Vegas or Bust!

Perhaps it should be Vegas and bust because we're a little over a week away from Exotic World Weekend. Each June the burlesque hall of fame hosts a striptease reunion and the Miss Exotic World Burlesque Pageant. The weekend brings together both former dancers like Exotic World curator Dixie Evans who used to perform as "The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque" and Tempest Storm as well as neo-burlesquers like the reigning Miss Exotic World, Miss Julie Atlas Muz.

This year's festivities, which kick of June 8, get an extra shimmy of fun. It's the 50th anniversary of the striptease reunion and Exotic World is going all out. The fun starts Friday with a world record attempt as dancers stretch “The World’s Longest Boa”— just over 1/2 mile long — across Fremont Street. But things really heat up Saturday night during the Miss Exotic World Burlesque Pageant. The competition draws a wide range of dancers performing everything from the elegant, ballet-inspired striptease to fire-eating, circus-caliber hula-hooping.

Head here for tickets or stay tuned to The Candy Pitch. We're heading to Vegas with a small cadre of volunteers in order to bring you the low down on the down and dirty.

Video Of The Week

All The News That's Fit To Strip

Leonard Nimoy's on a mission. This one doesn't involve starships or William Shatner. The former Star Trek star is using photography to advocate for size acceptance. This weekend the New York Times talked to Nimoy about The Full Body Project, the actor/photographer's book slated for release in November. What the article didn't mention is that Nimoy's models are from the burlesque troupe Fat Bottom Review.

Sophia Lauren promised to perform a striptease if her soccer team wins.

The taxman comes after fans of of striptease in Norway in the never-ending debate about whether striptease is art or not.

Burlypedia: Lydia Thompson and the British Blondes

In the late 1860s Lydia Thompson and her British Blondes introduced burlesque to Americans. The troupe's first show was Ixion, a mythological spoof that had the performers playing men's roles in tights and what were then considered skimpy costumes. In an age when women hid their figures underneath bustles and big skirts, the British Blondes scandalized Americans and sold out theaters. Now, they look overdressed.

Video of the Week

The Candy Pitch dishes up a sweet Candy Barr.

When They Dance

New York's Little Charlie's Clam Bar in Littly Italy gets a makeover courtesy of Sting and Bowie. The rock stars are turning the 5,500 square foot club into a burlesque nightclub, a third Forty Deuce. It only seems appropriate since the mini-franchise, with clubs in L.A. and Vegas, was originally named for 42nd Street.

So what will the NY club entail? According to Ivan Kane's web site: "This intimate, exclusive, back-alley club comes replete with velvet rope and gorgeous people. At Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce New York Nightclub, you'll find the naughty yet sophisticated atmosphere of old-school striptease joints. Watch as gifted burlesque dancers sashay down the bar in front of the legendary curtain of pearls. It's dirty-cool..."

Along with fan dancers and shimmy queens, expect some fun celebrity sightings. George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mick Jagger were all spotted at the L.A. club.

Burlypedia: The Candy Pitch

So what is the candy pitch? Well, in burlesque theaters it was the spiel the candy butcher would use to hock his tasty treats and delectable confections in between acts as he walked up and down the aisles. Besides promising a prize in every box, he would offer a salacious preview of the next act.

Here, it's a sweet morsel of burlesque news.