When the feathers get stored away, Miss Gypsy Charms morphs into Sarah Vernon, 32-year-old sociology tutor, PhD student and brains behind a rapidly growing dance academy. She talks about her double life with the Edinburgh Evening News. She tells the paper: "Burlesque is becoming such a popular form of entertainment. More and more people are understanding that it is just the right balance between glamour and fun, it's sexy and it's a chance to dress up. It's comedy too. If you look up 'burlesque' in the dictionary, it says it's a comedy, a parody. It has the moves of striptease but really it's mixed up to provide a parody element. Burlesque has become synonymous with striptease, but that's not necessarily all there is to it."
In other news ...
Did you know the genius behind Baskin-Robbins was inspired by burlesque? After a trip to Minsky's Burlesque in Chicago, where 21 girls were on display, he put up a big sign proclaiming "21 Flavors 21" at his Glendale, Calif., shop.
Millie Dollar's hearing loss hasn't held her back in the world of burlesque.
To witness artful burlesque in action, a Florida reporter caught the Boudoir Beauties, a longstanding West Palm Beach-based collective of art/stripteasers.
