Guest post
The burlesque dancers who lit up 1933 Chicago World's Fair
Anika Scott talks about the real burlesque dancers of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, who inspired Madame Mystique aka Rosa Mancuso, the star of her new book, Sinners of Starlight City.
The world of burlesque dancing
As an author of historical fiction, I meet the most fascinating (mostly dead) people. Their life stories inspire my fictional characters, and through them, I get to peek into a way of life I would never, ever have myself.
Take burlesque dancing.
Madame Mystique aka Rosa Mancuso, the star of my latest release Sinners of Starlight City, dances at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
Sometimes she wears skimpy clothing, sometimes her body is painted, sometimes she goes au naturel. I’ve never danced nude myself (in public), nor did I ever dream of doing it.
My inspiration came from my research, where I discovered the world of burlesque dancing at the Fair, and the women who did it.
Here are three real-life burlesque dancers who heated up the Chicago midway in 1933 and inspired my creation of Rosa.
Sally Rand, the fan dancer
Born in Missouri, Helen Beck aka Sally Rand – a blond, sweet-faced with a “girl next door” flair – was the superstar of the Fair.
She danced nude or in a sheer, full-body silk stocking that gave the illusion of nudity from the stage.
Sometimes her act included props like shimmering balloons, but her oversized feathered fans made her famous, and became a standard in burlesque acts.
Despite her talents, Sally had trouble getting anybody at the Fair to hire her.
So on opening night, when the international glitterati gathered at the Fair’s posh Parisian venue, she climbed onto a white horse (nude) and galloped straight into the party.
Her Lady Godiva ploy charmed the organizers, and she became the highest paid dancer at the Fair. She would go on to appear in Hollywood films.
Fahreda Mazar, the belly dancer
Known to her fans as ‘Little Egypt’, Fahreda Spyropoulos was actually from Syria.
Dark haired and cheerful-looking, she shot to fame at Chicago’s first World’s Fair in 1893, where it is said she was the first person to perform the belly dance in America.
She was so popular Hollywood released the film “Little Egypt” in 1951 starring Rhonda Fleming.
At the 1933 Fair, when she was 62 years old, Fahreda reprised the show that had made here famous forty years before.
Unlike the younger dancers, she refused to do more than a mild strip tease. She thought dancing nude lacked dignity. She wore the long, harem-like pants or skirt, fringed top and veil of her youth.
But she still wriggled her hips, and those suggestive moves put her in the category of burlesque dancer.
Hot Cha San, the work of art
There’s little known about this dancer, not even her real name.
Hot Cha San was Chinese, and it was said she had her entire body painted before heading out to dance at the Fair.
I imagine her as a kind of living statue, a work of art moving rhythmically in the spotlights.
Her stage name might derive from the word chasan, a crispy Chinese pastry.
The vice squad targeted the burlesque dancers of the Fair, who were arrested, fined for public exposure and forbidden to dance without clothes. In retaliation, the women performed in ridiculous bloomers until their audience demanded they take it all off again.
The spirit of fun and entertainment won out, and the dancers became an unforgettable part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
Transport yourself to the world of bright lights and burlesque dancers with Anika’s Scott‘s new breathtaking novel, Sinners of Starlight City.
Madame Mystique is a performer at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Of African American and Sicilian heritage, Mystique – aka Rosa Mancuso – moves on the margins.
But her ambiguous status serves a hidden vendetta: she awaits the arrival of Paolo, a dashing pilot sent by Mussolini to dazzle spectators with a phenomenal air show.
Back in Sicily, his band of young Fascists had murdered her relatives as the old Mafia families were brutally swept away. Now Rosa is fixed on revenge…
