Neoburlesque, as a growing number of amateur dancers and their hipster audiences call it, is a reincarnation of the variety-show cabaret that once fused vaudevillian drama and striptease into erotic performance.
During its Depression-era heyday, burlesque stars like Sally Rand and the Minksy Brothers entertained viewers with a randy mix of comic storytelling and sensual dance. Today’s interpretation remains true to burlesque’s original goal of enticing without revealing all, and even risque burlesque performances rarely go beyond pasty-covered breasts and lewd humor.

Celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon too: Sting plans to open a burlesque club in Manhattan with the financial help of friend David Bowie. Dita Von Teese, a burlesque stripper married to shock rocker Marilyn Manson, penned a dual-titled volume called “Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese” that appeared in book stores this March. The Slipper Room and its dancers even helped create the setting for a filmed tribute to singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen in which Bono made an appearance.
Burlesque dancers, whose day jobs range from doctor and schoolteacher to Goth-club dominatrix, say the dance form offers a unique opportunity to escape everyday lives while liberating the body and empowering the spirit. Some burlesque performers rehearse four times for weekend shows, but unlike pole dancers trying to earn a living through stripping, most burlesque performers say the dancing is about personal expression. Any money they make--rarely more than $200 a performance--is channeled back into costumes and stage props for future shows.