BOOK REVIEW – DITA VON-TEESE –
BURLESQUE AND THE ART OF THE TEESE 2006 Harper Collins.
A stunning
look at the entire burlesque industry by the woman who single handedly revived
the tradition in the age of cable TV porn, stag-night strip-clubs, lap-dancing,
and wet tee-shirt contests. Dita reminded the world that the tease (or Teese)
was every bit as important as the strip. Until recently, there has been a long
period where the audience has been impatient in wanting the girls to come out
ready naked. The repetitive nature of
such shows, where a woman in at best, a bikini (but not for long), struts round
a pole, removes her top and bottom
garment, and walks off stage, to be followed by a dozen acts doing
exactly the same, had almost killed the burlesque scene until Von teese
remindedthe world of how it once was, and now can be again.
Lavishly
illustrated with fabulous photos of Dita in a wide range of corsets,
lingeries,and tasteful nude poses, it proves a challenge to actually read the
words, but the text is also very well presented, seamlessly mixing her own
story and experiences with the history of
Burlesque itself.
Always
attracted to the glamour of yesteryear, and the movies of Bettie Grable, Dita feels
passionately that a woman needs to look good to feel good, and that she must
ooze style even when not in performance.
Von Teeze is not a woman who would flounce aroundin old jeans and a
grubby tee-shirt until she had to appear in public.
She traces Burlesque from its early days (arguing convincingly that it
began with the comedies of Aristophanes, like the Lysistrata
where women teased their men by with-holding sexual favours until the soldiers
ended the Greek-Peloponnesian wars.
Burlesque
actually means comedy, being literally interpretted as ‘To laugh at’) and
comedy remains a major element of the shows, both in having comedy stars
between dance routines, and in the burlesque teasing itself. It’s 19th
century origins owe much to the Blondes, a troupe of women who scandalized
Puritanical Victorian society by performing in short revealing outfits, before
moving to the States for more fame, infamy and fortune. Their success led to the opening of Minskys,
a notorious Burlesque club where raids and indecency trials were an every-night
hazard. Teese goes onto describe the innovative fan dancing of the greatest
burlesque queen, Gypsie Rose Lee, - (staring as an improvisation when a dress
she wanted for a show was not completed in time).
Teese points
out that the great Burlesque stars, like Gypsy, were not studio pressed or
choreographed by managers, and promoters, but mostly self-made women, provng
that they had charisma. Teese argues that many were not great dancers, but
their vampish charm and streak of independence made few care about that. Far
from being exploied, as some feminists might argue, the burlesque stars were
self-made women, taking on the men’s World and winning hands down.
Teese
performs Burlesque on the grand scale, with giant fans, and by soaking in giant
martini glasses, etc. Her predecesors often worked on modest budgets, as do
many burlesque stars today, but Teese’s advice and commanding authority and
respect for the whole burlesque scene have liftedthe art to new standards and
heights that Gypsy would have been proud of.
The Burlesque
book is one of a pair, usualy sold in a single volume. The companion book,
inverted athe back of Burlesque, FETISH,
is the subject of a separate review.
Arthur Chappell
LINK TO THIS PAGE http://arthurchappell.me.uk/book.review-dita.von.teese-burlesque.htm
See also the companion volume
FETISH
LINKS
TO ALL MY OTHER PAGES.
My many other Burlesque related pages can be found here
http://arthurchappell.me.uk/burlesque.contents.htm
LINKS
TO OTHER PEOPLES PAGES E-mail arthur@chappell7300.freeserve.co.uk
UPDATES
MYSPACE - http://www.myspace.com/arthurchappell
FACEBOOK - http://profile.to/arthurchappell/
FACEBOOK BLOG http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blogpage.php?blogid=85623
MY BOOKS - http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=952521
MY TWITTER PAGE - http://twitter.com/arthurchappell