Just because the movie Burlesque is now on the big screen, doesn’t mean the art of striptease will make a comeback. In fact, burlesque has been growing in popularity for a long time. “The movie has sparked mainstream interest,” says Cleveland burlesque performer Danielle Squeal. “But burlesque has been an underground phenomenon on the East and West coasts for years — and it’s starting to catch on here.”
Tempest Storm, Lili St. Cyr, and now Dita Von Teese have all helped the popularity of burlesque rise in the United States. Take a look at the Striptease Timeline.

In other news …

The Bada Bing Babes bring burlesque back to Jacksonville, Florida.

Didn’t like Burlesque? BlogHer offers six alternatives for your Cher, Christina, musical theater fix.

The L.A. Times looks at the opening weekend box office figures for Burlesque and says it’s “not an unmitigated disaster, but hardly a blockbuster success either.”

–Maryam, The Candy Pitch, 11.29.10