Candy Gram: Immodesty Blaize

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 Tanya Cheex a line at t.cheex AT gmail DOT com. Today, say hello to Miss Exotic World 2007 and the author of Tease, Miss Immodesty Blaize.

How long have you been interested in burlesque/performing?
From about the age of 5

How many pairs of pasties do you own?
I’ve never counted. I tend to wear the same few pairs as I have them custom made by my jeweler, but I do seem to have accumulated plenty of novelty, wholly impractical ones.

What are your three favorite songs to perform to?
I get bored easily. It changes. Let’s say Blues In the Night, Stairway to the Stars, and Chivas Regal. I’m determined to work out a way to do classic to ZZ Top some day though.

What three items could you not live without as a performer?
Hot rollers, rhinestones, heels. Oh that’s so unoriginal. But the basics are best!

Who had the biggest influence on your career?
No one has influenced my career. But I have personally been inspired by many things. Everyone knows my main performance muse is Liberace. And then Ava Gardner, Grace Jones, Jayne Mansfield, Divine, Irving Berlin, Claude Cahun, Evelyn Waugh, Russ Meyer, Beardsley, Roy Orbison, French chateaus, Russian orthodox churches, Chinoiserie….so many things.

Who is your favorite burly queen?
You want me to choose? Just one? No way. Obviously our 2009 reigning queen Kalani Kokonuts. Lilly Christine. (The heat!) Zorita. (She’s the reason I have a streak in my hair) Lili St Cyr. Liz Renay. Satan's Angel. April March. Dirty Martini. This is a mean question, choosing only one indeed.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
A simple black Dolce Gabana dress. I can wear it in any country, any time of day, any occasion, TV show, press interview, fashion party, funeral, wedding; it packs down to the size of a pair of Wolford stockings, doesn’t need ironing.

What’s the last movie you saw?
Mommie Dearest. Actually it reminded me of someone I know.

What’s on your must-see-TV list?
I don’t watch much TV. Flight of The Concords, The Wire, Mad Men, I’ll make the effort to watch those. I did a chat show with David Simon (The Wire) recently, I was a little lost for words.

What book is on your nightstand?
Me Cheeta, the autobiography.

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go?
Capri maybe. I can wear diamonds in the sun and sip a mean dry martini, and us Europeans don’t freak out about topless sunbathing. I can’t have tan lines, now can I?

If you could have any superpower, which one would you want? Why?
Time travel. Apart from being able to source the best wardrobe ever, learn the dance of the seven veils first hand, and dine with Robert Mitchum, I wouldn’t mind taking out a few evil dictators with an AK47.

Satisfy your appetite for more Candy Grams: Nasty Canasta, Vivienne Vermuth, Scarlett James, Tura Santana, Tatah DuJour, Susie Caboose, Gigi La Femme, Kitten on the Keys, Virginia D'Vine, Tamara the Trapeze Lady, Champagne Sparkles, Selia Carmichael, Pyra Sutra, Roxi Dlite, Scarlet O'Gasm, Bombshell Betty, Foxy Moxy, Bambi Galore, Mis Rosie Bitts, Sahara Dunes, Mimi Rockafellar, Baby Le Strange, Rose Darling, Satan's Angel, Ophelia Flame, Panache La Plume, Ginger Valentine, Madame Rosebud, Little Brooklyn, Victoria Veneance, Sauci Calla Horra, Penny Starr Jr., Gemma Parker, Darla DeVine, Sparkly Devil, Vivienne VaVoom, Lux LaCroix, Charlotte La Belle Araignee, Bunny Love, 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.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

The biggest event in the burlesque world, the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, rocked Las Vegas this weekend. Big winners at the pageant include Kalani KoKonuts as the Reigning Queen of Burlesque, Roxi Dlite (1st Runner-up), Perle Noire (2nd Runner-up), Hot Toddy (Boylesque), NANDA (Group), Gigi & Pop (Variety) and Melody Mangler (Debut). The Las Vegas Weekly and Las Vegas Sun dish on the weekend.

In other news...

Immodesty Blaize discusses her new role as steamy novelist.

The Guardian takes a peek at two new books on Gypsy Rose Lee.

Video of the Week

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Lucha VaVoom continues to spice things up in L.A. Ursulina, left, one of the group's performers likes for the burlesque performers to have unique talents that amaze the crowds as much as the high-flying stunts of the wrestlers. “I find it’s just like punk rock,” she explained to Downtown LA Scene. “When punk rock started, people had something to say. Then everybody was like, ‘Hey, I don’t have to learn guitar that much. I’ll play punk music.’ And I think that’s the lazy person’s way to being onstage.”


In other news ...

Forget sexy, Immodesty Blaize is bringing the "bonkbuster" back.

George Michael is such a Teese in his new video, Feeling Good.

Patti Lupone, the Tony-winning actress known for her role in Gypsy, is penning her memoirs.

Gilded Lili gets reviewed.

Barack Obama's former headquarters to become nude dance club.

Last week, we served up some Italian with Current TV's exploration of burlesque in Rome. Well, the folks over there really love burlesque -- even disemboweled.

An advertisement featuring a striptease causes an uproar in the UK.

If you're in New York, help save Coney Island tomorrow.

Say hello Burlesque Babes, a blog which features a different burly queen each day.

Miss Exotic World 2008

The official announcement on the Burlesque Hall of Fame's annual All-Star Burlesque Weekend is out.

The four-day festival, which will take place Thursday, June 5 — Sunday, June 8 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, will include performances from the reigning Miss Exotic World, Immodesty Blaize, left, Michelle L'amour, Kitten DeVille and more than a 100 of the world's top burlesque performers representing over 10 countries and 25 states.

Beyond Friday's Striptease Reunion and The Miss Exotic World Pageant on Saturday, there’s also a weekend long Burlesque Bazaar, a display of memorabilia from the Burlesque Hall of Fame, a Pinup Safari with Don Spiro, daily poolside dance parties and the debut of Dr. Sketchy’s Las Vegas . Don't miss any of the fun.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Immodesty Blaize tells the Telegraph about her start in burlesque, the British burlesque scene and burlesque's appeal.

"In an age where we're constantly being bombarded with sexual imagery, burlesque was going right against the grain. But what appealed to me about it was the idea of making erotic entertainment joyous and glamorous and tongue-in-cheek. In a funny way, burlesque reminds me of a horror film. You're always more scared when you haven't seen the monster than when you have. Although I don't know if that's a very good analogy."

In other news, everyone's chatting about what burlesque is ...

Dr. Wasabi offers his spin. "Burlesque literally means 'to turn upside down.' It was to parody. And old-fashioned burlesque featured singing, dancing, dirty humor and stripping. But neo-burlesque is different from stripping as it's practiced today, because stripping focuses on particular body types. Neo-burlesque is about all types of body and all genders."

The discussion continues with PhD candidate Alexis Butler, who says, "There's the neo-burlesquers who use the mechanism of burlesque, and maintain the issues of sexuality and gender as a means to burlesque popular culture now, so sending up everything from standards of beauty and desire, to mainstream film, mainstream music, whatever it may be -- politics. And then there's the other sort of more standard form that tries to imitate some sort of sense of a perceived historical tradition. They're sort of historical re-creationists in a lot of ways."

And Job Boobs explores the difference between stripping and burlesque. She'll peel away the layers of the debate even further in a panel discussion at NYU on March 12.

Video of the Week

Say hello to Miss Exotic World 2007, Immodesty Blaize.

Prop Me Up

Carmen Elektra's Fashion Week performance for underwear company 2xist got me thinking about burlesque props. It's clear from the Candy Gram interviews that pasties, g-strings, rhinestones and glitter are essential. But what about some of the other props? What are your favorites? The most unique? Hardest to travel with? Here are a few of my favorites.

Carmen Elektra inspires hoop dreams.



Lili St. Cyr performed in a giant champagne glass. Now Dita Von Teese, who often cites Lili as inspiration, says cheers to the routine. For those of you with bubble-licious dreams of your own, Jo Boobs did a great piece on where to get a life-size champagne glass.



Both Lili and Dita also like to bathe on stage. Lili said she stored bath tubs around the country. How does Dita get her tubs?



Immodesty Blaize uses a giant rocking horse.



And fans are, well, fantastic.

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Miss Exotic World 2007, Immodesty Blaize, chats with The Guardian. Among the highlights are her thoughts on burlesque: "It is certainly misinterpreted. Burlesque is erotic, ironic cabaret. People often forget its theatrical nature in favour of the titillation."

In other news ...

Reviews and pix from the New York Burlesque Festival are trickling in.

Jo Boobs' burlesque salon is like "a book-of-the-month club with nudity."

Kitty Victorian purrs about how she got into burlesque and her new workshops.

Australia's burlesque revival tips a hat to the novelty of it all, Dita Von Teese, "burlesque's sexy, but non-threatening nature, the love of vintage and retro clothing; even the influence of pin-up star Bettie Page or raunchy American web sensations the Suicide Girls"

Maggie Gyllenhaal poses for Agent Provocateur and her "Lessons in Lingerie" ads launch Friday.

Dances of Vice, a new monthly 1920-30s dance and cabaret night held in the spirit of the early 20th century days, takes place on the third Saturday of each month upstairs at The Pussycat Lounge in New York, NY. The September 15th event will feature photos by Don Spiro. He'll show "a few pieces from a photo series inspired by drugs of a bygone era when absinthe was legal and dens were filled with smoke from pipes of opium."

Bustout Burlesque is holding auditions the first week of October.

The Name Game

This morning, David Brooks got me thinking about names. I'm sure the New York Times reporter meant for me to consider my own, but the names that came to mind were Kalani Kokonuts, Lucy Fur and Immodesty Blaize

Burlesque names seem to fall into several categories. There are those that hint at the performer's body in some way -- Fanny Tastic, Trixie Little, Jo Boobs. Some names like Dita Von Teese and Michelle L'Amour play to the desired effect. There are lots of food-related names -- Candy Barr, Della Delicious, Bonbon Vivant. And some that are simply fun whether it's because of a double entendre or how it rolls off the tongue -- Lola Pearl, Panty Raid, Harvest Moon, Lux LaCroix.

And if like me, you've had trouble coming up with a suitable burlesque name there's a name generator which spits out things like Ginger Spice, Antoinette Parfait, Caresse Frou-Frou, Miss Ecstasy Deluxe, Vivienne diVine.