Call Me Stormy

Babes of Burlesque: 32

KRISTINA NEKYIA

This California siren wears many hats, and also knows how to remove them,  as a burlesque queen who doubles as a fire eater, circus contortionist, belly dancer,  pin-up nymph and all-around showgrrrl. She takes her performance art so seriously that she traveled to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to study with the Mongolian National Circus. She’s now reaping the rewards for all that effort, appearing on stage with the likes of George Clinton and Lady Gaga. In 2010, Nekyia, aka Kristina Canizares, was first runner-up for the title of Queen of Burlesque at the Burlesque Hall of Fame competition in Las Vegas.

Here’s an example of her exotic, hybrid performance style — her appearance nearly a year ago on Feb. 3, 2012 at the 3rd annual New Orleans Burlesque Festival.

Her fire-eating and contortionist skills are more on display in her demo reel “Dance Contortion Fire.”

Visit her website at http://www.nekyiadance.com/

Babes Of Burlesque: 31

KOKO LA DOUCE

Don’t miss the Swiss miss…you’re going to yodel for more.

She bills herself as “a spinx in fishnets,” a mystery woman and object of men’s desires, who refuses to surrender her secrets. No telling if the rumors swirling around her are true, but what’s a fact is that she’s a most sought-after performer across Europe. Just the sight of her, it’s warned, can cause temporary blindness.

At the 2012 Burlesque Hall of Fame’s Tournament of Tease in Las Vegas, she performs Paradise Machine, winning the festival’s prize for most innovative performer.

Dirndl-Domina, 2011.

Her website: http://www.koko-la-douce.de/

Babes of Burlesque: 30

KITTY BANG BANG

From her website: “Kitty Bang Bang is the whiskey-soaked, fire-breathin’, chopper ridin’ Princess of British Burlesque. A cabaret chameleon, she manages to encompass both traditional 50s glamour puss and the electric energy of rock n roll.” Among her claims to fame: She appeared in the first Bollywood film ever to showcase burlesque. She’s based in London and directs all of the entertainment at the Circus club.

Her Geisha Fire show.

In 2011, she traveled to Las Vegas for the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s Movers, Shakers and Innovators Showcase at the Orleans Casino.

Her website: http://www.kittybangbang.com/

Babes of Burlesque: 29

KIKI KABOOM

Her tagline says it all: “Part sex kitten. Part clown. All woman.”

Winner of the London Cabaret Award for Best Burlesque Performer of 2012, Kiki appeared in the lead role as Bombshell Belle in the 2012 film Burlesque Assassins, and in the same vein as iCarly, stars in her own Internet program The Kiki Kaboom Show. Time Out called her “the real deal, warmly engaging, acutely witty, subversively confrontational and hubba hubba hot.”

Recorded live at Madame Jo-Jo’s, Kiki wows the crowd with her super-geeky, super-freaky routine.

Welcome to the Jungle, 2008.

Her website: http://kikikaboom.co.uk/

Babes of Burlesque: 27

JO “BOOBS” WELDON

The author the first book ever written on how to perform burlesque, Jo Weldon is headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, responsible for teaching thousands of women to twirl their tassels. She’s also an active performer in her own right, named one of Top Ten Badass Burlesque Babes by fashion designer Garo Sparo. She performed the first strip ever at the New York Public Library, and on the flip side, collaborated with the faux rock band Spinal Tap. In another memorable honor, she danced at Gypsy Rose Lee’s 100th birthday party. Her book, The Burlesque Handbook, was published by HarperCollins.

Jo Boobs in the Mondo Burlesque Showcase at the 1st Annual New Orleans Burlesque Festival.

Here, Godzilla meets Jo Boobs. Like strip poker without the cards, This or That! brings adult entertainment to television in a way everyone will love! Polyester-clad host Fred Kahl calls out Now That’s Entertainment to encourage and congratulate contestants for taking off their clothes, getting into a giant balloon or naming that smell. Bootylicious co-host Julie Atlas Muz calls the shots as contestants vie for cash, prizes, or the chance to be spanked. The fun and humiliation climax when the “winning” contestant chooses one of two curtains: “This” or “That”, out of which emerges either a classic burlesque hottie or an act that stinks so bad it’s brilliant.

A variety of hot and hilarious acts fill the bill: the curvaceous This or That Girls, the well endowed Wonderful Woman, a borsht belt Ukulele player and a mad Russian sorceress. Contestants act out their fantasies without actually having to run away from home to join the burlesque show. Home viewers and the live studio audience cheer on contestants as they meet the show’s challenges answering trivia questions, stuffing marshmallows in their mouth, and guessing the weight of Wonderful Woman’s rack. Now That’s Entertainment!

Her website: http://www.schoolofburlesque.com/instructors.shtml

Babes of Burlesque: 26

INGA INGENUE

She’s nicknamed “The Little Blonde Bomb,” not only acknowledging her diminutive size, but paying tribute to the fact that dynamite comes in small packages. Inga is part of Seattle’s vibrant burlesque scene and teaches at Miss Indigo Blue’s academy. She’s a bundle of contractions, and that’s how she likes it: unapologetically old-fashioned in her charms, but modern in her outlook; a tantalizing tease, but also perched on a pedestal out of reach. In 2011, she was crowned Miss Viva Las Vegas.

Here’s her winning performance at the Orleans Casino that earned her the Miss Viva Las Vegas crown.

She dances to Maria Callas’ “L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle”  at the 2010 Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

Her website: http://www.ingaingenue.com/