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The True Art of Burlesque – by Torchy Taboo




...as told to and paraphrased by:
Dayna Andrews The Hawt Librarian


Burlesque is not just about overtly sexual displays, but rather of a bonding of the performer with her audience. It is satire… sexy satire! Mae West is my idol. Mae West would never make it in today’s modern “titty bars”. Ha! No way! She had a way of connecting and drawing in the crowd to laugh with her, sing with her and enjoy the moment with her. It wasn’t about sex, although she was plenty sexy – it was about enjoying the moment – IN the moment. That’s what I strive to do – enjoy the moment - IN the moment – and draw the audience into that moment with me. That is the pure joy of being an entertainer. The true art of what I do.

My art connects me with nature, the audience and myself. I am a lover of animals and flowers and the Flora and fauna. In the vast array of color in the scales of a tropical fish, I glean the lyrical and vastly colorful sequins and rind stones of my costumes (I will spend my last dollar on rind stones!) Borrowing from the infinite beauty of animal fur, I design the fashions I wear when I share myself with my audience. Animals are fun and funny, so sometimes I make “rubber faces” like a monkey as I roll down a shimmering satin glove! The surprise on faces as they share this unexpected moment is priceless and adds to the fun of the moment! I love it!

I will never forget what was probably my best moment on the stage. It was at Coney Island, the best place in the world – sheer entertainment. I was performing a classic burlesque act. The music, the crowd and my heart and soul were bonded in a moment of sheer magic where I tell you I swear that actual “fairy dust” fell from the sky and danced around the stage with me! When the going gets tough and I need to call on inspiration, I remember this surreal moment.



My art gives me the opportunity to tour around the country and meet people of all backgrounds and beliefs. But they all have something in common. The true lovers of burlesque share a bond, I think. They know the real deal when they see it. True burlesque communicates. It speaks to you – and I don’t mean just below the waist! Ha! It touches your soul as you share the moment with the performer. You make that connection and you’re never the same again. I am able to make fun of the straight male paradigm without offending! Now that’s an art, right? I do it by drawing them into the performance with me. It’s looking right at them. I like the theater to be a little monochromatic – not too bright on me – I can’t see faces then. I want to see the audience – to stare deeply into someone’s eyes and feel that moment when they connect! Love it! I am sassy and brash and performance art is who I am.

And I believe anyone can do it, really. I have fans who are women who, after watching for awhile and wondering if their husbands or boyfriends are having “too much” fun, suddenly click with me and think to themselves, “I can do that! She is having so damn much fun!” And she’s right. That’s why I give classes on bump and grind and dancing. It gives the “average” woman a chance to channel me and get inside themselves. It’s a blast! Women are innately creative. We create life and nurture it inside us. We are born to create, right? The classes give women a chance to discover themselves creatively. Burlesque is not just being sexy and getting the man; it is expressing and enriching yourself – being whomever and whatever that is for you as a woman.

I wouldn’t change who I am for anything. I am a burlesque artist in the true sense of the word. Come up and see me sometime!

Follow Torchy Taboo on Facebook and My Space. Watch for the Orange Blossom Burlesque Festival – A Showgirl’s Oasis slated for early Spring 2011 – a South Florida first!

This shot is a recent fave...on stage at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas 2009...copyright Ed Barnes