The history of Australian burlesque will be
stripped down to its antique undergarments in
Marrickville this month.
On February 11, The Factory Theatre will
host A Living HIstory of Australian Burleque,
with archival footage of some of the most
prominent eras in Burlesque, from the 1800s
to Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Organiser of the night, Imogen Kelly,
said: “Due to the nature of burlesque as an
underground artform, most of our forbearers
are not known and aren’t archived at all. I
decided this must change but I didn’t really
know how.”
“For those of us still living, it is a battle to
be acknowledged as an artist as our art is
so transient – it exists only for the moments
that we are on stage and then we are either
committed to memory or forgotten.”
Ms Kelly, named the Queen of Burlesque,
has been dancing for 22 years. “I often feel
like the last woman standing of an era of
showgirls.When I started there was no table
dancing or lap dancing. Striptease artists did
proper stage shows.
“I feel very privileged to have had such a
start in performing and to have learned the
traditions of show business first hand.”
Along with Ms Kelly, modern burlesque
dancer TASIA will take to the stage in a
recreation of the whiskey a go-go years.
“It thrills me that we are now giving our
Legends the same opportunity. Our burlesque
history in Australia is not widely know,” TASIA
said. “I am so glad that Imogen has created a
chance for us to share this knowledge and to
honor these amazing women.”
The legendary Elizabeth Burton, who began
her career in the 1960’s, will also feature on
the night, making up to three generations
of dancers.
“When I first started, I went to America without
a green card, a job as a burlesque dancer was the
only job I could get,” Ms Burton said.
“I’ve since worked in places like
Luxemburg, Spain, Austria, Germany,
Singapore, Malaysia, Finland and Norway”.
The admirable past of Elizabeth Burton
includes entertaining troops during the
Vietnam War.
“It was fabulous and frightening; you might
be performing and some ammunition gets
blownup and everybody was thrown from the
vibrations on the stage” she said.
“The people were so keen to be entertained. They loved
those dancing girls, I was really fortunate, they
were always extremely respectful”.
Ms Burton noticed Burlesque change over
the decades. “Everybody has a got an idea in
modern Burlesque, I’m glad to see they’re all
trying them out” she said.
“Some girls go for grotesque strip
nowadays, and that’s for your own taste –
there’s room for all of us in this world.”
