All The News That's Fit To Strip

Holly Madison stars in the Vegas strip show, Peepshow. Former flame, Hugh Hefner brought in his new girlfriends to support his ex. He said:

"I was delighted, it was wonderful. I really enjoyed it, I think everyone did, it was really enjoyable!"

In other news...

Penelope Cruz admits the audition for Nine, the musical adaptation of a Federico Fellini film in which she plays a burlesque dancer, was the hardest one she's ever done.

City officials in the London Borough of Camden have made it quite difficult for producers and dancers to put on burlesque shows thanks to their new strict regulations. Venues that host burlesque shows must now apply for a special adult entertainment license. Dancers marched in protest last week.

For readers in Sydney, Australia, you can catch The Reigning Queen of Burlesque 2009, Miss Angie Pontani at the Vanguard Aug. 13 and 14.

Revealing Images: Angie Pontani

In Revealing Images, photographer Don Spiro dishes up sweet photographic treats and the stories behind them. Today, Don aims his lens at 2008's Miss Exotic World Angie Pontani.



A lot of the work I’ve described in past columns involves shooting costumes, situations, and even some men. To get back to the tongue-in-cheek title of “Revealing Images” I’ll examine a photo that implies what everyone really wants, a beautiful nude young woman. In this case, the subject is one of my favorite models, Miss Angie Pontani, Miss Exotic World 2008, and continual Miss Cyclone.

This shot was done in Angie’s apartment in Brooklyn. She had a tiara and had meticulously rhinestoned a sash that read “Miss Cylcone” and wanted some shots with those items and little else but make up and a smile. She already had a bright blue backdrop that that just fit her living room, all I needed to do was set it up, light it, and shoot some photos.

For each pose I would adjust the lights, raising and lowering them and moving them around depending on where Angie was facing and how she positioned her body to the camera. I shot everything from full body shots to tight close-ups, determined by what looked best through the lens.

This shot was created with a digital camera and three strobe lights. One was placed as a key light high and to the left of camera, bounced into a reflector. Angie turned her face right to it. A second soft source was placed close to the camera to soften the already soft shadows and highlight her tiara, eyes, rhinestones and smile. A third light was set further back and aimed just at the background to eliminate any of Angie’s shadows and to create a uniform tone of blue.

Angie discreetly positioned the sash and her hand to make the image suitable for all ages. I checked through the lens to make sure the framing was just right, and happy with the work, snapped another portrait of Miss Cyclone.

~Don Spiro

All The News That's Fit To Strip

The reigning queen of burlesque, Angie Pontani chats with Corn Mo about her start in burlesque and who inspires her. About how she creates acts for the Pontani Sisters, Angie said:

"Inspiration in this genre is pretty easy to come by, we started out with the basics, a jungle number a mambo, a can can. Then we started busting out things like our classic chair dance to the theme from the godfather Italian Princess style or our Apache number which was inspired when we toured through the Cherokee reservation in the blue ridge mountains. We passed a cheerleader at a bus stop in Flatbush once and we were like, "oh my god, cheerleader number", our grandmom made us the costumes, we choreographed it and our "Saturday Night" act was born. It sounds nerdy, but inspiration is everywhere. With the Pontani Sisters, we took that and added enough camp and silliness to make it uniquely our own, silly but still nailing those high kicks."

In other news ...

Burlesque shimmies into New Paltz, NY and Cleveland.

A Wink And A Smile director Deidre Timmons thinks her 12-year-old’s exposure to burlesque has helped her have “no body image issues whatsoever.”

London debates whether burlesque is art or not.

The Vancouver International Burlesque Festival shakes things up north of the border.

Revealing Images: Angie Pontani

In Revealing Images, photographer Don Spiro dishes up sweet photographic treats and the stories behind them. Today, Don aims his lens at Angie Pontani.



Angie Pontani asked me if I would shoot some promotional shots for her show at Corio in New York, This Is Burlesque. The name is a play on This Was Burlesque, a revue by Ann Corio, the club’s namesake. The session would be with several of the cast members at the club and would include shots on the stage, candid shots, and studio style portraits.

After shooting shots of each performer on stage under a variety of lighting setups with a multitude of poses, I turned to the studio work. Space was limited, but tables were cleared and I set up my backdrop poles with a white fabric backdrop and took promo shots of Murray Hill, Helen Pontani, Melody Sweets, Peekaboo Pointe, Scott Rayow, and Dulce de Leche.

Angie and I have worked together often, and it's always fun. This time she was very ill, but this was the only time to shoot, and as soon as she stood in front of the camera her confidence and poise overshadowed everything else. I normally don’t recommend shooting someone who is uncomfortable, but Miss Pontani is a professional who’s attitude is “The show must go on” and can turn it on without betraying a hint of discomfort.

For Angie I used a very simple lighting design of two lights at forty-five degree angles to the camera, bounced into reflective umbrellas. This provided soft even light from both sides, bringing life to her eyes and creating a nearly shadowless fill. I shot portrait style, with the camera vertical, and Angie went through a host of poses.

Although this lighting can be flattering to a subject, cross-lighting can introduce awkward double shadows on a background. I avoid this by setting the backdrop further away, having the subject close to the camera in relation to the background. This throws the subject’s shadows far off to either side, out of the frame of the image. The lighting is angled so that the subject is lit evenly and there is enough spill to keep the background reading as white in the exposure. I don’t like to use Photoshop or do retouching, other than adding my credit, so everything had to be perfect in camera. This way the images could be ready for delivery and be incorporated into promotional materials with very little additional work.

The moment we finished Miss Pontani crashed on a couch, out like a light. She was still feeling poor, but from the look of the finished image you would never know it.

~Don Spiro

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Bettie Page suffered a heart attack last week and remains in critical condition. The Associated Press reported that Page suffered a heart attack after three weeks of being hospitalized for pneumonia. Family friend Todd Mueller has claimed that Page is now in a coma. Agent Mark Roesler confirmed that Page is "critically ill."

In other news ...

NY1 chats with Angie Pontani and Lynn Sally about burlesque in New York.

The pin-up girl is making a comeback.

Fire damages West Hollywood strip club.

One reporter wonders what Dita Von Teese would think of the Satanic Sluts.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Dita Von Teese reveals some interesting tidbits to Black Book. Here's a little sample:

- "But when sexuality, style, humor and playfulness all come together, along with a bit of innocence, well, that’s when a burlesque show becomes great."

- "You always have that double-edged sword. You’re like, Well, I feel empowered because I’m independent and no men in my personal life can tell me what to do. ... But then there’s the other side of things: Am I using my body? ... But I think that if I were Nicole Kidman, and I were in a movie, and they were negotiating over my body parts—what my tits are worth, what my ass is worth, how much extra money that’s going to get me — how is that any different?"

-"I’m not really concerned by the competition, because I’ve already moved on to the next thing by the time they think they’ve caught up to me."

The burlesque star is also included in the magazine's Style Gallery.

In other news ...

Gothamist chats with the reigning queen of burlesque, Miss Angie Pontani.

Check out this "manifesto-in-progress about what it means to create a burlesque scene that is feminist."

In another story on Dita's new lingerie line, Ad Age wonders if Jo Boobs will be the new face of Victoria's Secret.

Do you have a constitutional right to learn how to lap dance?

Burlesque dancer Trixie Minx was one of the New Orleans dancers who rode out Gustav.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Angie Pontani talks about life after being crowned Miss Exotic World 2008. Traveling home after the competition with the four-foot trophy garnered some added attention. "I was coming home on the plane with the trophy and people are like, what is that for?" Pontani told The Trentonian. "Let's just say I got a lot of free drinks. And I got an emergency row so I can stretch out with my trophy."

As for future plans, the reigning burly queen said:

"I think the humanitarian effort to put forth here is to keep on doing what I'm doing and send out this positive image for burlesque and keep bringing burlesque to the people and raising awareness for the (burlesque) museum because it's gone through some tough times over the last few years - moving locations, kind of looking for a new home, so it's a big year for it. Burlesque gets a bad wrap a lot of times. But really it's one of America's oldest theatrical art forms. So I'd just like to perpetuate that."

In other news ...

The Hurly Burly Girlys's Burlesque Soiree was "brassiere loads of fun."

One fuddy duddy thinks "all this stuff and nonsense about burlesque being a fantastic new art form is also a load of old hooey."

Women pack the audiences of Australian burlesque shows.

After a "seven-bum salute," Kylie Minogue gets treated to a striptease from an adoring rugby player.

Kelly Brock wants to learn the art of the striptease.

Don't miss the Toronto Burlesque Festival Sunday June 15.

Going to be in Minneapolis July 11-12? Catch Lili's Burlesque Revue's SIZZLE: A Summer Burlesque Extravaganza.

The Candy Gram: Angie Pontani

In our ongoing Q&A series --"The Candy Gram"-- we ask the same quirky questions of burlesque's various performers. For the next two weeks, until the 2008 Miss Exotic World pageant, we'll be featuring special editions of The Candy Gram with the burly queens competing in the festivities. If you want to be added to the mix, drop us a line at kellydinardo AT gmail DOT com. Today, say hello to Angie Pontani, who performs solo and as one of The World Famous Pontani Sisters.

What is your hometown?
I was born in Trenton, NJ, but I cut my teeth in Brooklyn, where I have been since I was a teenager.

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
13 years. I started as a chorus girl in the Dutch Weismann Follies. One of the city's first resurgence shows that was truly underground. It was held in the producers apartment, which he literally turned into a speakeasy! I wasn't even old enough to enter a bar through the front door, yet I was shaking it three nights a week in this amazing, illegal show. By the end of my run with the show, which was about four years, I was a featured solo act. It was an amazing experience and I have been working in burlesque ever since.

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
Probably about 20 or so, though only a dozen are in serious rotation.

What are your three favorite songs to perform to?
36-22-36 by Bobby Bland, it's my favorite act!
Take Me out to the Ball Game - a special King Curtis remake. I love baseball and I do a Mets baseball themed act to this song, I adore it!
La Vie En Rose. I do a very traditional sheer dress pointe dance to this and the song and Edith Piaf's voice is just so lovely I get lost in it.

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
snaps
flash tape
red wine

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
Elvis, he wasn't exactly a burlesque dancer in the traditional sense but his inclination to do everything in such an over the top way really moves me. Everything from his jump suits, dance moves, every day clothes, cars, personal style, music (especially the '70s stuff), is just so over the top, there is such attention to every detail. Through those things you can just see how passionate he was about his music, life and performance. I love that and find it wildly inspiring, especially because he was such an innovator of style. Graceland itself is like a set, it couldn't be more perfect in my eyes.

Who is your favorite burly queen?
Blaze Starr, love-love-love her. She was an amazing performer, lived an amazing life and is just so full of sass. She gave me permission to recreate her smoking couch act a few years ago in Las Vegas and I was honored. I was sweating rhinestones waiting for her response. She is an original wild girl, gorgeous and full of class and sass. That is a tough mixture that doesn't happen a lot and I admire it.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
Recently I was in Australia where I discovered Wheels and Dollbaby, an amazing clothier. My life will never be the same! My current fave is a velvet black pencil skirt with covered buttons down the front accompanied by a sheer pink silk blouse. I can't stop wearing it, I vacuumed in it yesterday.

What’s the last movie you saw?
I don't get to the movies much, in fact I can't even remember the last time I went. I think the last movie I saw must have been the last Rocky. My sister lent it to me on a rainy Sunday & I thought it was good! He gives his son this fabulous speech about how being tough and being a winner isn't about actually winning every time. It's really about having the tenacity to just keep getting back up and not stopping and that's real courage and spirit and general awesomeness. That's being scrappy & Rocky-like.

What’s on your must-see-TV list?
I'm not a big TV girl, but I do have the western channel. They run classic westerns constantly. I need to see an episode of Gun Smoke at least once a week, I love Miss Kitty on Gun Smoke.

What book is on your nightstand?
Gone With The Wind and The Biography of Buffalo Bill, talk about show biz, he was the king!

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
New Mexico. I'm super lucky that I get to travel so much with work. I've been all over the world and country and have seen some fabulous places, but it's funny because the only place I have actually ever wanted to go to was New Mexico and I've never been! Growing up I was obsessed with it. I even subscribed to New Mexico magazine. It seems like it would really be an amazing place, plus I love chilies and they grow the best!

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
I think I would love to be able to disappear, become invisible. It would be fabulous to be able to read minds or throw fire balls, but you can really work the invisible thing. Not only would that power enable you to leave sticky situations on a whim, but you can multi-task by spying, moving things around, torturing your friends, etc... But, only for the good of all humanity though!

Satisfy your appetite for more Candy Grams: Amber Topaz, Amelie Soleil, Red Hot Annie, HoneyLu, Kimberlee Rose, Vicky Butterfly, Dominique Immora, Yasmine Vine, Cherry Bomb, Millie Dollar, Joanie Gyoza, Bonbon Vivant, Lola Martinet, Frankie Boudoir, Vixen Violette, Ravenna Black, Veronica Lashe, 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.

Candy Gram: Angie Pontani

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 Angie Pontani, who performs solo and as one of The World Famous Pontani Sisters.

What is your hometown?
I was born in Trenton, NJ, but I cut my teeth in Brooklyn, where I have been since I was a teenager.

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
13 years. I started as a chorus girl in the Dutch Weismann Follies. One of the city's first resurgence shows that was truly underground. It was held in the producers apartment, which he literally turned into a speakeasy! I wasn't even old enough to enter a bar through the front door, yet I was shaking it three nights a week in this amazing, illegal show. By the end of my run with the show, which was about four years, I was a featured solo act. It was an amazing experience and I have been working in burlesque ever since.

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
Probably about 20 or so, though only a dozen are in serious rotation.

What are your three favorite songs to perform to?
36-22-36 by Bobby Bland, it's my favorite act!
Take Me out to the Ball Game - a special King Curtis remake. I love baseball and I do a Mets baseball themed act to this song, I adore it!
La Vie En Rose. I do a very traditional sheer dress pointe dance to this and the song and Edith Piaf's voice is just so lovely I get lost in it.

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
snaps
flash tape
red wine

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
Elvis, he wasn't exactly a burlesque dancer in the traditional sense but his inclination to do everything in such an over the top way really moves me. Everything from his jump suits, dance moves, every day clothes, cars, personal style, music (especially the '70s stuff), is just so over the top, there is such attention to every detail. Through those things you can just see how passionate he was about his music, life and performance. I love that and find it wildly inspiring, especially because he was such an innovator of style. Graceland itself is like a set, it couldn't be more perfect in my eyes.

Who is your favorite burly queen?
Blaze Starr, love-love-love her. She was an amazing performer, lived an amazing life and is just so full of sass. She gave me permission to recreate her smoking couch act a few years ago in Las Vegas and I was honored. I was sweating rhinestones waiting for her response. She is an original wild girl, gorgeous and full of class and sass. That is a tough mixture that doesn't happen a lot and I admire it.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
Recently I was in Australia where I discovered Wheels and Dollbaby, an amazing clothier. My life will never be the same! My current fave is a velvet black pencil skirt with covered buttons down the front accompanied by a sheer pink silk blouse. I can't stop wearing it, I vacuumed in it yesterday.

What’s the last movie you saw?
I don't get to the movies much, in fact I can't even remember the last time I went. I think the last movie I saw must have been the last Rocky. My sister lent it to me on a rainy Sunday & I thought it was good! He gives his son this fabulous speech about how being tough and being a winner isn't about actually winning every time. It's really about having the tenacity to just keep getting back up and not stopping and that's real courage and spirit and general awesomeness. That's being scrappy & Rocky-like.

What’s on your must-see-TV list?
I'm not a big TV girl, but I do have the western channel. They run classic westerns constantly. I need to see an episode of Gun Smoke at least once a week, I love Miss Kitty on Gun Smoke.

What book is on your nightstand?
Gone With The Wind and The Biography of Buffalo Bill, talk about show biz, he was the king!

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
New Mexico. I'm super lucky that I get to travel so much with work. I've been all over the world and country and have seen some fabulous places, but it's funny because the only place I have actually ever wanted to go to was New Mexico and I've never been! Growing up I was obsessed with it. I even subscribed to New Mexico magazine. It seems like it would really be an amazing place, plus I love chilies and they grow the best!

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
I think I would love to be able to disappear, become invisible. It would be fabulous to be able to read minds or throw fire balls, but you can really work the invisible thing. Not only would that power enable you to leave sticky situations on a whim, but you can multi-task by spying, moving things around, torturing your friends, etc... But, only for the good of all humanity though!

Photo courtesy of Don Spiro

Satisfy your appetite for more Candy Grams: Tanya Cheex, 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.