A Bubble-icious New Year

Tonight's a biggie for champagne drinkers, but burlesque performers from Lili St. Cyr to Dita Von Teese make a splash with bubbles year round so here's to a very sparkling new year.

Video of the Week

A little something to get you in the holiday spirit.

Update: Something funny seems to be going on with embedded YouTube videos. So, while we work it out here's the direct link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nnyHHRuLfCE

The Holidays Unwrapped: Take Two

It should come as no surprise that The Candy Pitch thinks reading is sexy. So in our second installment of holiday gifts that keep things bumpin' we offer a hot list for book lovers.

In last week's Candy Gram, Veronica Lashe suggested Mae West: It Ain't No Sin. And Scratch keeps The Best Burlesque Sketches on his nightstand.

Rachel Shteir's Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show is a must for anyone interested in the history of the tease. As The Washington Post raved, "Shteir's book provides a record of the golden age of American striptease, and she gives a persuasive account of its democratic verve and feminist appeal."

With a focus on burlesque's reemergence and fantastic pictures, Michelle Baldwin's Burlesque and the New Bump-N-Grind is a great companion to Shteir's history.

To make your coffee table sizzle, try Dita Von Teese's Burlesque and the Art of the Teese or Alberto Vargas: Works from the Max Vargas Collection.

And, of course, there's Gilded Lili, which earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which said "this swift, engaging biography ... is sure to satisfy."

All in all, there are plenty of options to put a little sizzle in the season.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Leonard Nimoy chats with Salon about The Full Body Project, which features the Fat-Bottom Review. Of the San Francisco-based burlesque troupe, Nimoy said:

It made it very easy for them to be photographed. They're comfortable with their bodies and they are performers, so once I gave them some direction, they were able to get to it very comfortably. We had a terrific time. There was music playing, there was dancing. They were joyous, and they were comfortable. They're a terrific bunch of people.

In other news ...

Prince William and Prince Harry got Wau'd.

C’est Duckie! brings its "sexually explicit, proudly exploitative or openly offensive" to New York.

Carmen Electra takes it off in two new Aerobic Striptease videos.

For Minneapolis readers, tune in to the Lori & Julia show this Friday. I'll be chatting about Minneapolis-born Lili St. Cyr.

The Candy Gram: Veronica Lashe

In our ongoing Q&A series --"The Candy Gram"-- we ask the same quirky questions of burlesque's various performers. If you want to be added to the mix, drop us a line at kellydinardo AT gmail DOT com. Today, say hello to Veronica Lashe, a Syren of the South.

What is your hometown?
Atlanta, GA

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
I have been performing burlesque for about 4 years, but I've been on stage since I was very young and even went to a performing arts high school for Musical Theater, so it's always just been a part of who I am.

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
Eight pairs that I use on stage for current numbers, but there are probably close to 20 additional pairs at my house since we make and sell them at Syrens of the South shows.

What are your three favorite songs to perform to?
My super special remix of God Save the Queen that DJ Aesthetic made me. I Get What I Want for my balloon act and probably American Woman by The Guess Who just because it was my first solo with tassel twirling and is covered in fringe.

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
Lipstick, corset, and fishnets.

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
My mom, she's helped me with costumes, helped me flush out ideas for numbers and has been extremely supportive in all of my creative endeavors!

Who is your favorite burly queen?
Though I am a huge fan of Tempest Storm, I'm going to have to say Jo Boobs. She's been a wonderful inspiration and always has time to answer all of my very silly questions.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
My leopard print corset. It was my first steel boned corset and 10 years later it still holds a special place in my heart.

What's the last movie you saw?
Before Night Falls -- great flick and has Johnny Depp in drag.

What's on your must-see-TV list?
Heroes, Dexter and Project Runway.

What book is on your nightstand?
Mae West: It Ain't No Sin

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
I've always wanted to go to Prague. There are some churches there I'd love to visit.

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
Well, since I'm addicted to Heroes, it's that much harder to choose. Probably Muscle Mimic, it would make choreography that much easier.

Satisfy your appetite for more Candy Grams:Amber Ray, Beatrix von Bourbon, Angie Pontani, Tanya Cheex, Bloody Belle, Clams Casino, Trixie Little, Michelle L'Amour, Margaret Cho, Miss Dirty Martini, Princess Farhana, Miss Delirium Tremens, Paris Green, Jo Boobs, Jack Midnight, Heidi Von Haught, Diamond Minx, The Titillation Twins, Scratch, Creamy Stevens and Gina Louise.

Video of the Week

Here's a Dita-licious video to heat up your week.

The Holidays Unwrapped

Making your list and checking it twice? There are lots of burlesque-y gifts that keep the holidays bumping and grinding.

Forget reindeer games and check out Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Coloring Book, which features 11 paper dolls, nine colouring book pages, three word puzzles, one board game and a whole lot more.

You're favorite performer will love new pasties, corsets or feathers.

Set the mood this holiday with Tramp Lamps and saucy sheet sets.

Enjoy classic striptease performances from Something Weird Video.

Still looking for stocking stuffers and sinfully fun gifts for the fabulously naughty on your list? Check back with The Candy Pitch for more suggestions.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

As Variety points out, "nothing says Christmas like suicide, drag queens and nudity." The reason for the saucy season:

"People want something unusual and immediate," says David Foster, whose Foster Entertainment Group is helping produce everything from "Kiki and Herb" to "C'est Duckie," an "interactive nightclub performance experience" in which patrons select individualized acts from a menu. "They want to see a live performance that can't be replicated on film."

In other news ...

If Leyla Rose, left, is any indication Scotland prefers a naughty holiday season as well.

L.A.'s newest ballerina, Melissa Barak, shimmys and bumps through the world of burlesque.

Sarah Hartshorne, who was eliminated from America's Next Top Model, returns to the Boston Babydolls. This Saturday she'll be performing with the troupe as Vita Lightly in the show Brrrrlesque.

The Chico Cabaret fills the holidays with "nearly naked elves and spiked eggnog."

The Candy Gram: Amber Ray

In our ongoing Q&A series --"The Candy Gram"-- we ask the same quirky questions of burlesque's various performers. If you want to be added to the mix, drop us a line at kellydinardo AT gmail DOT com. Today, say hello to New York's Amber Ray.

What is your hometown?
Milwaukee, Wi

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
In the naivete of my late teens I was one of those who thought strip clubs were places where women with fishnets, furs, big wigs and rhinestones, ruled. I started stripping when I was 18. I was always doing burlesque in strip clubs until I found my people, my community, my family in NYC.

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
At least 15

What are your three favorite songs to perform to?
Thinking of Baby - Elmer Bernstein
Talk Show Host - Radiohead
Green Onions - Count Basie

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
Red lipstick, black liquid eyeliner and, OF COURSE, a fabulously layered costume.

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
This all came so natural to me. I just knew what I wanted to make myself into. I guess MTV, Madonna, the whole 80s POP phenomenon really got me going.

Who is your favorite burly queen?
Well Dixie, for her wild performances and keeping the Art of Burlesque Alive in History and Blaze Starr for her generally fabulous package. I love performers for different reasons. Cathrine Dlish will always be one of my favorites. She Oozes and her moves and looks are absolutely intoxicating.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
My Peacock Costume-Corsets!!!

What's the last movie you saw?
A Dirty Shame and The Life Aquatic - both in one night, Both absolutely FANTASTIC!

What's on your must-see-TV list?
Desperate Housewives
Ugly Betty
Pushing Daisies

What book is on your nightstand?
The Boy Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
Gay Paree, OF COURSE! I have a whole life waiting for me there!!!

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
Telekenesis, so I could move all kinds of people and things with my mind.

Satisfy your appetite for more Candy Grams:Beatrix von Bourbon,
Angie Pontani, Tanya Cheex, Bloody Belle, Clams Casino, Trixie Little, Michelle L'Amour, Margaret Cho, Miss Dirty Martini,Princess Farhana, Miss Delirium Tremens, Paris Green, Jo Boobs, Jack Midnight, Heidi Von Haught, Diamond Minx, The Titillation Twins, Scratch, Creamy Stevens and Gina Louise.

Bachelor-mania

Have you snagged your copy of Bachelor Pad Magazine yet? The second issue came out this week and gives a big, wet kiss to burlesque. Kitten von Mew from the UK is purr-fect as the covergirl and centerfold. And New York's Gigi La Femme, Baltimore's Maria Bella and Lola Bel Aire from Lili's Burlesque Revue in Minnesota all shimmy through the pages of the magazine.

Video of the Week

Spend Wednesday with a classic -- Yvonne Marthay.

The Lili Garden

Some still refer to Montreal as the city that Lili built. The Gazette explains why in this piece on Gilded Lili.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Celebrate the miracle of Chanukah through the "bawdy bosom of burlesque." Jonny Porkpie, Trixie Minx, Fleur de Tease and other burly mavens perform the Menorah Horah this Wednesday at the Slipper Room in New York. As Alyssa Abrahamson, who will dance as Minnie Tonka, said, “It’s cheap. It’s celebratory. It’s a fun and funky way to celebrate Chanukah.”

In other news ...

Trixie Minx chats about why New Orleans inspires folks to get naked, the true meaning of the holidays and more.

A Bur-Less-Q Nutcracker puts a tawdry spin on the classic and "sends its audience out into the night with ho ho ho holiday hubba-hubba."

Toronto strip clubs are struggling.

The Spice Girls take cues from burlesque for their reunion concert.