Hawaii's Notorious Burlesque Sweetheart, a Historian of Honolulu Burlesque presents her tassel-twirling exploits in Paradise! A collection of all things pertaining to Burlesque, Cabaret & Vaudeville in the State of Hawaii both past and present!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Headed to LA for this fabulous show! Cant wait! XO V

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Hawaii Burlesque History

I've been thinking alot about long-term projects and I'm fascinated with researching & cataloging Hawaii's burlesque & stage show history. 

I've been a "research associate" in the working world and I LOVE history, especially Hawaii history, so this seems like a perfect nerdy fit for me! 

Part of my research included trying to find performers/musicians/promoters/whoever, who were around in the golden days of burlesque in Hawaii, and while I cant share it all here, there are some very interesting stories! 
I was able to meet with Mr. Jack Cione, who is a nightclub legend in Honolulu. He was responsible for populating our island stages with buxom women from far flung places and was a popular, beloved and controversial figure. We spent several hours together talking about the old days of Hawaii stage shows and burlesque and I definitely came away feeling as if I'd been charmed by a true Showman. I'm looking forward to working with him on several projects to try to preserve our local burlesque heritage!

Here's some info on Jack:

I learned so many amazing details from Jack! For instance, did you know that Hawaii was a "spoke" on the wheel of travel for Burlesque performers in the 50's and 60's? Some of the famous names that performed and vacationed here:
-Lili St. Cyr
-Blaze Starr
-Mae West

There were MANY MORE! I'm looking for them and anyone with stories, material or experience that relates to this topic. If you know anyone please feel free to email me at violettaberetta@gmail.com

I'm stoked to be able to share this VERY OLD photo from the collection of Jack Cione, of a 1950's burlesque show, at the infamous club "Forbidden City" in Honolulu.




Here's a pic of me and Jack!
Stay tuned for more Hawaii Burlesque History! XOXO V

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Hawaii Burlesque Festival Celebrates it's SECOND YEAR!





I'm THRILLED to be able to say that the Hawaii Burlesque Festival & Revue is heading into it's SECOND YEAR! It's been a wonderful experience in both learning, producing, directing and of course BURLESQUE!

Last year's inaugural Revue & Workshops were a HUGE success, all because of the wonderful performers and fantastically enthusiastic audience we had at the Honolulu Museum of Art's Doris Duke Theater!

2013 promises to be EVEN BETTER!!! I'm pleased to announce our Headline Showgirl for 2013:
 MISS COCO LECTRIC!

All the way from Austin, Texas, the exquisite COCO LECTRIC will be gracing the stage of the Doris Duke Theater for ONE NIGHT ONLY, June 14th, 2013! She will also be a few presenting her VERY popular workshops while in Paradise! Make sure to mark your calendars & then enjoy this STUNNING photo of the New Orleans Burlesque Festival's "QUEEN OF BURLESQUE 2010!" & The Hawaii Burlesque Festival Revue Headline Showgirl, COCO LECTRIC!!!! ♥

Stay tuned for more info on workshops and other HBF happenings, as well as ticket info for the Hawaii Burlesque Festival Revue at the Honolulu Museum of Art's Doris Duke Theater! 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

COCO LECTRIC (Austin, Texas)

Coco Lectric is a classically trained dancer, actor, and vocalist. With an absolute love of performing, she graces stages all over the world. She's a founding member of The Jigglewatts Burlesque Revue (Austin, TX), founder of the Austin Burlesque Alliance, co-producer of the Texas Burlesque Festival, creator and producer of the World Go-Go Championship, and is the Headmistress of The Austin Academy of Burlesque. Coco won “Queen of Burlesque 2010” at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. She was “2010 Texas Performer of the Year” from the Hotrods and Heels festival and won the “Audience Choice Award 2009,” at the Texas Burlesque Festival, and second runner up in the Viva Las Vegas Burlesque Competition 2011. She's been featured in numerous festivals and headlined at Girlesque in Toronto, Windy City Burlesque Festival, Dallas Burlesque Festival, Suncoast Burlesque Festival, the Southwest Burlesque Festival and the Texas Burlesque Festival. She performed Opening Night at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in Las Vegas 2010 and in the Miss Exotic World and Reigning Queen of Burlesque competition in 2011 and 2012. She was voted #7 in 2011 and is currently #5 in the world (21st Century Burlesque’s “Burlesque Top 50”).
Coco has also graced the cover of Bachelor Pad, Pin Curl, Atomic Bombshells, Min Boudoir and been featured in The Berlesker, 21st Century Burlesque, All That Glitters and numerous other publications.

Here's a look back:


 Here's a link to the full album from the 2012 HBF Revue night:
http://www.honolulupulse.com/events/pics-honolulu-burlesque-festival

WANT MORE INFO ON HBF 2013??
(Links below!)

The OFFICIAL Hawaii Burlesque Festival Website:
http://hawaiiburlesquefestival.com/

The OFFICIAL FACEBOOK of the Hawaii Burlesque Festival & Revue (updated more regularly!)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hawaii-Burlesque-Festival-Revue/253253384810669

Violetta Beretta's Links:
www.facebook.com/Violetta808
https://twitter.com/ViolettaBeretta