Wasabassco Burlesque | Brooklyn · USA

Peekaboo Pointe, "The Fastest Tassel-Twirler from East to West," has graced the stage of nearly every burlesque show in NYC and throughout the globe on her continuing mission of "Seducing the World, One Stage at a Time.". Peekaboo started out as a classically trained modern dancer studying under Bill T. Jones, Mark Morris Dance Group and more, eventually applying her extensive knowledge of dance to the nightlife of New York City and turned it into striptease gold. She embodies classic burlesque glamour, but can't resist throwing a little seductive shock into each of her performances.

1) How did you choose your name? I thought I was only going to do one show when I started and I did the whole show on ballet pointe shoes...After a few months and a bunch of shows later...I realized that doing all my shows on pointe was too limiting, but I had already gotten too much press to change it, so I had stick with it. And the Peekaboo part...well, that's just cute!

2) What inspires you? Life inspires me. Dance. the 70s. I can be inspired by absolutly anything, from a moment on the subway to the way my kitchen smells when I'm cooking. I like to create a feeling in my performances.

3) What makes you unique as a performer? I strive to be authentic in my sensuality. I like to turn my audience on the way I want to be turned on...I like to play with them. I also use a lot of stillness in my performances and use my energy to captivate my audience with my eyes.

4) Which of your acts is your current favorite? That's a hard question. My work vary's so much and I have an act for every type of mood I'm in. I guess I'm really enjoying the two newest ones because they are still in the process of finding their voice onstage. It's nice when they're new becasue there's a lot of room for play in the choreography. They're still growing! So, that would be "Snow Queen" and the unnamed Beaded Costume Act.

5) How did you first come to be associated with Wasabassco? I was in the first ever show, and I headlined your second show!

6) If you weren’t a burlesque performer, what else do you see yourself doing? I'm pretty sure I'd be choreographing something. That's what I have a degree in. If I wasn't doing any type of performance...I'd be cooking!

7) What’s the oddest audience you’ve performed for? I worked a swingers party... the orgy that was happening in front of stage stopped, watched my performance, clapped and cheered and then went back to their orgy!

8) What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about yourself by doing burlesque? I'm way more comfortable onstage than off.

9) What’s your favorite style of underwear? in real life or stage??? stage: as tiny as possible! real life: I'm a full back comfy kinda girl.

10) How do you like to spend your day off? cooking, and listening to music

11) As a performer what one item can you not live without? shoes

12) What’s your least favorite part of doing burlesque? Since this is my full time job, I'd defiently have to say dealing with the business side of it! I'd rather just perform and not have to think of anything else!

13) Where would you like to perform that you’ve not yet had the chance? Japan and Brazil

14) Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? Yup. They're $15 rubber black heels...I wear them in almost every performance. It'll be a sad day when they die. I'm sure that I won't be able to find them again.

15) What would people be surprised to know about you? I'm really shy.

Medianoche has been described as appearing in the New York City burlesque scene "out of nowhere, fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus". Born and raised in southern Spain, trained in flamenco and tango dance -- she brings a distinctly European je ne sais quoi to venues as varied as Duane Park, Morningside Church, Highline Ballroom, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Tribeca Grand Hotel, as well as being a regular performer with Wasabassco Burlesque. Although always at her best when emerging from Isis wings, rhinestoned flower petals, or her signature red pheasant feathers, Medianoche also dances Argentine tango professionally in theaters and ballrooms in New York and Philadelphia.

Medianoche has toured with the World Famous Pontani Sisters and has charmed audiences in New Orleans and Texas as part of Dita von Teese's Strip Strip Hooray! cast. She has competed for the Queen of Burlesque title in the New Orleans Burlesque Festival and will be performing as part of the Viva Las Vegas showcase in April 2012.

1) How did you choose your name? I've always been an illustrator. Long before I knew what burlesque was, I had started drawing an entirely random character named Medianoche... she was a glamorous little lady, with fingerwaves in her hair, sequined gowns, and satin opera gloves. A couple of years later when I decided to venture into burlesque, becoming Medianoche seemed an obvious choice -- even though I have no idea where she came from!

2) What inspires you? Everything. Seriously -- music, color, other performers, food, fancy liquor bottles, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, comic book art, 1950s fashion art, turn-of-the-century medical posters, old Disney movies, Altoids tins, chocolate wrappers, unsuspecting shrubbery... lately it's been architecture, specifically that of southern Spain.

3) What makes you unique as a performer? I'm ridiculously demanding with myself. I feel that there's always more I could be doing! I also feel that most (if not all) of my performances are driven by musicality -- I have a very specific way of listening to music. Thirdly, of course, there's the rhinestone addiction... I like to sparkle!

4) Which of your acts is your current favorite? My new Granada act. Though it still doesn't have a set piece of music, it definitely has a set "feeling" and persona attached to it, which I love! I wanted to put together something very old-school bump-and-grind with a definite Spanish flair, and this is definitely working both those aspects. It was also a challenge in making something spectacular in orange and brown -- colors I don't normally even like!

5) How did you first come to be associated with Wasabassco? We're not really sure. I was looking for producers and I think we both e-mailed each other out of the blue... I first did a small gig at Affaire in the east village. The rest is, of course, history.

6) If you weren't a burlesque performer, what else do you see yourself doing? I'd love to do children's illustration again. There's a definite wonder and lack of bullshit in the way kids look at the world that I absolutely love. So obviously it's that, or knot theory.

7) What's the oddest audience you've performed for? It's always a little strange when I'm asked to make things "PG", but not quite as strange as when there's children in the room at a regular show. I recently performed at a restaurant with a live band... it was a floor show, and as I was first shimmying around the room I happened to stop at a table with two adorable girl toddlers sitting with their mouths wide open. Their parents took it well... "Look sweetie, a dancer! You're a dancer too!"

8) What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself by doing burlesque? That I adore being on a stage. I used to be a pretty shy girl with a very thick shell, and it really was burlesque that ushered me out of that, out of my clothing, and into a whole new way of thinking.

9) What's your favorite style of underwear? Big high-waisted panties!! Preferably sheer, just to create added confusion. That, or tiny G-strings -- but they're somehow not as satisfying to wear!

10) How do you like to spend your day off? The what what? I don't get those. If anything, half-days off... in which case I try to do as little as possible. Mornings off I make myself sleep a full eleven hours, then pancakes; afternoons off maybe a movie and tasty lunch; evenings off a nice dinner out and too much sake. It's a possibility my days off are typified by a significant food intake!

11) As a performer what one item can you not live without? An audience. Or possibly hair rollers. My hair is so awkward without them!

12) What's your least favorite part of doing burlesque? The commute has to be way up there on the list. I have incredibly bad luck with trains and I routinely leave the house without the most essential items (Oh look I have everything! Except my g-string!) -- so spending all that time on the subway and walking back and forth from the Noche base camp isn't a highlight... on the plus side I get to people-watch on the train. And that's always a whole different kind of fun.

13) Where would you like to perform that you've not yet had the chance? I'd love to perform anywhere in Europe, preferably my native Spain. I'm really looking forward to going back there someday soon and inviting everyone I grew up with to a show. There's hardly any burlesque in the whole country, so I'd love to change their minds about it!

14) Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? I'd have to say my ruffly blue rhinestoned ones I use with my Peacock act. They've got lovely comfortable proportions (I really can't live without ankle straps!) and they're so sparkly, I like to think they make the world a better place. That said, I'm pretty sure objects have feelings too and as such all my shoes deserve to be my favorite. Even the not-so-pretty ones.

15) What would people be surprised to know about you? A lot of people still don't believe I grew up in Spain... but it's the truth, not a gimmick! Also? I'm a pretty huge dork.

Comedic and classy burlesque dancer Sapphire Jones has been performing since 2008. A mainstay of the Wasabassco family, Sapphire is the host of Wasabassco's Monthly Saturday night show at Brooklyn's Union Hall where she simultaneously entrances audiences with stunning striptease and regals them with tales of reality television. Possessing of an absurdly ridiculous sense of humor, a brilliant mind and an exquisite body Sapphire balances gracefully between extremes. Her tag lines range as much as her acts do, from the absurd comedy of "the Erotic Beanpole" to the classic beauty of "The Shinning Jewel of Burlesque".

1) How did you choose your name? Literally while I was cocktail waitressing, because clearly I did not want that job at all. I really liked the last name Jones and kept trying to figure out what would go well with it. My friend Kitty...real last name Chanel (so how could I not take name advice from her!)... suggested Sapphire because it was sparkly and beautiful. I was sold cause I thought Sapphire Jones sounded like the burlesque Oprah!

2) What inspires you? I'm inspired by colors, music, movie musicals, Nasty Canasta, the muppets, Toddlers and Tiaras, Amy Poehler, Ann Miller, Audrey Hepburn, movies written before 1994, my family, Beau, and every pun I can think of. I have periods of being really obsessed with certain things. There will be whole streaks of purely classical numbers just because I have been reading "Pretty Things" and then it will turn into slapstick comedy because I watched Singing in the Rain. Now I'm trying to figure out how to make "The Hunger Games" into an act!

3) What makes you unique as a performer? I think that my ability to somehow make things that are really stupid sexy is what makes me unique. I also feel I may have more knowledge of reality TV shows than most burlesque performers! Not necessarily a source of pride, but excellent for when I host!

4) Which of your acts is your current favorite? I'm really digging "F*ck You" right now. Probably because I got to dance with the amazing Outer Borough Brass Band playing and Broadway Brassy singing. God, it was amazing to be able to really shake it with those brass horns blaring behind you. I also just think it is a number that describes what I usually feel- happiness, with a middle finger thrown in for good measure.

5) How did you first come to be associated with Wasabassco? I was performing at Public Assembly and Doc came back stage to talk to me. It was a very weird moment because he was complimenting me, which was great, but I was also pretty much naked and had no idea who he was, so there was that element of "should I punch this guy in the face?" In the end, he really lived up to the amazing producer he was and put me in a show with Tigger! and Dirty Martini. It has been a match made in crazy heaven ever since.

6) If you weren't a burlesque performer, what else do you see yourself doing? I seriously want to host a morning talk program. I want to be Kathy Lee, Regis Philbin, and Wendy Williams, only with more booze and nudity.

7) What's the oddest audience you've performed for? Philadelphia...everyone was talking to each other and just taping our performances on I-Phones...what were they going to do, watch them later? Ugh, I hate when people don't truly experience live theater. Watch my ass live, people...it's way better in person!

8) What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself by doing burlesque? I'm surprisingly prudish for burlesque! I probably blush more than I ever thought I would :)

9) What's your favorite style of underwear? Why, the "World's Tiniest G-String" of course!

10) How do you like to spend your day off? Okay, sleep in a little bit. Get up and grab a delicious latte. Walk my gorgeous pup for as long as he wants. Come home and catch up on mindless television and blogs. Workout. Take myself out to lunch at Cafe Mogador, order a giant pot of tea, eat and read to my heart's content. General chill vibe for the whole day. At night, I make an amazing dinner with Mancandy, white wine is a must. I take a bath, snuggle with the pup and man, go to sleep early. Bam, perfect day!

11) As a performer what one item can you not live without? Black eyeliner.

12) What's your least favorite part of doing burlesque? Late nights...I'm really a morning person masked as a night person. I used to get up at 7am everyday and workout, and start my day all peppy. I still am not a fan of waking up super late, so I just end up tired! Sigh.

13) Where would you like to perform that you've not yet had the chance? In the theater that will be Doc Wasabassco's one day! Fingers crossed.

14) Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? I only perform in a couple pair, but my favorite are my old choir shoes which I bedazzled myself. They are character shoes that I danced in when I did show choir in high school and they brought me success then, and still do now. I just added about a million rhinestones to them to make them BURLESQUE-ish.

15) What would people be surprised to know about you? Uggh...I'm such an open book...hmmm, what would people be surprised to know about me? Well, I guess some people know this, but I have a very large obsession with Neil Patrick Harris...TV's Doogie Howser. I saw him in RENT when I was in 8th grade and began a long, unrequited journey of love! I have had several chances to meet him and have never been able to just tap him on the shoulder and tell him I adore him, in a "love from afar" sort of way!

Internationally-renowned artstar (and reigning Cheese Queen of Coney Island) Nasty Canasta is frequently hailed as a genius of the neo-burlesque scene. A "burlesque queen" (The NY Times), 2nd Runner Up at the 2010 Miss Exotic World Pageant, and "Brooklyn's greatest burlesque star" (The Brooklyn Paper), Nasty is host and producer of Naked Girls Reading NYC - "New York's Best Story Hour," (The Village Voice) - the impresario behind Sweet & Nasty Burlesque, and was an original co-creator of Pinchbottom Burlesque ("Best Burlesque in NYC" - NY Magazine, "Most Innovative" - Burlesque Hall of Fame).

1) How did you choose your name? It's actually the name of a Chuck Jones cartoon character from the 1950's - he's a giant, surly Western outlaw with permanent five o'clock shadow and a whiskey habit. All in all fairly appropriate, I think.

2) What inspires you? I'm a bit schizophrenic as far as inspiration and influences: I love random 70's tv theme songs, bad puns, and obscure science fiction. Sometimes an object on the street catches my eye, or a distracting noise outside ends up as the soundtrack for an act. Often I just get obsessed with the idea of being something totally stupid and completely non-sexy - a lamp, a sandwich, a marshmallow Peep - and I have to turn it into a striptease. It's burlesque OCD.

3) What makes you unique as a performer? I have a particularly absurdist view of the world that tends to come out onstage (which is a polite way of saying that I'm kind of a wiseass). A lot of my acts deliberately play with elements of traditional burlesque in unexpected ways... also I'm generally not afraid of looking unladylike, which is wonderfully freeing.

4) Which of your acts is your current favorite? My Cyberman grinder girl act! I just debuted it at the Wasabassco 7th Anniversary show - it went over even better than I hoped, and it was ridiculously fun to perform. The costume needs some welding repairs (we should all have problems like this ... ) and I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to perform it next in a big enough space, but I can't wait to do it again. Usually my favorite acts are whichever ones I haven't gotten to do for a while, for whatever reason - too messy, too naked, too weird - so they don't get taken out often.

5) How did you first come to be associated with Wasabassco? It was the artwork that did it! I saw the posters for the first Wasabassco show - at the time I didn't know and I was like, here's these people doing a huge show full of incredible performers, and the art on the posters is fabulous. I contacted them and was booked to do a couple of acts in their second show. I'd only been performing for about a year and a half, and I'm still not sure why they decided to book me, but it seems to be working out okay ...

6) If you weren't a burlesque performer, what else do you see yourself doing? I left legit theater for burlesque about 7 years ago; I wouldn't go back to it now, but if I'd never found burlesque in the first place I'd probably still be doing horrible embarrassing off-off-off-Broadway experimental Shakespeare and temping in hospital offices on the Upper East Side and bursting into tears every morning the second the alarm went off. These days, though, if I ever decide to put my clothes back on for good I'll probably move full-time into costume design & sewing.

7) What's the oddest audience you've performed for? About six years ago I did a show in an all-ages club in suburban New Jersey. The audience was mostly 16-year-olds - boys and girls - and they were honestly for the most part pretty fabulous. Especially the girls.

8) What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself by doing burlesque? I've discovered a fearlessness that I didn't know I had. If it's well-crafted and justified artistically or comedically, I'll do pretty much anything onstage, regardless of how stupid I end up looking or how challenging the performance may be to an audience. I never tended to be that way in my offstage life - although happily I'm noticing it creeping in other places. Just like the glitter.

9) What's your favorite style of underwear? None? I'm not a big fan of underwear in Real Life ... or onstage, for that matter. When I absolutely have to cover up, I usually do so in the most abbreviated manner possible.

10) How do you like to spend your day off? In Brooklyn, in sneakers, and incognito. Days off mean days off-duty!

11) As a performer what one item can you not live without? It's incredibly un-glamorous, but I would be lost without Ziploc baggies. Between packing & unpacking four or five times a week, keeping straight four different numbers at three different shows in the same night, and storing all this stuff in a NYC apartment in between, I'd be useless without the damn things. Sometimes I buy things just for the storage bags they come in. The upside of this is that I now I have a costume built out of a giant Ziploc bag ... which gets folded up and stored in a slightly-smaller Ziploc bag. I suspect I have a problem.

12) What's your least favorite part of doing burlesque? It's probably a particular function of performing in NYC, but the schlepping gets tough: huge bags, no cars, lots of stairs and subways. Add in snow and 3am gigs and some days you feel like a very-overdressed pack mule.

13) Where would you like to perform that you've not yet had the chance? The supper club at the Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City (or really, anywhere on the boardwalk in AC: it's one of my favorite places in the world).

14) Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? Probably a 3-way tie between the thigh-high leopard platform boots, the red patent ballet boots (which are surprisingly comfortable, I've discovered) and my good old battered black 6-inch stiletto stripper heels. (Actually, no, those are definitely my favorites. I bought my first pair in Vegas in 2006 and it took half a year to lear how to walk in them, and now they're like wearing sneakers. I've been through 6 pairs in 3 different colors; when I heard the company was closing down I stockpiled another 4. I don't know what I'm going to do when I wear through the last pair. Cry and learn cobblery, probably.)

15) What would people be surprised to know about you? I'm terrified of robots. And I can sign my name with my butt.

Kita St. Cyr spent much of her youth following her salsa instructor mother to latin dance venues around the city where she discovered her love of dance, and learned from a very young age the transcendent qualities of music and rhythm. As a teenager she would discover a love of costuming and retro pinup, which lead her to pursue a degree in Fashion Design. She now combines those three passions on stage as the co producer and costumer of the Rhinestone Follies. Kita has been seen at Le Poisson Rouge, Coney Island, The Slipper Room, City Winery and The Bell House, and in shows including Wasabassco Burlesque, Psychobilly Luau and the New York Burlesque Festival. The Caramel Cutie with the Booty. The Tropical Sensation That's Sweeping the Nation! Your Dream Wahine, Kita St. Cyr!

1) How did you choose your name? A Facebook quiz. I was modeling under another name at the time, and decided I wanted to rebrand myself in a more 1950s style, so I took a "Which Pinup Girl Are You?" quiz on Facebook and got Lili St. Cyr. I thought it was kind of funny at the time because she was this very elegant, smooth moving, graceful woman, and I was a gawky spazcake of a kid. It's a pretty lame way of picking a name, and I wouldn't recommend it, but it worked out for me. Over time I've grown into the graceful persona and now I try to project Lili's elegance.

2) What inspires you? Movie musicals and images of classic performers, Ziegfeld Follies, anything involving Busby Berkley, early 20th century cooch shows, the circus, Japanese pop groups, Polynesian dancers, Debra Paget, and all kinds of music from big band to classic salsa to cambodian psych rock. When I'm really starving for inspiration, nothing puts me back on track like a trip to the museum.

3) What makes you unique as a performer? The fact that I'm never satisfied with what I do has really helped me grow as a performer. Also, the fact that I draw inspiration from so many different, random, seemingly not related places has influenced my performance style.

4) Which of your acts is currently your favorite? My new tiki mug act! I get on stage in this exotic animal print costume dripping in feathers, crystals and sequins, and dance around this giant tiki mug. At the end of the act I bathe inside it using rum and a giant pineapple slice sponge. It's kind of my take on the martini glass.

5) How did you first come to be associated with Wasabassco? On my 21st birthday I dragged all my friends out to Public Assembly for Monday Night Burlesque. I was hooked and started coming out to catch the show every week! Then one day Doc was like "Do I know you? Are you a performer?" I wasn't, but I started taking burlesque classes and stayed in touch. I ended up selling pasties at the next anniversary show, and then stage kittening at some shows and eventually performing regularly! It's been a fun ride. I'm thrilled to be a part of the Wasabassco family.

6) If you weren't a burlesque performer, what else do you see yourself doing? I've got a Fashion Design degree, and I do a lot of bouncing between fashion and graphic design. I'm hoping to do some DJing somewhere down the road.

7) What's the oddest audience you've performed for? I once performed in a Jamba Juice in Times Square to a crowd of tourists. It was for a radio show that broadcasts there - they also have a live webcam setup. Anyway, I performed Boston style [a.k.a. "family friendly"] versions of 2 of my acts, and then we brought in an old Russian tourist who spoke pretty much no english and we all danced around to Lady Gaga. I'm pretty sure that's among the more bizarre moments of my life.

8) What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself by doing burlesque? I've learned that I really like women! No, I don't mean like *that* ;) I mean I never had many female friends before getting into burlesque, but since I've started performing I've gotten the opportunity to meet so many smart, strong, lovable ladies who inspire me. I'm proud to call them my friends.

9) What's your favorite style of underwear? I really like strappy underwear in interesting shapes! Also, I have a weakness for anything with a high waist.

10) How do you like to spend your day off? A trip to the museum during the day. Red wine, tiramisu and a bubble bath at night. Bonus points if there's a hot guy reading me Pablo Neruda while that happens. Simple pleasures.

11) As a performer what one item can't you live without? Rhinestones. Want to take an everyday item and make it into a prop? Toss some rhinestones on it. Got a cute pair of lace panties that you think the world should see? Rhinestone 'em. A few crystals does not a costume make, but it sure helps in the process.

12) What's your least favorite part of doing burlesque? The stigma/general misunderstanding of what burlesque is. I've had people ask me if burlesque is porn. Most people think I'm a strip club stripper. Of course thanks to that fantastic movie, now there's the opposite end of that coin where I tell people I'm a burlesque performer and they think I'm a singer. I'd compare what we do more to Lido or Jubilee than Scores, and I'm definately no Cher. The fun part about all that is that I can usually convince those people to come out to a show so they can understand what burlesque actually is. They love it!

13) Where would you like to perform that you've not yet had the chance? Radio City Music Hall! As far as burlesque venues are concerned, I'd love to perform on stage at the Orleans in Las Vegas. Hello, elevating platform and amazing lighting set up.

14) Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? This new pair of shoes I'm working on! They're covered in appliques and crystals, so they're super sparkly, but they're also really comfy and easy to move in.

15) What would people be surprised to know about you? I'm Puerto Rican and German! I don't know if that's actually surprising, but people are always asking about my ethnicity and seem genuinely surprised when I tell them the answer.