This Thursday, a resplendent cavalcade of talent arrives to deliver three thrilling nights of classic striptease, nerdlesque, boylesque, and draglesque at the iconic Triple Door in Seattle, USA. Welcome to Fatlesque –…
Burlesque Festivals
As the aftershock of the COVID pandemic continues to affect the entertainment industry, burlesque producers across the world are trying – and frequently struggling – to sell viable numbers of tickets to…
Burlesque Festivals! They are the structure behind our scene, the canvas against which we can most fully display our artistry. They give us stages big enough for our most elaborate props, our…
Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière has been crowned ‘Queen of Burlesque’ at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival, in a classic burlesque contest where competitors perform accompanied by a live band. Routines…
Alyssa Kitt‘s epic Australian Burlesque Festival 2016 report continues in Byron Bay and Brisbane. Read Part One here. Read Part Two here. Read Part Three here. Australian Burlesque Festival: Byron Bay We boarded the…
Last week, eight performers walked out of the Toulouse Burlesque Festival in protest at the inclusion of a burlesque act involving blackface. Click here for full details. In response to the incident,…
The Toulouse Burlesque Festival, produced by Florence Boué, and Stephane Lafage of Le Kalinka, has a cast crisis on its hands after a dispute over a blackface burlesque act. Eight performers have walked…
Alyssa Kitt‘s epic Australian Burlesque Festival 2016 report continues in Adelaide and Darwin. Read Part One here. Read Part Two here. Australian Burlesque Festival: Adelaide Adelaide is known as the city of…
![Jett Adore on stage at the Burlesque Hall fo Fame Weekend 2013. ©Derek Jackson [Stage Door Johnnies Post-BHoF Recap]](https://i0.wp.com/21stcenturyburlesque.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/jett-derek.jpg?resize=650%2C425&ssl=1)
Now in its fifth year, the award-winning Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival returns in 2017 on April 27 – 30 with a full rosta of some of the biggest names from the world…
Alyssa Kitt‘s epic Australian Burlesque Festival 2016 report continues in Canberra and Sydney. Read Part One here… Australian Burlesque Festival: Canberra Our next stop is Canberra, which is Australia’s capital city…
The Australian Burlesque Festival 2016: twelve shows, eight cities, a bunch of flights, and a few long drives. The Blue Mountains, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Byron Bay, and Brisbane. Cue a…
A morning like any other was transformed in a single moment with the opening of a single email from Fraulein Frauke and John-Paul Bichard, producers of the Stockholm Burlesque Festival, asking me…
Presenting: The Toronto Burlesque Festival with Kitten ‘N’ Lou (aka: Poutine and Pool Lounging, eh?) Can we talk about the Canadians? WHAT MAKES THEM SO NICE AND PLEASANT?! Is it their socialised…
Renowned for her exquisite wardrobe, sublime hostess Lili La Scala made a modest four changes during the glittering Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival Gala last year. She takes us through her costume changes,…
The Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival Gala 2015 was certainly a night to remember, in no small part due to the mesmerising performances from British burlesque icon Vicky Butterfly. Enjoy a gallery of…
J. Von Stratton was recently crowned ‘Queen of the Roses’ at the annual Oregon Burlesque Festival. The festival is a three day burlesque art exhibition with over seventy performances featuring artists from across the…
Evie Red presents an Aussie take on the Texas Burlesque Festival! #evietakestexas In early April, this little showgirl packed her most sparkly G-string and lampshade headpiece into a suitcase and travelled 8,800 miles…
Enjoy Part Two of an epic 2nd Annual Caput Mundi International Burlesque Award Diary by Grace Gotham. You can now apply for the 2015 Caput Mundi International Burlesque Award here. Saturday October 18, 2014 On…
Enjoy this epic two-part 2nd Annual Caput Mundi International Burlesque Award Diary by Grace Gotham. You can now apply for the 2015 Caput Mundi International Burlesque Award here. I first met Albadoro Gala (Producer…
Kitten ‘N’ Lou do Viva Las Vegas! When we first got the email from the gorgeous Audrey Deluxe asking us to perform at Viva Las Vegas Weekend 18, our first thought was:…
Burlesque newcomer Something Blue shares her Dallas Burlesque Festival experience… My New Year’s resolution this year was to take the next step in my burlesque career. I spent my first year keeping it…
The Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival has defied opposition and obstacles and steadily grown from a low key two day event to one of Europe’s biggest burlesque festivals. The festival is the brainchild of two…
Entrancing Australian Sina King shares her Berlin Burlesque Festival experience… “Berlin, Berlin!” the cab driver shouts at the tourist-filled streets as he drives me to tech rehearsal. The city is bustling and…
Smouldering, stripping songbird Renee Holiday shares her Iowa Burlesque Festival experience… Friday October 24th Show day, 5AM. At this point I am deeply regretting my choice to drive to Iowa. At least…
Enjoy this fabulous recap of the 2014 Colorado Burlesque Festival, courtesy of headliner Lola Frost! Click the link at the end to apply for this year’s festval… Thursday I walked swiftly but…
UK burlesque starlet Havana Hurricane presents a New Orleans Burlesque Festival Diary… I fell in love with the city of New Orleans many years ago and after attending the New Orleans Burlesque…
Beating the Burly Blues NYC style: Miss Exotic World 2012 Imogen Kelly‘s New York Burlesque Festival Diary. Today I saw a crab escape from a Chinese restaurant and make a dash across…
Elle Dorado, winner of the 2014 New Orleans Burlesque Festival ‘Queen of Burlesque’ competition, wowed the crowd with something unexpected but ultimately victorious! Elle spoke to 21st Century Burlesque Magazine about her…
Lydia DeCarllo shares her Oregon Burlesque Festival experience… There is something indescribably special about being asked to headline a festival. It’s like getting the biggest kiss on the lips from your glitter…
In the second chapter of a two-part diary, Goldie Candela continues her recap of the 2014 Texas Burlesque Festival (read Part One here)… Saturday April 12th Performers only brunch. It can feel…
In the first chapter of a two-part diary, Goldie Candela relives the magic of the 2014 Texas Burlesque Festival… To say that the Texas Burlesque Festival is my favourite Texas burlesque event…
Siobhan Atomica‘s Show Me Burlesque Festival Diary continues. Read Part One here… SATURDAY When I finally awoke on Saturday afternoon, the first day I had slept in in months, Mary and I…
Siobhan Atomica guides you through the Show Me Burlesque Festival 2014. Link to Part Two below… The Show Me Burlesque Festival is undoubtedly the rowdiest festival in the Midwest but its party…
A Fancy Femme’s Take on a Weekend of Bedazzled Dongs: Kitten LaRue goes to the New York Boylesque Festival! Hi folks, it’s me, Kitten LaRue, Artistic Director of The Atomic Bombshells and…
Cha Cha Velour looks back on the Vermont Burlesque Festival 2014… I was an invited guest for the Vermont Burlesque Festival. I felt honoured and excited to be listed on the headliner…
Midnite Martini guides you through the Dallas Burlesque Festival 2014… Dear glitter-covered Diary, Well, it’s Valentine’s Day and I am bidding my love adieu and packing all my feathers and fringe into…
Jessickah Walsh speaks to Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival producers Heidi Bang Tidy and Lady Wildflower (with honorary showgirl Neil Kendall) about the challenges of producing pedigree burlesque shows in the UK… In…
Enjoy this report from the Great Canadian Girlesque Expo 2014, courtesy of the fabulous Gal Friday… I am, admittedly, not the best traveller or most adventurous person, though I’m getting better at…
Hi! We’re Kitten ‘n’ Lou, ‘The World’s Show-busiest Couple!’ We kicked off our marvellous month-long European Honeymoon Tour with the Helsinki Burlesque Festival, and we would love to share it with you!…
Superheroine Shan de Leers reports from the 8th Annual Southwest Burlesque Showcase… When a festival producer includes #NMisinappropriate as one of the official hashtags for the weekend, you just know you are…
A number of burlesque performers have reacted with shock to the alleged actions of New York Boylesque Festival producers Jen Gapay and Daniel Nardicio, who, according to an article published on Queerty.com,…
The luscious Jessabelle Thunder is your guide for the first annual Hollywood Burlesque Festival, which took place at the end of last year. Read on! December 6, 2013 Dear Diary, Today…
The Helsinki Burlesque Festival, now in its seventh year, is one of the trendiest and increasingly high profile events on the burlesque calendar and attracts a steady stream of burlesque heavyweight headliners,…
Texan temptress Ruby Joule shares her Alabama Burlesque Festival experience… Huntsville, Alabama. One of the USA’s top ten cities on the rise, and home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, but not…
Parisian starlet Loulou Champagne shares her experience of the Berlin Burlesque Festival 2013… DAY 1 If I say Berlin, I am sure you will think of polite people, Currywurst, Oktoberfest, Checkpoint Charlie,…
New York burlesque performer Dangrrr Doll shares her thoughts on burlesque festivals and how to make them enjoyable and worthwhile for performers… Over the course of the past year or two, I’ve…
21st Century Fox here, bringing you more New York Burlesque Festival action direct from my basement! (Thanks for the (admittedly hilarious) ‘plug’ Murray.) Dazzled by my first experience of Times Square at…
The eloquent Vicky Butterfly guides us through Friday Night at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival 2013… Wow, what can I say about the New Orleans Burlesque Festival? For my first ever burlesque…
Day Two of the New York Burlesque Festival and The Brooklyn Bowl was the place to be. I was warned in advance that the large, standing-room-only floor in front of the stage…
We gathered together in the belly of Le Poisson Rouge for the first night of the eleventh annual New York Burlesque Festival. Although some of the best-known faces didn’t make an appearance…
Enjoy the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival from the perspective of the one and only Foxy Tann! 12:17 AM. May 2, 2013. The Canadian Border. I did not know that Canadians punished fun…
Goldie Candela shares her experience of the Colorado Burlesque Festival 2013… This was my very first Colorado Burlesque Festival, so I was over the moon thrilled to receive the email that told…
Desert Dust and Glitter Lust, by Lola Frost. I arrived late Wednesday night with my Flapper in Crime, Rita Star, after a three hour flight delay from San Francisco. Fear not! We…
The Strawberry Siren shares her Kansas City Burlesque Festival experience… Monday 22nd April 2013 My trip to Kansas City got off on a bit of a rocky start. While sitting at Melbourne…
Set designer Tinker Bell takes us behind the scenes at the Helsinki Burlesque Festival… My name is Tinker Bell and I am, in about equal amounts, a burlesque performer and a set…
Peggy de Lune shares her Texas Burlesque Festival 2013 experience… They finally let me through security in Cleveland airport after eying up my suspicious package. When my ‘Air Hostess’ act was first…
Celebrated burlesque photographer Kaylin Idora shares her Helsinki Burlesque Festival experience… I’ve been to Helsinki, Finland a lot of times. Probably more than anyone realises. Way before I knew anything about burlesque…
Frenchie Kiss reports back to 21st Century Burlesque Magazine on the first Minneapolis Burlesque Festival… Dear Diary, 2013 started with a bang because I got to be one of the featured performers…
Burlesque festival season is upon us, and the sheer number of events happening across the globe these days is staggering — check out this fantastic resource of international festivals compiled by Ri…
Duchess Dubois presents her Stockholm Burlesque Festival Diary… My name is Duchess Dubois and I founded Sweden’s first burlesque troupe, the Amazing Knicker Kittens Burlesque Revue, in 2005. I was also involved…
Ginger Valentine describes her journey as the new Evangeline the Oyster Girl… I’d like to take you on a not so mythical trip, through the bayous of Louisiana… I will never forget…
I’m honoured to be a co-producer of the Colorado Burlesque Festival. I just finished up our 3rd year with fellow 2012 co-producers Lola Spitfire, Honey Touche, Bunny Bee, Ruby Sparkle, and Naughty…
Hi, I’m Miss La Vida. Here’s the continuation of my Aussie adventure with my diary from performing in the Third Annual Australian Burlesque Festival, produced by Rosy Rabbit and Dolores Daiquiri, that…
London based performer Honey Wilde shares her experience of the 9th Annual New York Burlesque Festival… New York, New York! When I received an email from Angie Pontani informing me that I…
I’m Miss La Vida from New Zealand, and I was one of the international performers invited to perform at the inaugural Perth International Burlesque festival, produced by Coco Poppin and A’dora Derriere…
“…I knew that I wasn’t alone, and more than that, I knew that burlesque was more than a fluke; it was a true revolution and we were the generals of this new…
The irresistibly cute Bazuka Joe and his fellow superhunks, Ray Gunn and Jett Adore, were featured performers at the Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival in February. Joe shares his festival diary from…
Smouldering temptress, Ginger Valentine shares her DBF experience, as a producer and a performer… Wednesday, February 1st. For months, Black Mariah, Missy Lisa and I worked tirelessly on the Fourth Annual Dallas…
The absurdly gorgeous LouLou D’vil (BHoF Best Debut 2011) shares her Helsinki Burlesque Festival experience… The 5th Helsinki Burlesque Festival, 16th – 18th February. Thursday 16th February The day started perfectly. The…
Montreal Burlesque Festival: Thursday, Aug 25, 2011 I got off the plane in Montreal and breezed through customs and immigration with ease, but I was already late for the press conference that…
Thursday – September 15, 2011 We arrive in New Orleans after leaving Hawaii on Wednesday. As we hadn’t slept since 7am the previous day, we were thrilled to leave the sticky tropical…
Back to class! Saturday morning saw me up and out early for two classes at Coco Framboise‘s Burlesque University! I am an avid taker of classes, and last year’s university classes were…
Why are your eyelashes wonky whenever you’re in a hurry? That’s what I want to know… A gorgeous sunny day, accompanied by a hellish heatwave, had turned grey and dreary as I…
As I was otherwise engaged on the Thursday of the Toronto Burlesque Festival (although naked where I was, in true spirit of burlesque) I have gone to Great Canadian Burlesque‘s Dolly Berlin…
Results from the NYBF 2010 Golden Pastie Awards. The Hottest Freshman of 2010 Miss Boo Boo Darlin’ The Leading Trendsetter in Burlesque Julie Atlas Muz The Best Burlesque Couple Trixie Little and…
“These are my friends and this is my life.” – Tigger! on stage during Friday night curtain call. Batten the brassieres and hold onto your hatches! ©Trixie Little Through some magical combination…
Read on to find out what is in store at this week’s Scandanavian shimmy-fest! “Being of northern descent, I know I’ll love the culture of Finland. And I’ve heard nothing but beautiful…
Tatah Dujour and Minnie Tonka Interview the Stars of NYBF 2009 at the Golden Pastie Awards… Directed and Produced by Marky Pierson (www.markypierson.com) Golden Pastie Results: Burlesque performer most likely to appear…
“The Annual New York Burlesque Festival, now teasing its way into its 7th year … is the largest burlesque event in the world, and has attracted sold-out crowds since its beginning in…
Trixie Little takes you behind the curtain at the first New Orleans Burlesque Festival… Day 4: Sunday 11:30am Woke up at noon to thunderstorms rattling the windows of our 25th floor hotel…
In their words: “The Toronto Burlesque Festival is an exciting four-day whirlwind of bump ‘n grind! Our Festival offers a unique opportunity to experience the best of burlesque and variety entertainment. Each…