A Sneak Peek at our featured performer: JEZEBEL EXPRESS

Well, if you arent shaking it with us Wed. nights at the Delancey, you certainly are missing out on quite a summer. Join us this week when we featured the sizzling hot JEZEBEL EXPRESS with special guests Mary Cyn of Original Cyn Burlesque and Vena Von Cava from Dead Bunnies Burlesque and the House of Yes. Lucille Ti Amore shakes it on the gogo box and Sincerely Yours offers up a special Shaken and STirred debut. As always, brought to you by Team Shaken and Stirred: DJ Jess, Scooter Pie and RunAround Sue. No cover for the show and free huckleberry Vodka shots served after burlesque sets. Win a pair of pasties and an exclusive DJ Jess Shaken and Stirred Mix in our weekly raffle. Upstairs pre-show the Delancey is running a 5$ Roof top Cook Out. Bring your friends, your lovers and everyone in between.

And now - on to the peaking!

Jezebel Express


1. What does Burlesque mean to you?

I tell students that burlesque is theatrical striptease that often incorporates elements of parody, satire or political/ cultural commentary. That's a good definition for beginners, but burlesque means and has meant a variety of things in different places and at different times. What "counts" as good burlesque in LA isn't the same as in New York or Chicago or Toronto, and burlesque as a performance of sexuality is obviously not the same beast in 2011 as it was in 1950, or in 1868.


All of this is sort of a roundabout way of saying that I don't think defining burlesque strictly or clearly is important. Doing burlesque, and doing it with love and respect for the form and for yourself as an artist, is important.


(That said: "Yes, Virginia, you have to take your clothes off." That comes with respecting the form, and not just slapping the word "burlesque" on your cabaret/ aerobics class/ synchronized water ballet because you happen to own a corset and pair of stripey tights.)


As far as what burlesque means to me personally, I don't think it's overstating the case to say that these people are my family. Burlesque is my home.



2. How did you choose your name?

I love Scrabble and I've won many a challenge playing the word "Jezebel". (People think it's a proper noun, as in the biblical Jezebel, but it's also a word for "loose woman".) When I started burlesquing in 2003, I couldn't find anyone else who was using that name, so I went by Miss Jezebel for awhile. I was the only person doing burlesque in my city, so there was no danger of being mistaken for anyone else. A few years later, when I had a troupe and a school, one of my students found the name "Madame Chairwoman Pantiesparkle Express" with an online burlesque name generator, and we laughed about how ridiculous it was until I realized that Jezebel Express sounded fantastic. "She's going to hell... and fast!"



3. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Jonathan Brandeis. That floppy hair! (Also, he was a very pretty girl in Ladybugs.)



4. What are you reading these days and why?

I just started reading Alberto Manguel's A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader's Reflection On A Year Of Books. Before that, I read Daniel Clowes' graphic novel David Boring, which is fantastic and which should be read by everyone. I'm also dawdling through Derrida's final interview, Learning To Live Finally, but it's making me sad, so I keep stopping and starting again.


5. What is your favorite performance antecdote?

I used to do an act to Teach Me Tiger where I was a schoolgirl with a Tony The Tiger fetish. Once, I did it at this tiny dive bar in Brooklyn with a little catwalk that served as the stage. It was about a foot off the ground, and only about two feet wide. Tiny. You were basically just performing in the corner of the room. The act is messy... it ends Flashdance-style with me leaning back in a chair and pouring a box of frosted flakes over myself. (I'd cleared it with the producer and the beefy biked bartender.)


The crowd at the place was sketchy, and included an extremely inebriated woman with two enormous German Shepherds at her feet. Every once in awhile she'd spill some beer and they'd lap it up off the floor before settling back down into the corner. I was surprised at how calm they were, given the noise, light and flying clothing. Maybe it was the beer.


Anyway, I was closing the show, and everything went smoothly until the Frosted Flake pour. I opened the box, leaned back in my chair... and as soon as the first bit of cereal hit the floor, these super-lazy (and probably drunk) dogs sprinted across the bar and started lapping the Frosted Flakes up off my naked body. I don't think I've ever gotten up out of a chair so fast!


Their owner was furious, and though she was too drunk to get up from her stool and cross the bar, she kept screaming that the cereal would make the dogs sick (as though the beer wouldn't?) and threatening to kick my ass. She tried to get the bartender to return the dogs to her, and he crossed his giant inked arms and said "No way, man. I won't even have to mop now!"


6. Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku.

Don't worry, be happy.
Also: the sky is falling!
PS: I'm bad at rules.


7. How can the people find out more about you?

You can always find me at www.jezebelexpress.com.

I'm also producing next week's Liberty Belle Spectacular, which is a huge rooftop Fourth of July party, complete with live jazz, hot burlesque, firework and dancing. So if you want to come celebrate with me, the details are at www.libertybellespectacular.com.

A Sneak Peek at our featured perfomer: NASTY CANASTA!

This wednesday we are living the good life and you, my darlings, are invited to join us. Nasty Canasta, the girl with the 44DD brain, will be showing us exactly what that means as our featured performer at Shaken and STirred. Each wednesday at The Delancey (168 Delancey St) we have the pleasure of dancing with our favorite people. Joining us in the cast as our super special guest performers are FRANNY FLUFFER and GO-GO HARDER. Revving up your engines on the gogo box is BROWN BETTY and making her Sugar Shack burlesque debut is LUCILLE TI AMORE! 3$ huckleberry vodka shots are served from 12-1 with a pre-show rooftop BBQ starting at happy hour. Join us, won't you?


And now for last week's recap, brought to you by Scooter Pie:

Wednesday night is the best night of the week. Didn't you know? "Humpday" is NOT a derogatory term. It's more like a promise.. This week I had the pure pleasure of being surrounded by a plethora of pantingly, pants-wettingly HOT performers here at Shaken & Stirred. Airin de Skies truly kept things moving as the evening's gogo sensation, Evelyn Vinyl was super gorgeous, Gal Friday tied up the night as our bootylicious caboose, and featured performer of the night Velocity Chyaldd brought the beauty.. and the blood. We had TWO bachelorette parties in the house, and I hope (and am quite sure) everyone involved had a great night (they sure offered some excellent audience participation). Join us next week early for rooftop barbecue before the show, and stick around- we've got good show for ya all the way til 2 am. Coming soon: NEW GAMES!!!


And on to the Peeking: NASTY CANASTA

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).

Nasty began her performance career as a stage actor, studying theatre and costume design at Brown University. In 2005 - after too many years of horribly embarrassing (though, fortunately, horribly-attended) off-off-off-Broadway shows - she discovered her true calling on the burlesque stage.

1. What does Burlesque mean to you?

After a lifetime in the theater, I frequently say that burlesque is the most fun I've ever had on stage, and it's true - not only because the idea of burlesque, the glamor and humor and cheekiness, is inherently fun in and of itself, but because for the first time the entirety of the performance is my own. As burlesque performers, we get to create our own acts, start-to-finish; and though the collaboration with other artists in, say, traditional theatre was always a wonderful thing to me, I always envied painters or songwriters the ability to create a piece of art that was completely their own vision.

That being said, I absolutely love the variety of acts and types of performance that are encompassed by "burlesque," and seeing and working with people from so many different artistic backgrounds is constantly inspiring to me.

But at the heart of it all: my job is to get naked and entertain people. And that's incredibly cool.


2. 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.


3. Who was your first celebrity crush?

It's a 4-way tie between Bob Barker, William Shatner, Neil Diamond and Michael York. (Wow, I'm certainly dating myself, aren't I?)


4. What are you reading these days and why?

Though I've always been more of a fiction reader, it seems I've been reading mostly non-fiction lately. I picked up the Peter Sellars biography "Mr. Strangelove," since I've always been a fan of his work and I'm a bit fascinated with the man behind it. I really enjoyed Wil Wheaton's "Memories of the Future," which is a sort of memoir of his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation (I'm a huge sci-fi geek); and I've been obsessively re-reading Dariel Fitzkee's "Showmanship for Magicians," an absolutely incredible discourse on stagecraft that applies to any sort of performer, and should be required reading for anyone who gets on the burlesque stage. (Interesting - I just realized that most of my reading lately has been by or about performers.)

Also, as the producer of the NYC branch of Naked Girls Reading, I get to look at a wide variety of sources as I'm choosing pieces for our monthly events. That's been a wonderful excuse to go back to scripts, medieval lit, comic books, and of course lots and lots of science fiction.


5. What is your favorite performance antecdote?

In 2007 I had the chance to perform at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Miss Exotic World pageant on the Strip in Las Vegas; my grandmother, who was living in LA at the time, decided to drive in and see the show. When I was studying theater in college she would send me postcards of the showgirls in Las Vegas with notes like, "You should come out here and design costumes!" It was one of the most fabulous nights of my life: doing one of my favorite acts on stage in Las Vegas for a crowd of thousands, and I swear I could see my grandmother from the stage. (She had a great time, by the way. And to this day she speaks fondly of "that sweet gentleman, Tigger," who helped her find a seat.)


6. Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku:

Breathe, have fun;
The work will get done.

7. How can the people find out more about you?

Since this is the digital age, you can always find me online at www.nastycanasta.com ... though if you *really* want to learn all about me, then check out Naked Girls Reading: I think you can find out a lot about a person by what she chooses to read naked in public!

A sneak peek at our featured performer for Shaken and Stirred: VELOCITY CHYLADD

The summer is heating up and wednesday nights at the Delancey are no exception. Each week we get a little more outrageous as we thrust oursevles into the great joy of being! Join us this week when legendary goddess of performance VELOCITY CHYLADD graces our stage as this week's featured performer at Shaken and Stirred. Our gogo sensation AIRIN DE SKIES gets the night going up on the gogo box and fellow nightlife vamps GAL FRIDAY and EVILYN VYNL add a even more decadence to an already insanely good line up! Each week hosted by our trifecta of tease: RUNAROUND SUE, SCOOTER PIE and DJ JESS. The party now goes till 2am with a pre-show roof top cookout from 7-10 and 3$ huckleberry vodka shots served from 12-1. Never a cover. Always a good time... because you deserve it <3

And now: On the the Peeking!

VELOCITY CHYALDD
(photo credit: Alex Colby)

What does Burlesque mean to you?

- An opportunity to discover myself and disappear all at the same time. -


How did you choose your name?

- It was inspired by Father and my vagina. -


Who was your first celebrity crush?

- It would have been a toss up between Bill Murray and Donna Summer. -


What are you reading these days and why?

"Delta of Venus" - by Anais Nin

"Playing the Field" - by Mamie Van Doren

and

"The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber"

I am gearing up for the next "Naked Girls Reading" ;);)


What is your favorite performance anecdote?

- While performing with my band Vulgaras some years ago at a Harlem party - Hidden Shadows - a young woman rushed the stage, dove under my skirt and performed some skillful maneuvers between my legs with her mouth. I couldn't really do much about it because of the 200 or so screaming fetish vamps watching us, eventually her boyfriend pulled her off the stage. When the show was over I noticed that my labia ring was missing. I found out later that she was a professional piercer and was wearing my ring in her tongue. -


Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku:

"Birthday of the dead, blazes a trial by fire,
Blood is lipstick red, painting the Ivory spire,
All the fears have fled, tripping the lively wire,
Laughing tears do shed, carnal dreams of desire."


7. How can the people find out more about you?

http://www.Vulgaras.net/
http://www.BadAssBurlesque.com/

Sneak Peek our featured performer: LIL MISS LIXX and a recap of last week's S&S

WOWZER! Have we got a show for you! Super hot vixen LIL MISS LIXX is our featured performer on June 8th and joining her in the line up are none other than L.A.'s own DIZZY VON DAM and NYC's beloved PINKIE SPECIAL! LUCILLE DE AMORE gets it going on the go-go box and as always, Team Sugar Shack: SCOOTER PIE, DJ JESS and RUNAROUND SUE bring you all the danceparty you can handle. Every wednesday night at the Delancey! Never a cover!~ $3 huckleberrry vodka shots served from 12-1 and pre-show rooftop cook out for 5 bucks. See you there!

Are you curious about last week? Check out what Scooter Pie had to say:

SHAKEN & STIRRED JUNE 1st!
It's June, that's right, motherhumpers, and it's as HOT onstage at the Delancey (from the talent, I mean- there IS air-conditioning) as it is outside. No, hotter. Hotter.. yes, that's about right. Foxy Vermouth set things ablaze go-go style all night. Ekaterina was super-sexy-stretchy (as always). Iris Explosion hypnotized herself AND the audience, and featured lady of the week Jazz had MOVES for miles- WOW! I presented a Glowing Cock to the lucky dance contest winner (and boy, was she happy!). Come see what all the fuss is about next week, with guaranteed good Shaken & Stirred times!

LIL MISS LIXX

What does Burlesque mean to you?

Burlesque is a sparkly, sexy, satirical story ending in a beautiful, barely clothed lady or man. It is smart and exciting with every reveal!




How did you choose your name?

Had a bunch of coworkers put a bunch of name ideas in a hat.... I took bits and pieces I liked and somehow came to Lil' Miss Lixx.




Who was your first celebrity crush?

My first celebrity crush was Jordan Catelano! Swoon! Ok.... His name is Jared Leto... I love dirty guys with dimples.




What are you reading these days and why?

Currently reading an old Nancy Drew I found on the street, "The Clue of The Tapping Heels"! Brooklyn has the best "free" boxes on the street. Scored an amazing Marlene Dietrich bio in one, I love reading showbiz biographies!





What is your favorite performance anecdote?

So many to choose from! Popping a g- string when my Dad was in the audience was pretty memorable.... Especially since it was my "Pig in Shit" number where I rub glittery chocolate pudding all over myself...

Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
If your pasties don't stick,
Use stronger glue!

7. How can the people find out more about you?

Just ask! Www.LilMissLixx.com

Sneak Peek our featured performer: JAZZ and a recap of last week's S&S

As the steamy nights of summer heat up, come join us on the dancefloor. Each week Shaken and Stirred brings together the most stunning nightlife performers offering up burlesque sets every hour from 10:30 until 2am. Gorgeous GoGo starts this week brought to you by FOXY VERMOUTH. Strutting their stuff on the stage are our featured dancer JAZZ and our very special guests IRIS EXPLOSION and EKATERINA. Each week hosted by our trifecta of tease: SCOOTER PIE, RUNAROUND SUE and DJ JESS! Never a cover, Always a good time with $3 huckleberry vodka shots served from 12-1. Wanna find out a bit more about our featured performer? Well, read on darlings:

JAZZ

How did you choose your burlesque name?

JAZZ . Jazz is not only my burlesque name but also my dancer, acting, modeling name and my brand name. My real name is Jasmin and I like to stay close to who I am. A performer on stage and off stage :) Jazz mean freedom to my and do be and transform into anything. Its like jazz music that has no limits and can go anywhere from silence to total chaos.

I chose the name . It goes very well with my persona and is short and spicy :)

Who was your first celebrity crush?

My first celebrity crush was Gene Kelly ;) much hotter and sexier than fred a. Hahah

What are you currently reading?

I wish I could read more and have to remind myself always but it is a lot of Paolo Coehelio (I misspelled this hahah) and the book is called : The witch of Portobello.

Please share one of your favorite performance anecdotes:

1) A performance anecdote of mine..
There are so many..and so many I can't even recall right now ..since I have been on stage since 27 years..OMG..I m freaking out now..hahah..
Ok..one of my faves is back in Austria , I was performing on the top of a mountain for a snowboard event ..on the actual snow ..wearing "trendy" ski suits..
First of..there is nothing trendy or cute about these giant stuffed ski suits they made us wear and we are dancing jazz/pop choreography. You can bend and twist ur hips and ass as you want..doesn't really show in that giant marshmallow. They "stage" was made out of plastic squares "attached" together..on the snow..well..as we dance..I feel my stance is getting wider and wider and I fell right into a spilt ..cause the floor under me slid away!and besides me other dancers were sliding all direction ..falling out of formation..off "stage" hahah..huge chaos.

2) Another one is how I got into Aerial work.
This was here in NYC ... as I still love craigslist ..if you know how to filter through, you still can find amazing jobs.
So..they were looking for somebody who does wirework and perform a slow ballet looking number in the air...in an astronaut suit..
Ok..me Jazz who truly believes that she is a shapeshifter..never done wirework or any kind of aerial answered and got the gig based on my resume and dance footage.
I get there and this "gig" is a huge dvd recording of a rock concert of a Russian singer at the Millenium venue in Brooklyn. All musicians were hired for this special gig. Lenny Kravitz 's drummer on the drums. (Hoooottt gal and so down to earth, musicians from la..and they hired the well known aerial company anti gravity to do the rigging. I see all of this ...swallow and say..you got this Jazz.
They ask ..blabla..so you've been rigged before..yeah yeah..which I never have been..
Everything was electric controlled and quite high! Laser show and visuals over the whole stage...the audience was hired..all extras and then we get to me..I've practiced and it did go well..I played my act amazingly and fell in love with aerial!! The only real annoying part was that they only found an astronaut helmet in a kids store that had a button and u push it. And it says.. ready for take off in 3 ..2...1...and this sound of a rocket taking off into space came on..
Since I was up side down..spinning..flying..flipping..this button kept going on and on and on and I took off to space at least 20times ..hahahah

3) my last performance anecdote is my first stunt shoot and it not so much an accident but a scene I won't be able to do that often in my life..
I play an assassin working for the Japanese jakuza..hired from lesbian bosses to pretend to be a call gal, get into my victims apartment and kill him..
And I am with the most amazing and real stunt team there is...so no shadiness..hahah
I am performing all stunts which included fight choreography with 2 knives, crazy wire work, tumbling, ..all TOPLESS hahah and the end I jump on him, run 2 knifes into his neck and finish him. HA

What is your life philosophy?

Performing is what makes me feel alive to its fullest extension. It let's me travel through spaces and sensations. My hunger is getting stilled and my soul is being healed. I am shapeshifting.

How can people find you?

Please find me, book me, holla at me, inspire me, watch me..maybe get off on me...hahaha @

www.iamshapeshifting.com


Scooter Pie's Recap:
Remember last night's Shaken & Stirred? You were there- or caught us (broadcast as we are every week) on nycliverock.com, right? There was such a big, lovely crowd, and we wanted to rock with you, all night- and so we did. Gogo sensation Cookie Cutter brought her best moves (as always). Bunny Love sparkled in (and out of) pink. Tiny D made her S&S debut, stealing our hearts (and a cupcake) in the process. Apathy Angel made us drool in the late set. Runaround Sue told us a fantastic limerick (that she wrote!), and featured performer of the evening Amber Ray displayed both her vocal and tassel-twirling talents. I was there, too. The weather was lovely up on the roof. What a night! XOXO

Sneak Peek at S&S Featuring Amber Ray and Recap of Last weeks Shaken and Stirred

Oh my goodness - what a wild wonderful time was had by all! Join us this week for another debaucherous ride at Shaken and Stirred when we featured the awe-inspiring AMBER RAY.

BIO
Amber Ray's pageantry is easily described as iconic. This variety vixen is a sensation in the evolving essence of pop art and culture. Her chameleonic qualities measure boundless variations and are sure to astonish you with her graceful confrontations and fantastical flamboyance. She is well known for her many characterized acts and adventures based on collaborations for style makers such as Anti-gravity, Susanne Bartsch, Thierry Mugler, Jackie 60, Penny Arcade and a thrivingly talented New York City performance community. She is inspired by classic burlesque, the freak chic, theater, high-fashion, old Hollywood and the feminine mystique visible in every era. You will find her most often amusing the masses through various cabaret, burlesque and variety stage productions, art installations, sitting for painters, photographers and designers as well as dazzling at high end events. Ardently sharing her love of style and luster in a purely spiritual expression, Amber Ray works as an artist, costume designer, singer, burlesque entertainer and all around creative force of nature. Promoting her love of glamour you can find her vending her personalized accoutrements. She regularly appears in various publications, and has cameos on cable & network TV. Brace Yourselffor her power-packed manifestations of absolute fabulousness.

Featured Performer Profile – Shaken and Stirred

What does Burlesque mean to you?

Divine Senusual expression.

How did you choose your name?

I was born with it.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Davey Jones from the Monkees... in the 80s they were playing lots of reruns of their show!

It was my first concert too! Their 20th reunion tour!!!

What are you reading these days and why?

I am currently reading a book on Bowing Meditation as I have taken up studying a Korean form of Yoga called Dahn and am practicing every aspect of it.

I am also reading a book called Temptress about different types of seductresses and powerful women through time. I have dedicated my life to the art of seduction for about 15 years now... and the depth of my studies have really made the ancient feminine energy in me surface. I get high just reading these things.

I'm also reading a book on courtesans for the same reasons. I aim to be a powerful and loving force in the evolution of humanity and doing it though seduction is not only fun but thrilling.

What is your favorite performance antecdote?

seduction

Please distill your life philosophy into either a couplet or haiku:

To play, Love and Tease.

with huge Heart I'll please.

7. How can the people find out more about you?

Please join my facebook fan page (NOT my personal page, I can not add you)

http://www.facebook.com/AmberRayStripteasingSiren

My website (sadly VERY out of date, anyone want to help me with that?): www.amberray.net

Or you can email me and I will put you on my email list femmechatte@yahoo.com

And now, direct from the Lady's lips... Last weeks weekly recap brought to you by Scooter Pie:
No hyperbole here, last night's Shaken & Stirred offered up one of the most fun nights I've had with the show since I became RunAround Sue's Wednesday night partner-in-crime a year ago. This is good news, in case the world ends on Saturday. Guest Bazuka Joe of Chicago and Stage Door Johnnies fame was in town to turn us all on as a supersexy unicorn (I'll never listen to "Bolero" the same way again), gogo sensation for the evening Minnie Tonka brought the hotness all night long, while her Schlep Sister, Darlinda Just Darlinda made our jaws drop in the late-night set with her must-be-seen amazing act to "Rainbow in the Dark". RunAround Sue delighted us with a S&S debut act of wild cheetah-osity, I serenaded everyone with some Michael Jackson, and our featured lady of the week, Philly's own Lil' Steph, left us all with lusty grins on our faces. OH! And during our new game, "Two Truths and a Lie", we learned a new dirty word ("frottage"), and that it is not necessarily safe sex (ie: ouch). That's right, Shaken & Stirred is not just entertaining; it's educational, too!
Between the 11:30 and 12:30 sets, we had lots of famous performer friends in the audience (thanks to Calamity Chang, Shanghai Pearl, Apathy Angel, Jezebel Express, GoGo Harder, Lil Miss Lixx, Franny Fluffer and pals for coming out to play!), which quickly turned into one helluva wicked dance party on- and offstage.
Soo.. join us at the Delancey next week! The rooftop preshow barbeque has started for the season, so come get yer burgers and dogs, $3 huckleberry vodka shots, and give in to one incredible Wednesday night experience.
XOXO! SP

A Sneak Peek at Shaken and Stirred Featuring LIL STEPH

Well, well, well What do we have here? Could it be your favorite Wed night danceparty, Shaken and Stirred, filled with the Nation's favorite burlqy stars? Well, yes indeed it just might be! Last week was a riot with a gorgeous cast of superstars including our featured dancer, Sizzle Dizzle, and our merry band of burlqy babes Airin De Skies, Davina Gransparkle and Foxy Vermouth. Boots La Mae was our stellar gogo Gal and Twig Von Wonderkid was hot on the decks.

This week, The Delancey is starting up the Summer Cook Out for 5$ a plate up on the roof top. And starting at 10pm we've got quite a show for you. Featuring LIL STEPH from Bravissimo Burlesque in Philadelphia, with special guests BAZUKA JOE from Chicago's Stage Door Johnies and NYC's own DARLINDA JUST DARLINDA with one of New York's favorite dames on the gogo box: MINNIE TONKA. As always hosted by your trifecta of tease: RUNAROUND SUE, SCOOTER PIE AND DJ JESS! Now serving $3 Huckleberry Vodka shots courtesy of 44 Degrees North. Dancefloor open till 2am! Never a Cover - Always a good time.

And now - On to the Peeking: LIL STEPH!

1. How would you define burlesque?

To me burlesque is an opportunity for me to bring some of my crazy ideas to life on stage. I Love wearing costumes. It reminds me of being a kid and always putting on shows with my friends. We would put acts together then get people to come over and watch them. Its like taking dance classes and having recitals all the time. I love it!

2. How did you pick your name?

My name was given to me. Ive been a gogo dancer for 10 years and one day my friend Psyde Delicious announced me as Lil'Steph. It just stuck. Some people ask why are you Lil'Steph. They don't always realize I'm 4'10" cause I'm in heels when I'm performing.

3. Who is your celebrity crush?

I have 2 celebrity crushes. Johnny Depp, I loved 21 Jump Street, and Corey Haim. I had three pictures from Teen Beat on my bedroom walls. I was so sad when Corey Haim passed away.

4. What are you reading now?

Right now I'm reading Black Daliha Avenger. My boyfriend got it for me. We both love stories of strange murder cases.

5. What is your favorite performer anecdote?

My favorite performance anecdote was during a Bravissimo show. I was doing a balloon number that I pop the balloons with sparklers. I couldn't find regular sparklers so I had to get the really big ones from China Town. I had my boyfriend on the side of the stage lighting them. When I grabbed the 2nd one the top that is lit fell off onto the wood stage. I tried stomping on it like all this was part of the act, but it wouldn't go out! Meanwhile my boyfriend just kept lighting them cause he didn't notice I had almost set the stage on fire. Finally he came over and pit it out. It was pretty funny.

6. Please distill your life philosophy into a couplet or a haiku:

I'm not good at writing poetry. I just say do what makes you happy. It doesn't matter what you are "supposed to do" or who others want you to be. You have one life, live it the way you want it!

7. Where can people find you?

Check out my monthly show in Philly, Bravissimo Burlesque. Go to my website: www.lilsteph.com to see where I will be next. And become my friend on facebook: Stephanie LilSteph