Berlesker: Handcrafted Literary Journal vol II | Page 22

Hanson’s Drugstore was right around the corner, and we would all have coffee there in Hanson’s, the comics and
the dancers. The comics would all brag about getting $5,000 for this show here and $3,000 for another, but we girls
would always pick up the checks, and we would laugh about it.

Do you think burlesque can continue to exist when today not only do performers compete with television & radio, but also full strip clubs that serve up titillation in another form:
I do worry about this a lot; there is so much competition. There is also such a blur between the dancers of gentleman’s clubs and the strip tease dancers. The strip tease dancer is special and unique. Some people will say, “Oh well,
she has an awful lot of costume on. I can see a lot more.” It’s a blurry thing. We are a trend right now, but I think
with girls as talented as you and some of the others, we will keep [burlesque] alive. I am shocked when I see some
of these girls’ imaginations and the acts that they come up with.