New Wave of Old Burlesque

"IT ISN'T STRIPPING," says Dulce de Leche. "It's classic striptease." The new wave of old burlesque, that is. De Leche is the "stage kitten"-- the glam hostess and ringmistress -- of "This Is Burlesque," a Valentine's Day celebration of va-va-voom coming to the Birchmere on Valentine's Day.

"Burlesque hearkens back to old-school vaudeville," says De Leche. "There's a lot of humor. It's tongue-in-cheek." For classic cheesecake, the World Famous Pontani Sisters deliver with a cherry on top. Cabaret cutie Melody Sweets sings songs of lust. There are the 40 hula hoops of Miss Saturn and comedy from "the hardest-working middle-aged man in showbiz," Murray Hill. One other key fact: "The girls go down to pasties." And so, in our porny plasticine world, it has come to this: More is less.

"When I first went to burlesque shows, it was so empowering," says de Leche. "It was women of all shapes and sizes up onstage, owning it. They were so sexy."

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