Spectacles of Agency and Desire: Dance Histories and the Burlesque Stage

Dita Von Teese

Dita Von Teese was born Heather Renee Sweet on September 28, 1972, in Rochester, Michigan. Her father was a machinist and her mother was a manicurist, and she had one older and one younger sister. Dita became fascinated from an early age with lingerie after looking through her father’s copies of Playboy, and was apparently very disappointed when her mother gave her a plain white bra and a small egg of panty hose when she was old enough. She always knew she wanted something more. By age 15, she was working in a lingerie store where she felt comfortable, and was able to explore the world of sexual expression for women. She still felt something was missing however, and eventually wandered into a fetish store and discovered the corset. This changed her entire career. Having an interest in costuming and 1940’s era cinema, Dita studied historic costuming in college, aspiring to work as a stylist in period films. Her studies in film eventually helped her in designing her own shows and wardrobe as a burlesque performer, as she takes control of lighting, making and clothing in everything she does, a self-made woman. By the early 1990s, Dita was performing her own shows in strip clubs to a primarily male audience, one she thought of as old-timers from the era of Bettie Page, or fetishists, interested in seeing her corsetry, opera length gloves, and stocking-clad legs. She built a reputation for her mystique, as she was always covered up in ways not custom in a strip joint. She also exuded elegance and grace, which she attributes to her training in classical ballet from an early age. Her older sister Jena got into pinup and burlesque alongside Dita for a period of time, also inspired by the glamour and scenes of the 1940s and 1950s, though not as seriously as Dita, leaving the scene to pursue family life.
Dita’s unique look, with dyed blue-black hair, and distinct costuming set her apart from her peers and her popularity skyrocketed around 1995. She started touring and expanded her performances, developing new routines and borrowing from historic burlesque with fan dances, male drag, fetish play, and bathing scenes, such as her iconic martini glass act. She is now seen at red carpet events, performing all over the world and starring in shows, movies, and music videos. In 2005, she married rocker Marilyn Manson, whom she divorced two years later, citing irreconcilable differences.
Currently, Dita is working on promoting her own lingerie brand, fragrances, and books, with her newest edition Your Beauty Mark, coming out in December 2015. It is a beauty and glamour book, a tell-all of Dita’s beauty secrets and inspirations, with tutorials and photos of the star throughout her career. She also is an advocate for equal rights, and the fight against AIDS and HIV, having appeared in campaigns with MAC and H&M in this fight. Her status as a burlesque star and modern-day feminist has also garnered her an invitation to speak at the Oxford Student Union, where other speakers have included the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Tony Blair, and Anna Wintour.
Dita is considered the most popular burlesque star of the current era, deemed responsible for bringing about neoburlesque and reviving the art form. A self-proclaimed feminist, Dita feels that her role in burlesque and fetishism is about confidence and self-expression, owning your allure and sexuality for yourself. She’s not afraid to claim to be seductive or provocative, but revels in the praise and confidence it gives her. In an interview with fashion icon Betony Vernon, Dita said, “I think what’s important to sex appeal is confidence, and I think that fashion and the way we choose to dress ourselves, our drag, with makeup, hair, clothes -- we transform ourselves -- is what makes us feel confident. I equate sensuality with fashion.”
Works Cited:

Dita Von Teese. "Interview with Betony Vernon." Vogue. (2011). YouTube.

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