Call Me Stormy

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Archive for the tag “Babes of Burlesque”

Babes of Burlesque: 34

LEOLILLY

A blonde bombshell from Hamburg, Germany, Leolilly seeks to evoke the pinup couture and retro glamour of Hollywood in the 1930s. “I love to create a breathtaking spectacle,” she says. “I love glamorous costumes with rhinestones all over. And I really love the spotlight.”

She demonstrates she’s one hot fraulein with her dramatic entrance as Queen Calavera. Keep your powder dry. After her steamy dance, you’ll need to go to your medicine cabinet to see if you’re stocking the antidote to Love Potion No. 9.

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The powder flies again as she takes her act to the Hapa Haole, a music bar in Witten, Germany, that pays homage to the likes of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Not too shabby.

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Visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leolilly/169478763063391

Babes Of Burlesque: 28

KALANI KOKONUTS

Originally from Alaska, Kalani Kokonuts learned the art of burlesque at the world-famous Palomino Club in Las Vegas, and remains based out of the desert city, currently appearing at the Absinthe. She says her sister gave her the nickname Kalani Kokonuts, and she kept the moniker for lack of having anything better. She’s a consummate professional who creates highly original acts, backed by Taiko drummers or involving flashes of kung-fu fighting. Explaining her approach to the art, she says, “You must get the audience’s attention in less than five seconds. If I haven’t given you goose bumps or had your complete undivided attention, I have failed.”

Kalani at the Majestic in Dallas, Texas, 2011.

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A 2012 performance at Tease-O-Rama at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco.

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Her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kalani.kokonuts

Babes of Burlesque: 22

HELEN DIAMOND

Moscow-based pin-up artist and burlesque dancer Helen Diamond might be the hottest contemporary star in Siberia — or, at least, one of the only stars who has made the circuit performing at Siberian nightclubs. Svelte and blonde, she’s does sensuous fan dances and classical strips to sultry jazz tunes.

Fanning the flames.

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And here she makes a television appearance. There’s no nudity — just some classic burlesque moves.

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Tumblr blog: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/helen-diamond

Babes of Burlesque: 19

FRAULEIN FRAUKE

Raised in a bohemian family in the forests of Sweden, Fräulein Frauke now operates Stockholm’s most popular burlesque club, Fräulein Frauke Presents, while pursuing her own career as a saucy dancer and jazz/cabaret singer. Her numbers are iconic and memorable, combing spectacle and subtlety — from the cheeky Snow White and Human Cupcake to more classical and extravagant acts such as her operatic Bird Catcher, the smoldering All That Jazz or the sexy Mermaid.

Here, she literally blows away the audience with a sassy, military number Duty Calls, complete with cannon.

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Mermaid, alternately known as The Birth of Venus.

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

Babes of Burlesque: 14

DANICA LEE

Sydney-based Danica Lee was awarded 2011 Miss Australia Burlesque after winning a triple-crown at that year’s Australian Burlesque Festival — Entertainer of the Year, Miss Classic and Miss Congeniality. In the words of the festival, “Danica Lee is one of Australia’s favourite burlesque performers. With a repertoire that includes everything from traditional fan dances and striptease to routines that will make you laugh, cry, or even a bit hot under the collar. A petite package, Danica Lee epitomises ’seduction’ with curves to knock your socks off and looks to keep you down for the count.”

Drunk and disabled, she makes a smooth recovery at the 2011 New South Wales Burlesque competition.

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What does she see in Mickey Mouse?

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Her website: http://www.danicalee.com.au/

Babes of Burlesque: 11

CHERRY TYPHOON

An explosive dynamo, Cherry Typhoon brings an original, high-energy presence to the stage. She grew up in Tokyo, studying traditional Japanese dance forms, but her career really detonated after she embraced burlesque. Tassel twirling up a storm, whether she’s wearing a G-string or a kimono, she has toured widely across Europe and North American, and currently is based out of Montreal, Canada. Here she is at the 2012 Tease-O-Rama in San Francisco.

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Her act Fukagawa, staged last summer at the Theatre St. Catherine in Montreal.

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Her website: http://www.cherrytyphoon.com/Pages/default.aspx

Babes of Burlesque: 5

BANBURY CROSS

“Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross” went the classic English nursery rhyme. This burlesque bombshell isn’t from the town of Banbury, but she has taken Great Britain by storm, earning such nicknames as the “Bulletproof Blonde,” “The Atomic Blonde” and burlesque’s “Neo-Marilyn.” Besides Monroe, she says “I favour the Blondes, Dors, Van Doren, Mansfield, Betty Grable. I also get a lots of inspiration from Old Spaghetti westerns, Russ Meyer, 30s Horror B Movies too.” The champagne Showgirl is Banbury’s signature explosive striptease, with a spectacular, dazzling white costume that boasts 50,000 hand-placed Swarovski crystals from head to toe, luxurious ostrich boa tail and champagne explosion finale.

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She also sizzles in Heatwave, performed here at London’s Wam Bam Club.

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Her website: http://www.missbanburycross.com/Mis_Banbury_Cross/Home.html

Babes of Burlesque: 4

ANNA FUR LAXIS

Burlesque dancer, pin-up girl, knife-thrower and illusionist, Great Britain’s Anna Fur Laxis has performed across the globe, in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. In 2011, she placed first runner-up in both the Milan Burlesque Awards and the Miss Exotic World competition at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Her claim to fame is her jaw-dropping Laxis of Evil axe-throwing act, a twist on the popular “balloon pop” burlesque routine. Here is the act, filmed at Neil “Nez” Kendlall’s Goldust’s Tales From The Crypt Halloween Ball 2011.

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Originally from Leeds, UK, she’s also celebrated for Viva Bettie, her Bettie Page tribute, which she debuted in 2009 at Chaz Royale’s Valentines Varie-Tease in London.

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

Babes of Burlesque

Back in January of 2013, we launched a series that has proven to be the most popular series in the entire history of Call Me Stormy.  We’re talking about Babes of Burlesque, which ran for 59 days, each day presenting a new Babe of Burlesque. Not only did our readership swell during those few months of 2013, but we find many of the Babes of Burlesque entries still recirculating and attracting new readers all the time.

So, we’ve decided to return to this popular series and repeat it a second time. Some of the videos are now gone, so we won’t have 59 entries to showcase, perhaps only 40 or so. Also, we’re not going to run the series for 40 consecutive days, Instead, we’ll present one addition every week — always on Saturdays, which is usually a slower news day, so we have more time and space to play around. So if you like burlesque, come back every Saturday and you’ll be introduced to a new dancer.

Up first: A’dora Derriere

Glad to see you survived the New Year and found your way back here. To kick off 2013 with fanfare, and enough shaking and shimmying to bring down a bull moose, we’re launching a new daily series: The Babes of Burlesque. We’ll go around the world with this series, traveling to 15 different countries to expose you to some of the steamiest, funniest and most flamboyant Neo-Burlesque entertainers on the planet. Each day, through January and February, you can pick up the radiant heat to help you through the long, cold winter.

We compiled our list of 59 Babes of Burlesque after painstaking research — yes, this was truly a rough and grueling assignment. You’ll note that we’ve left out several reigning Burlesque superstars, so our list can’t be described as definitive. Our choices are perhaps quirky, but they got our attention, and we think you’ll enjoy these foxy sirens. Some have great gimmicks. Others have great gams. All of them know how to work the crowd and command a stage.

We’ll present them in alphabetical order, from A to Z, actually A to V, beginning with Australia’s A’Dora Derriere and concluding with Vicky Butterfly from Great Britain. But enough babbling. Let’s get started. Meet A’Dora Derriere, the pride of the Sugar Blue Burlesque troupe from Perth, Australia. We have two clips featuring A’Dora. The first, comic in nature, is her Wild Woman Act.

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And here’s her tribute to Josephine Baker, with a banana dance, presented at the Casino de Paris.

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Come back next Saturday to meet Amber Ray!

Babes of Burlesque: 59

VICKY BUTTERFLY

Last but certainly not least in our series of profiles introducing the hottest performers in the world of Neo-Burlesque, Great Britain’s Vicky Butterfly has undeniably selected an appropriate stage name. She evokes a dreamy, gossamer past — the bygone world of vaudeville, silent cinema and naughty Belle Epoque entertainment. She cites a host of artistic influences, ranging from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Surrealist insurgents of a century ago. It’s a rarified realm she inhabits, befitting the daughter of an Irish showgirl and an eccentric Viennese aristocrat.

In “Ghost of Love,” she uses Chinese silk fans to present a delicate dance bathed in mystique.

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Remember John Travolta’s TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble? In “Sur L’Eau” or “The Bubble,” Vicky Butterfly delivers what might be the first burlesque dance ever choreographed inside a plastic bubble. It’s actually quite erotic, and certainly original.

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If you want to see more, visit the Butterfly website at http://www.vickybutterfly.net/Home.html

Ironic that we should wrap up the Babes of Burlesque inside a plastic bubble. Hope you’ve enjoyed this series, but all things — entertaining or otherwise — must come to an end. We’ll be launching a new series tomorrow — something fun and surprising. We’re not going to give you any advance clues this time, except to say: Having exhausted the creme de la creme when it comes to funny beer commercials and dancing women, we’re moving into new territory. Drop by to see what we’ve got in store. Same time, same place.

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