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Dita Von Teese is glad the Pussycat Dolls turned to music. She told Inked that "I think it's really great they decided to become a pop group and they've left the pseudo-burlesque alone. It drives me crazy when the media or groups like the Pussycat Dolls try to sanitize and take away the sexual and nudity aspects of burlesque. I'm sorry, but if you're not up there taking your clothes off and dancing around in pasties and a G-string, it's not burlesque."

In other news ...

In Denver, Reyna Von Vett and Michelle Baldwin presenting two distinct burlesque shows in tandem, using mostly the same chorus girls.

Mmmmm.... Showgirl cupcakes.

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Dita Von Teese singing a new note. The burlesque dancer plans to release a pop album. Rumor has it her first release will be a cover of Irving Berlin's Lazy. Burly fans have no need to worry. Dita promises she'll keep dancing as well.

In other news...

The New York Times chats with burlesque dancer turned actress and comedian, Harriet Halloway.

The Village Voice unearths a 1962 interview with stripper Libby Jones.

A burlesque theater opens in Denver.

Hula-hooping burlesque dancer spins through Grand Rapids.

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Dita Von Teese gets around ... the gossip world. First, she chats about being a serial dater and then talks sex.

She tells tells E!, "I'm just really enjoying being single, and having fun, global affairs. I'm enjoying being free, and enjoying different men...I'm enjoying being in the moment and enjoying everyone for what they have to offer."

Dita also dishes on how she works her body and her movie-starring aspirations.

In other news ...

Coco Peru shares her recipe for a spicy burlesque treat.

Amber Ray makes a splash in Australia.

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Dita Von Teese isn't afraid to take it off. The burlesque queen, who has been teasing Paris, commented on the burlesque-style pop acts and Hollywood stars who make guest appearances in burlesque acts without taking their clothes off.

"The striptease aspect is vital to burlesque. I'm very offended by sanitized, commercialized ‘faux-lesque’ as I like to call it," said Von Teese. "Burlesque was about the striptease. End of Story. The great burlesque stars - Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand - they took off their clothes. It's important to me because it's disrespectful to the history of it, and those women who made it famous, to discount what they did."

In other news ...

The Porcelain Twinz filed a lawsuit saying they were forced to perform sex acts with their New York employer and with each other to keep their jobs.

Minsky's, the big, brash musical tale of Depression-era burlesque is Broadway-bound.

Shirley Jean Rickert, who starred in Our Gang and later worked as a burlesque dancer, died.

Richmond takes a turn for the risque.

Shameless Women chats with Sauci Calla Horra.

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Dita Von Teese shimmies into the Crazy Horse tonight. Can't make it to Paris? BlackBook offers up a virtual tease with a fantastic gallery of the burlesque queen and more.

In other news ...

Minskys, the New York burlesque powerhouse, is open for business again. A musical inspired by its history, is at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Burlesque booms as economy falters.

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Dita Von Teese teases Paris once again. Two years ago she emerged from a rhinestone-encrusted bubble bath as the first guest star at the Crazy Horse and now the burlesque queen plans to return for a two-week run. The new show will have more specially designed numbers, including two songs she has recorded herself.

"I feel I have to raise the bar," she told Reuters. "I wanted to do something more elaborate this time," she said. "Combine the Crazy Horse style with what I do which is classic American burlesque."

Dita also admitted a long-standing crush on the club: "I've always had a real fascination with the Crazy Horse ever since I was a teenager and I found a picture of this line of nearly nude toy soldiers standing at attention," she said, referring to the trademark parade that opens the nightly show.

In other news ...

The National Journal called the Inauguration Feast of Flesh Fest, a sword-swallowing, belly dancing, burlesque, and fire-eating show, "the coolest Obama party in town."

The way Los Angeles hipsters rave about the wildly popular Lucha VaVoom series of lucha libre/burlesque events reminds Gustavo Arellano of American servicemen talking about seedy south-of-the-border bars.

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Deirdre Franklin, who performs as Little Darling, thinks it's no accident that her fellow burlesque dancers and pinup models feel a kinship with pit bulls.

“They're people who chose to be on the outside and do it their way, who are used to being the underdog,” she told the Associated Press. “They identify with the pitbull — they want to change the stereotype.”

With her Pinups for Pitbulls calendar she hopes to change that sterotype and raise more than $10,000 raised to support pit bull rescue.

In other news ...

Dita Von Teese finds Johnny Depp fascinating and maintains her image even when working out.

Christopher Plummer, oterhwise known as Captain Von Trapp, has fond memories of Lili St. Cyr.

Eartha Kitt passed away.

Jo Boobs interviews Dita Von Teese, in two parts.

The Washington City Paper gives a nod to The Candy Pitch and Bambi Galore.

For the last five years, Le Cirque Rouge -- a troupe of dancers, singers and musicians has worked to bring back old-time burlesque.

The 12 Days of Christmas, Burlesque Style

The only ladies dancing in this burlesque version of The Twelve Days of Christmas are burly queens.

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The tributes to Bettie Page continue. MTV points out all of the celebrities who were influenced by Page's style. Dita Von Teese shares a story about her encounter with Page. PopMatters calls Page "the new frontier." And the New York Times offers up an appraisal of Page's place in our sexualized world:

"To look at these photographs is to enter another world. I don’t think for a minute it was a more innocent world, but it was one in which sexualized images of women, even trussed up in rope, seemed somehow, well, charming. I’m sure there are plenty of women and some men who would disagree, saying that one generation’s erotica is another’s pornographic exploitation. But the sheer volume of images that wash over us now have blunted our sensibilities, I think, and made us less alive to the beauty, the poetry and the mysteries of the naked body."

In other news ...

The Montreal Mirror recommends Gilded Lili in their Holiday Gift Guide.

Yule-A-Go-Go shimmies onto the CW.

Jessica Biel stars as a stripper in Powder Blue.

A Murray Little Christmas puts a ribald spin on the holidays.

Gypsy to shutter in January as a result of the faltering economy.

Seasons Greetings

For a special package, The Candy Pitch wants your favorite burlesque-themed holiday pictures. Send in your pin-ups, performance shots or anything else that says have a very sexy holiday season. E-mail photos to kellydinardo AT gmail DOT com.

Danke Dita

Don't miss Dita Von Teese in the German edition of Playboy.

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Dita Von Teese has sued Macmillan Publishers for using her image on Patti O'Shea's In Twilight's Shadow novel. The paranormal romance novel about demon hunting features her face in close up shot. Her attorney said the burlesque queen had "built her name and her career on her unique appearance and personal attributes." Von Teese is also suing photo agency Fotosearch.com for selling her picture to the publisher.

In other news ...

The old Raymond’s Revue Bar, the UK’s first striptease bar, is up for sale through Davis Coffer Lyons. Founded in 1958, for the past couple of years it has been a nightclub – Sir Elton John and David Furnish held their wedding reception there.

Milwaukee gets a new burlesque troupe.

Dr. Sketchy's is "very dynamic because of the costumes and the models are usually dancers or performers and so they have very dynamic bodies."

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The Daily Mail introduces readers to the new queens of burlesque, Chrys Columbine, Camille O’Sullivan, Roxy Velvet, Ivy Paige and Miss Behave.

"Much of the appeal of the burlesque world is the way the women used to dress in eras such as the 1950s," says Chrys Columbine, left,. "Women today dress in a much more relaxed fashion – in jeans and tracksuits – but I’ve always been drawn to older, glamorous stars such as Bettie Page. I love the effort they put into looking good."

Find out what draws the other women to burlesque here.

In other news ...

A Wink and a Smile steals the show at the Olympian film festival.

X-Rated!: The Power of Mythic Symbolism in Popular Culture tries to answer the question: "If pop culture is so crass and vulgar, why hasn't it disappeared? Is it because we secretly love vulgarity?"

Cointreau will launch a new burlesque-inspired cocktail at an exclusive event this Wednesday.

If you're in Los Angeles, catch Dita Von Teese, Ava Garter and Liz Goldwyn tonight at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Talking with Dita: Part Four

In the October issue of the Canadian magazine Glow, I wrote a piece about the history and revival of burlesque. Not all of my interview with Dita Von Teese made it into the story so I've been serving up occasional outtakes. Here's the final one.

How can women look to burlesque in order to tap into their sassier side?
Play dress up. Try new things like garterbelts and seamed stockings, and lingerie with a bit of red and black lace.

Try performing a striptease at home for your lover.

Have fun with sex. Burlesque was fun! Get in touch with the playful and fun side of sex! Laugh a little, tease a little, and don't take it all so seriously (except when it comes to safe sex, of course!)

Have fun with glamour. Try a bit of red lipstick, a sexy full lash, and put some sexy Veronica Lake waves in your hair. Play!

Dance around your house to your favorite music for 30 minutes as exercise. I do it all the time! I even bounce around on a little trampoline in my underwear, and that's a heck of a workout!

Have a burlesque-themed party. Everyone loves an excuse to wear a feather boa to a party, trust me.

Think about this. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so that means what makes you unique and different is what makes you sexy and beautiful. To me, this is an important aspect of burlesque. Don't think about what you think other people perceive as being sexy. You can only be sexy when YOU are confident and happy, so do what it takes to make you feel that way.

~Part One of Talking with Dita
~Part Two of Talking with Dita
~ Part Three of Talking with Dita

Talking with Dita: Part Three

In the October issue of the Canadian magazine Glow, I wrote a piece about the history and revival of burlesque. Not all of my interview with Dita Von Teese made it into the story so I'll be serving up occasional outtakes.

Why do you think the neo-burlesque movement has gained momentum in the last few years? What's behind the increased interest?
The media gave it a lot of attention, and so the interest grew.

What is burlesque's appeal for people today?
I think a lot of women see it as a way to feel beautiful and sexy without fitting into the typical modern day standards of beauty, where the emphasis seems to be on natural, bikini-model, so-called healthy looking tanned slim bodies. Burlesque embraces artifice and fantasy and it's an image that can be created and emulated. It's about sensual freedom, and the enjoyment of sex and fun of a playful nature! Seduction and feminine prowess! And I would say that the men, for the most part, are enjoying the benefits of this.

Is that different than its appeal to audiences fifty years ago?
I think that the emphasis was more on titillation for a predominantly male audience, but I think its also quite interesting that it was more acceptable back then in many ways than it is now in the United States. I perform a lot more often in Europe, and there is an entirely different attitude toward burlesque as art, whereas in the US, sadly, most people don't know the rich history of burlesque in America, where it was truly invented and perfected. Americans have taken steps backwards with regard to sex and nudity, and that's a shame.

~Part One of Talking with Dita
~Part Two of Talking with Dita

Talking with Dita: Part Two

In the October issue of the Canadian magazine Glow, I wrote a piece about the history and revival of burlesque. Not all of my interview with Dita Von Teese made it into the story so I'll be serving up occasional outtakes.

How is today's burlesque different than burlesque fifty years ago?
Well, burlesque was basically dead fifty years ago! The golden age of the burlesque theatre ended in the late 1940s when nightclubs became more popular. But in the '30s and '40s, when burlesque theatres were thriving, burlesque audiences were mainly working class men looking for a thrill. You had the grand theatres, like Minsky's, and the audiences of men AND women came out to see the really big stars, like Gypsy. But in your average burlesque show, in the golden age of burlesque, you would have seen a lot of men.

Now, we have a much more diverse audience. I can say that the majority of my own fan base is comprised of young women who are embracing glamour and are getting in touch with their inner bombshells by either performing burlesque in their hometown or for their lovers, or simply enjoying the style of dressing that was popular at the time. And I also think that many of today's dancers are performing for their own empowerment rather than to please their audience and make a living.

What is the difference between stripping and burlesque?
Well, if you ask me, I would say that there isn't technically a difference! Burlesque dancers WERE strippers! They used this term in burlesque. So burlesque is the show, and the dancers were strippers. Okay, so I know that what you really want to hear is what makes me different from a modern day pole dancer/stripper. Well, we are all one in the same, but burlesque is where this whole idea of removing clothes to music in front of an audience started, and pole dancing is where it has evolved to. I refuse to say that I'm "classier" or "better" than any other exotic dancer. I essentially do the same thing - perhaps with more spectacle, and with retro flair. I like the fact that burlesque alway has been risque, and I am confident with myself enough to say that I am proud to be a stripper.

Who are your burlesque role models? What is it that appeals to you about them?
Gypsy is a big role model for me, because she managed to become a major mainstream star, against the odds. Anyone can be an actress or a singer - it's acceptable. But to be a world famous stripper is an entirely different feat! So she did it, and that gave me the hope that if did my very best work, and stuck by my dream and didn't falter or change my path according to what the modern "formula" for success is, that I may have a chance to succeed as a burlesque dancer. I always understood that what makes someone unique is what makes them stand out, and I think that there are a lot of people that don't get that concept. They think that they should follow someone else's game plan.

~ Part One of Talking with Dita

Talking with Dita

In the October issue of the Canadian magazine Glow, I wrote a piece about the history and revival of burlesque. Not all of my interview with Dita Von Teese made it into the story so I'll be serving up occasional outtakes.

How would you define burlesque?
I usually describe burlesque as a form of live entertainment that was popularized in the 1930s and '40s in America. It was a bit like Vaudeville, which was a variety show, but in Burlesque, the comedy sketches were more sexual in nature, and in burlesque, the headliners were striptease artists. You had all kind of burlesque queens, some were very elegant - like Gypsy Rose Lee, Sally Rand and Lili St. Cyr - and then again you had some really racy dancers too.

How did you get into burlesque?
I was obsessed with films from the '30s and '40s. When I was a teenager, I worked in a lingerie store, and I became very interested in the history of lingerie, and began collecting vintage lingerie and clothes. I wore my hair and makeup in vintage style, and later, when I was 18, I wanted to be photographed pinup style for my boyfriend. It became a hobby for me, making these cheesecake pics, and I started one of the first adult websites on the internet in the early '90s, and it was all retro fetishism and pinup. I was also working in a strip club in 1991, and of course, wearing my corsets and stockings and that is basically how I learned about burlesque. I always wanted to to know the complete history of everything I loved. I developed my profile over the years, so basically, it took me over a decade to get where I am now.

What are the trademarks of a good burlesque performer?
Individuality has always been a key factor, along with charisma and stage presence. But I think the real trick is when it looks effortless and fun, and when the dancer doesn't look like she is trying to be sexy. And above all, because the great burlesque stars were all self-made, I think that it's key that a burlesque dancer creates her own act. It takes some major ambition and desire behind a burlesque act to make it great. It doesn't work when it's just a girl being put in a costume and learning choreography, you lose that individuality and the power behind the performance when it's contrived like that. It's the biggest mistake I see in some of the commercialized burlesque clubs. It looks sanitized and cheesy and there is no heart in the act. It just becomes a pretty girl dancing around, and that isn't enough to be a star. With any performance, this is true, actually. Historically, the best entertainers aren't always "technically" the best when you think about it.