Berlesker: Handcrafted Literary Journal vol II | Page 23

What do you see that is different and does not exist in today’s burlesque that existed then?
Burlesque in the 20’s through the 50’s was basic. The
music was basic. Everything was basic. You went
across the stage with a flipper and you would put
50 cents inside so it would flip up and down when
you danced and it would go bam! bam! across the
stage. I see girls today; they have so much imagination. This one girl did a Marie Antoinette act; it
was all beautiful. Then, at the end, she sat in a big
cake and said, “Let them eat cake.” She sat in it!!!
It was an exaggeration. She was pretty and all that,
but to sit in the cake, whoo … In those days the
boss would have had a heart attack. But she certainly got her point across.
I think the cycle is getting more edgy because
there is so much sex out there that if we were to
separate ourselves we would be different, if we do
too much risqué things, we are just like everybody
else.  We need to remain a unique class. If we hold
the line to be absolute entertainers, it will be a interesting thing.
Also our acts were 10–20 minutes long, these
days the girls do 2 minutes. If you are headlining
and want to make good money, you have to take
your time out there. It’s hard for an exotic, but
you go out slow, make your entrance, let them get
a good look at you, tease ‘em. Start out slow and
slinky, do your fast part in the middle and slow
down at the end. Stretch it!

photos, this page & previous, provided by Estate of Dixie Evans

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