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

The Burlesque Voice Offstage: Power and Manipulation

The “voice” of the burlesque dancer has taken many forms throughout the years. Dancers had a voice through interviews that were published in newspapers as well as in photographs and how they were portrayed in the media. Others had little control as they were topics of uncensored gossip columns and their images were manipulated through captions and subtext. Well known Burlesque theatre managers and entrepreneurs such as Rose La Rose, Lillian Hunt, and Jennie Lee had extremely powerful voices in newspapers and interviews as well as had strong relations with the media and press. On the other hand, lesser known dancers had little to no voice off stage. Their stories exist in anonymous individual interviews or gossip columns and pictures in popular magazines. Through these findings, it seems that burlesque dancers had to find their “voice” in a variety of ways and depending on their connections in the industry and having more leverage while creating their public image. This path explores the different ways Burlesque dancers voiced themselves off the stage and the types of power they may or may not have had. 
 

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