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Burlesque

Burlesque is a direct descendant of The Masque (where principal characters would carry a 'burle' - a stick with a padded end - with which they would slap the other players for comic effect (the origin of 'slapstick' comedy). Masques would also contain 'zani' - acrobats and tumblers giving the term 'zany' for frenetic burlesque acts. The Masque was the source for almost all modern entertainment (ballet, puppetry, opera, theatre, pageant, comedy stand-up, satire, pantomime, strip-tease, erotic tableau and mime amongst others).

With its origins in nineteenth century music hall entertainments and vaudeville, in the early twentieth century Burlesque emerged as a populist blend of satire, performance art and adult entertainment, that featured strip tease and broad comedy acts that derived their name from the low comedy aspects of the literary genre known as burlesque.

In burlesque, performers, usually female, often create elaborate sets with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music, and dramatic lighting, and may even include novelty acts, such as fire-breathing or demonstrations of unusual flexibility, to enhance the impact of their performance.

Put simply, Burlesque means "imitation" - to satirize or parody. Burlesque is a style of live entertainment that encompasses pastiche, parody and wit. The genre traditionally encompasses a variety of acts such as dancing girls, chanson singers, comedians, mime artists and strip tease artistes, all satirical and with a saucy edge. The striptease quotient of Burlesque is not akin to modern day strippers; one is theatre, the other is not.

Development

Originally, burlesque featured shows that included comic sketches, often lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes, alternating with dance routines. It developed alongside vaudeville and ran on competing circuits.

Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment of burlesque focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects — e.g., in the early years, ducks were revered amongst these folk as gags [citation needed].

The genre originated in the 1840s, early in the Victorian Era, a time of culture clashes between the social rules of established aristocracy and a working-class society. The genre often mocked such established entertainment forms as opera, Shakespearean drama, musicals, and ballet. The costuming (or lack thereof) increasingly focused on forms of dress considered inappropriate for polite society. By the 1880s, the genre had created some rules for defining itself:

* Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form.
* Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines and staging.
* Quick-witted humor, lacking complexity.
* Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.

Charlie Chaplin in his autobiography gives an interesting account of burlesque in Chicago in 1910:

Chicago...had a fierce pioneer gaiety that enlivened the senses, yet underlying it throbbed masculine loneliness. Counteracting this somatic ailment was a national distraction known as the burlesque show, consisting of a coterie of rough-and-tumble comedians supported by twenty or more chorus girls. Some were pretty, others shopworn. Some of the comedians were funny, most of the shows were smutty harem comedies - coarse and cynical affairs (Charles Chaplin My Autobiography: 125-6).
In the 1930s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows led to their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the strip tease. The end of burlesque and the birth of striptease was later dramatised in the entertaining film The Night They Raided Minsky's.

Neo-Burlesque

A revival/updating of the traditional burlesque performance. The Neo-Burlesque (or "new burlesque") revival brings burlesque into the 21st century. Though based on the traditional Burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; Neo-burlesque acts can be anything from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem. As with the earlier burlesque, neo-burlesque is more focused on the "tease" in "striptease" than the "strip." Audiences for neo-burlesque shows tend to be mixed; men, women, straight, gay, and everything in between.

Source: wikipedia.org


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