Burlesque
Presented to You By:
Ms. Catie & Ms. Jasmine
Home
What?
Names
When?
Popularity
Contributions
The Elements
Titles
What is Burlesque?
A dramatic, musical, or literary work
Originally like Vaudeville acts
It…
•Treated subjects absurdly
•Striptease
•Coarse comedy
Home
When?
th
First mentioned in 16 century
Victorian Era
Revival in recent times
Originated in France
Home
Names You Might Have Heard of
Gypsy Rose Lee
January 8, 1911 _ April 26,
1970
Dita Von Teese
Sally Rand
September 28, 1972 -
April 3, 1904 - August
31, 1979
Home
Names
Names Continued……
Lydia Thompson
February 19,1838 – November 17,1908
Millie Deleon
circa 1873 – August 6, 1922
Home
Names
Lydia Thompson
•In the late 1860s, Lydia
Thompson’s British
burlesque troupe became
New York's biggest
theatrical sensation.
•She was a dancer and an Actress
Name
Name
Mille Deleon
 Real name was Millie Lawrence
 The Biggest burlesque star of the earliest 20th Century.
 She was a dancer
 She occasionally neglected to wear tights. Such shenanigans got
her arrested on occasion, and helped to give burlesque a raunchy
reputation.
 DeLeon was known as "The Girl in Blue“
 was notorious for manipulating the media through the artful use of
scandal. Called, "The first real queen of American Burlesque
 As a performer she traveled across the country, often testing the
limits of local indecency ordinances. Her signature stage maneuver
was to remove her garters and throw them into the audience.
Names Continued….
John Brougham
Laura Keene
May 19,1814 -June 7, 1880
June 20,1826 - November 4 , 1873
Home
Gypsy Rose Lee
1/8/1911 – 4/26/1970
 Birth Name: Rose Louise Hovik
 Occupation: entertainer, author, play write,
actress, dancer (burlesque)
 The musical “Gypsy” based on her autobiography
 Performed with Minsky’s Burlesque company for
four years
 Appeared in 15 movies (1937-1968) and on
television between 1949-1969
Names
Home
Dita Von Teese
 Birth Name: Heather Renée Sweet
 Occupation: Burlesque Model and designer
 “Queen of Burlesque”
 Appeared on “America’s Next Top Model”
as a guest judge
 Has partaken in fashion shows
 First started on stage at 15 with ballet and continued to dance
onstage for career (burlesque)
Home
Names
Sally Rand
 Birth Name: Helen Beck
 Occupation: Burlesque Dancer
and Actress
 Most famous for her fan dance
Names
Home
Titles You May Know…or not
MODERN!
 Moulin
Rouge
 SNL
 Burlesque
 Jerry
Springer
Show
TRADITIONAL!
•Minsky’s
•Lady of
Burlesque
•Striporama
Home
Format
Burlesque Format
 Act One: The ensemble entertains with songs and gags,
dressed n formal evenings clothes
 Act Two: An “olio” of variety acts ( singers, skits, ect.).
 Act Three: A complete one- act musical burlesque. These
ranged from Shakespearean take offs like Much Ado About a
Merchant of Venice to Gilbert and Sullivan spoof called The
Mick Hair- Do.
Home
Popular?
Peaked in the Victorian era
th
Continued throughout the 20
century
Rival in the 1990’s
Liked by all classes of people from
the blue to white color
Home
Contributions?
Combined music, dance, and
artistic acting and interpretation
of the music.
Established how women are now
viewed in American Society
Home
Now to The Elements…
 Spectacle? Check
 Music? Check
 Thought? Nope
 Plot? Nada
 Character? Kinda… let me exlpain
 Language? Sorta, again I shall explain
Other facts
Other Facts
•In the 1920’s the old burlesque circuits closed down,
leaving individual theater owners to get by as best they
could on there own. The strip tease was introduced as a
desperate bid to offer something that vaudeville, film and
radio could not.
•Strip Tease has been abound sins little Egypt, in 1893.
•Some sources praised the burlesque comics of the 1920s
and 30s, but by this point, men went to burlesque shows to
watch women strip. By this time the comedy was no longer
a key attraction.
•Big screen spoofs such as Young Frankenstein,
Spaceballs, and Austin Powers films are known for
carrying the tradition of the early burlesque.
The End
The End