A burlesque beauty reveals her secrets

by The Advertiser

Chrissie Brown and Radha Leigh will compete for the Miss Buelesque SA title next month. Source: Supplied

DANCE beauty Chrissie Brown has burlesque to thank for putting her on the right path.

Chrissie, aka Lyra la Belle, says her desire to perform on stage in the retro art form was born from body image issues in her teens.

"Burlesque to me is an inclusive art form, it doesn't take into consideration age or size," she says.

"It is about being comfortable in one's body and sensuality rather than sexuality. As a teen I suffered from shocking eating disorders and had a really distorted sense of self related to my body image."

While as a back-up dancer in London she mingled with Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Jamiroquai, Blue, Kate Moss and Geri Halliwell, she says her love will always be burlesque. The former local will be performing in the Miss Burlesque SA competition on June 4 at Nexus Cabaret with a bevy of beauties hoping to get through to the grand final.

Chrissie, whose boyfriend is theatre actor Andrew Bongiorno, is a familiar face in Adelaide during the Fringe, recently bringing a bunch of sassy girls to town to perform stage show Burlesque Beauties. Since moving into the world of vintage tease, she hasn't looked back.

"As a back-up dancer in London, the scrutiny on your body and competition can be very unhealthy," Chrissie says.

"Burlesque is all about feeling good about you. It is also incredible fun and I love dressing up!"

Oh and she also met The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year, which she says was a "massive highlight".

ALT Creative Communications Contest for Burlesque Performers and Models!

ALT Creative Communications

www.altcreative.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Amber Elle Turner
513-550-3452
amberelleturner@yahoo.com

ENTER CONTEST TO RECEIVE DISCOUNTED MARKETING MATERIAL FROM

ALT CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

CINCINNATI...MARCH 13, 2011...Are you a burlesque model or performer in need of a press release, media alert, and/or a carefully crafted bio for your press kit or Web site? ALT Creative Communications wants to help one lucky individual or troupe compose their marketing materials for $10!

ALT Creative Communications is a freelance writing business owned and operated by Amber Elle Turner, creator of the blog Simply Burlesque (http://simplyburlesque.blogspot.com). ALT Creative specializes in press releases, business letters, copyediting, ghostwriting, newsletters, blogging content, private writing instruction, book reviews, proofreading, college essay help, and other technical, creative, and literary writing.

To enter this contest, either visit ALT Creative Communications (www.altcreative.org) and fill out the form in the About Amber section or go to Simply Burlesque and leave a comment on this release. Your entry should have your name, Web site or blog address, e-mail address, a contact number, and a brief bio detailing your involvement in the burlesque scene, why you feel you’d be the best candidate for discounted press materials and what you need written. If you already have media contacts that you would like your materials submitted to, include that information as well. ALT Creative Communications will submit your materials to your contacts free of charge!

No entries submitted to Simply Burlesque’s Pinup Lifestyle page will be counted.

Amber Elle Turner has written for newspapers, magazines, and online publications. She has also served as an editor on newspapers and a literary anthology. She was the winner of the 2005 Kathleen Collins Roberts Memorial Scholarship for excellence in writing and received a Certificate in Writing and Publishing in journalism from Drexel University.

In 2007 & 2008, Turner interned at the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau where she honed her marketing communications skills writing press releases, media alerts, and a photojournalism series for the bureau’s e-newsletter. In 2009, she interned at the Drexel Publishing Group where she worked on the literary magazine Painted Bride Quarterly reading and evaluating manuscripts for possible publication.

Turner holds a B.A. in Communications with a concentration in global journalism from Drexel University.

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Favorite Things: Immodesty Blaize

This short video showcases one of my favorite burlesque performers, Immodesty Blaize, and perfectly encapsulates the art of burlesque. I dare anyone to watch this video and not come away loving the form in all its over the top glory.

Canadian Burlesque Show on March 10!

Time: March 10, 2011 at 8:30pm to March 12, 2011 at 12pm
Location: Club Soda
Street: 1225 St Laurent
City/Town: Montreal, Canada
Website or Map: http://www.grandburlesqueshow…
Phone: 514 699 6620
Event Type: burlesque, cabaret, and, champagne!
Organized By: Scarlett James, The Countess

Pretty Things Peepshow Event on March 10!

Time: March 10, 2011 from 7pm to 11pm
Location: The Jefferson Theater
Street: 110 East Main Street
City/Town: Charlottesville, VA 22902
Website or Map: http://www.prettythingspeepsh…
Phone: (434) 245-4980
Event Type: show
Organized By: go-go Amy
Latest Activity: Jan 26

Event Description

The Pretty Things Peepshow traveling burlesque sideshow is coming to
town with their unique blend of vivacious vaudeville variety. In This
nonstop thrill ride of a show no two acts are the same and each one is
more amazing then the next. See Miss Heather Holliday, The Sword
Swallowing Sensation, Lil Miss Firefly The Midget of Mischief, go-go
Amy Burlesque Bombshell and Donny Vomit The Dapper Dan of Danger. The
common thread in this tempting tapestry of a show is that each an
every act is performed by one of the worlds most splendiferous
specimens of the female form. When talent and tantalizing temptresses
collide you’ve got The Pretty Things Peepshow.

Behind The Burly Q

I began kicking around the idea of relaunching Simply Burlesque last week once I figured out the mission of my freelance writing business. I've been fascinated with the art form since I was a child, but didn't really become apart of it (if only tangentially as a journalist and historian) until my senior year in college. That year I saw my first live burlesque show at World Cafe Live in Philly. The Peek-A-Boo Revue was the troupe I had the privilege of seeing and they were an amazing throwback to vaudeville and the golden age of burlesque with a slightly modern spin. I hadn't written anything for SB since 2010 and didn't know if I even wanted to as burlesque had taken over my life for a time so much that I didn't focus on anything else!

Then, Sunday night, as if given a sign from above, I stumbled upon the film Behind the Burly Q. It's a dazzling documentary chronicling burlesque acts from the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Watching icons like April March, Dixie Evans, and Tempest Storm sharing their experiences, good and bad, re-lit a spark inside me that had dimmed. I wanted to immerse myself in that world again. The glamour, the talent, the humor, the sex appeal - there's no other form of entertainment that gives you these things.

Behind the Burly Q reminded me of something else that appealed to me about burlesque, something I can really relate to: the men and women involved were people making the best of some not-so-pleasant situations.

• Lily Ann Rose's mom apparently had amnesia and would disappear from home for months at a time, always coming back married and pregnant by a new man. Eventually, the woman would die by overdosing on painkillers. Even more traumatic, Lily Ann was raped at 14 by a cop, who'd also been a long time friend of her family.
• Joni Taylor had three children by the age of 16 that she was raising alone while making her living as a burlesque dancer.
• Actor Alan Alda, son of burlesque comic Robert Alda, recalled how his father tried to make it in Hollywood as an actor, but ultimately failed due in part to his wife's mental health issues and the industry's hesitance to work with burly q performers.
• Dixie Evans and many other burlesque dancers had to work the circus circuit to make ends meet before burlesque came to prominence in the U.S. after vaudeville's decline.

These entertainers weren't cowed by obstacles. They were resilient in a way a lot of people today just aren't. If a girl couldn't make it on Broadway, she made a name for herself on the burlesque stage or as a pinup. That's inspiring.

We could all learn something from these trailblazers.

Simply Burlesque Has Relaunched!

Simply Burlesque is now here on Blogger! If you'd like to read past posts, please visit Simply Burlesque's Old Home on WordPress. All further posts will be here.