and now ladies and gentlemen here to
present the first of tonight's sassy
lassie awards for excellence in
promoting and perpetuating the art form
of burlesque worldwide burlesque Hall of
Fame 2013 special guests ladies and
gentlemen Dita Von Teese
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you
I'm really nervous so excuse the cue
cards it's really embarrassing this is
my first time ever at this event ever I
in 1994 I had worked up the courage to
come and compete for the crown and then
I was tipped off that Katherine dalish
was coming to take her second to win and
I chickened out
she won of course and I'm sure she would
have won many other times than that
fortunately there are rules in place now
and anyway I came here tonight to
present this award to her and to say a
few things about her because she means a
lot to me and she should deserves to win
this award many many times over - okay
here goes cue cards not when I thought
when I memorized cz okay here's what I
want to say a true maestro of the art of
the seductive strip catherine has always
maintained her own distinctive persona
one which cannot be emulated her
confidence her authenticity her
intelligent wit and her generosity all
comes shining through on stage in her
every gesture her beauty and elegance
the incredible strength of her body
together with her graceful flexibility
is truly a sight to behold she makes it
look so easy doesn't she
a lot to say respected is one of the
true founders of the neo burlesque
movement her wisdom her expertise her
experience as a performer and her
understanding of what truly makes a
performer compelling to watch are just a
few of the things that make her the most
qualified teacher of burlesque in the
world
I think Katherine doesn't merely teach
the moves Katherine anyone can teach
moves Katherine strives to bring out the
best in each of us tapping into and
further encouraging our own unique
personalities which is really what makes
a memorable performance all of us here
tonight have reasons to be grateful to
her for our many contributions some of
you may not even know all the ways that
she's not only helped establish the
burlesque revival but she has
continuously sparked many incredible
evolutions aside from her incredible
talent as a performer and as a teacher
Katherine deserves credit for the
progression of the use of extravagant
stage props and lavish costuming in
burlesque in the mid-1990s in the early
1990s when we started you might have
seen a smattering of rhinestones on the
bodice of a performance dress but thanks
to her our world has become a more
sparkly place Katherine's costume design
work has had major influence on the
entire burlesque world and the fashion
world she showed us that the
possibilities are infinite in creating
fantasy on stage and she's inspired us
to take showmanship show woman ship the
to the next level of grandeur
I need Vaseline
so the speaking thing is not all it's
cracked up C's gonna take your clothes
off
[Applause]
[Music]
and I can't picture you all naked out
there because we've already seen you
naked so that trick does not work anyway
okay and think about this okay ostrich
feather fans have been a burlesque basic
since Sally ran popularized it in 1939
and from the early 90s on we all had the
same ostrich feather fan so we got we
thought we're real clever for making
them red or pink or blue but miss dalish
changed all that single-handedly her
feather creations are magnificent truly
historic innovations in burlesque I
don't know if you've seen some of her
latest work but it's incredible I think
she deserves a Nobel Peace Prize I swear
okay her Swarovski crest crystal
drenched creations are surpassing
anything that has ever been done in
entertainment a fact even recognized by
the Swarovski family I spoke with them
they're always amazed every time
Katherine orders crystal for one of my
costumes they say are you sure that is
too much and we say nope we're pointing
every single one of those on a costume
so they've marveled at her innovative
and intricate work and they are
astonished by her audacious use of their
crystal Katherine's inventions have made
a huge impact on the way things are done
in burlesque and these kinds of original
ideas and advancements are a big part of
what will help this movement live on
okay one last thing and I'm done lastly
I just want to share an important thing
I have learned in life to align
ourselves with other inspiring dynamic
women that maintain their own sense of
self and individuality does not detract
from our own personal greatness and 14
years ago I was very fortunate to meet
this extraordinary beautiful and
talented woman who also has a generosity
of spirit and true kindness and I am
very proud to call her my best friend so
with that Catherine delish
[Applause]
[Music]
not as tall as they look so first um I
was like yes a si Lao si I've never won
anything that Ryan before it's like
whatever I mean I wasn't like whatever
but you know what I mean
and then you came out here so thank you
for that and now I didn't she didn't
know so I don't have a lot to say I have
been coming to miss exotic world for a
long time to the desert put him in a
circle but I stopped coming when they
wouldn't let me compete anymore and I'm
I'm glad I came back I've been really
having a good time I made a lot of
friends I had made two enemies that I
know I would like to thank Dixie
[Applause]
I would like thank you for the kind of
fun that we have come on there was that
one there was more than once I'm sorry
and I'd like to thank also the people
that let me give them classes I enjoy
that yeah that was the best show ever
it's all you guys missed that one but
anyway I want to say thank you to the
people that come to the classes let me
teach them say nice things to me I never
know what to say except thanks and yeah
my students especially the really tall
ones and that's it thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
you