From the Vault: Feather Fan Dance

Here’s one from the early 2000s, a fan dance with my red crystal costume by Catherine D’Lish.

I remember I was gifted these red fans by a performer named Toni Alessandrini, who, in 1991, won the title of Miss Exotic World (now known as the Burlesque Hall of Fame/Queen of Burlesque) and also famously played the stripper Desiree in Bachelor Party with Tom Hanks. I remember around that time, Dixie Evans of Exotic World was asking me to compete in the Miss Exotic World pageant, and Toni coming over to my house and gifting me these fans and several other costumes seemed to be part of the campaign to get me out there…. I can‘t be sure, but it seemed that way! I have never liked competitions, but I was considering, but I remember being afraid to compete against Catherine D’Lish going for another win. She was always THE BEST! I hadn’t met her yet; this was the 90s when I only knew Dixie, and Toni. I also remember Dixie coaching me on the phone for feather fan dancing with my first fans, which were pink. I think we have a very poor typically early 90s video of that in the vault to extract as well. I called Dixie because I didn't have ANYTHING to reference fir feather fan dancing, just photos of Sally Rand, but no video at all. Dixie told me “the feather fans are your WINGS! Just fly with them!!” And so I did my best, until later when someone gave me a VHS tape with Sally Rand dancing on them. I still have those tapes with all kinds of clips of her and Lili St Cyr. Catherine, of course, helped me up my fan dancing game once we met in 2000, and she‘s still the one to coach me when I need it, usually based on the various feather fan innovations she has created over the years for me.

Oh if you don't know Dixie Evans, please google her. She was a great lady, and I was fortunate to know her, and a few of the true legends from the burlesque era of the 1940s and 50s.