Burlesque is suddenly everywhere. Regular nights. Troupes. Classes. A trend? A scene? If so…is having pretty dames take their costumes off on stage with a feminist flillip a problem? Whether it’s here to stay or as evanescent as the pohutakawa blooms, it’s the perfect antidote for Wellington’s seriousness and New Zealand’s bloke overdose.

This December, it’s the pantomime for adults, with events all around town. There’s Caburlesque on the 17th at The Watusi, and a high level of the sweet-and-low-down at Venus Starr’s Carousel cabaret night at Estadio. At last week’s Carousel cabaret, we were all enchanted by Busty la Belle and Rachel Rouge teaming up for a sparkling, sensuous butterfly girl dance, and by the pale-and dark, deeply striking Avian Belle – a Bill Hammond painting brought to life and made sexy.

Alas, burlesque nights may be choking a bit on their own popularity. Word on the street is, if you want to actually see the dancers, you need to get to venues early or reserve seating. And remember your manners. The saddest sights at burlesque nights are couples out for a “date night” who thought going to the burlesque would be cute and showed up in their jeans and polarfleece. Then the guys visibly salivate over Women Not Their Dates, and the gals are painfully conscious of this: you can see them either crumpling in their seats or Waiting Until They Get Home to erupt.  So if you go, dress up, save your drool for the dames onstage, and dance with the girl that brung you.

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