burlesque group

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