DITA VON TEESE A GLASS ACT AS SHE FIGHTS FOR DIVERSITY

She has always challenged convention, and now burlesque star Dita Von Teese (right and below) is ready to strip back the stereotypes surrounding her art.

This weekend sees the glamorous performer star in her first live- streamed show, Night of the Teese – A Cinematic Special, a revue filmed at Los Angeles’s historic Orpheum Theatre. It premieres on Friday before being available on demand.

As well as being a visual spectacle with ornate sets and costumes, the event features a range of burlesque artistes rocking the stage in a celebration of diversity.

It’s an issue Dita feels strongly about, she tells hello!: “Ageism is one of the things I’m always fighting against. I have performers of lots of different ages, from 20 to 50.

“I think it’s part of my responsibility to challenge the old- fashioned ideas, and bring burlesque into a new golden age where we don’t put people out to pasture and we celebrate lots of different types of bodies, different ages, different skin types and different genders.”

Dita herself turns 49 this week and has no intention of letting this get in the way of her striptease performances. “In my 20s, I thought I’d have to retire by my 30s; and in my 30s, I’d have said: ‘I’m definitely going to have to retire when I’m 40,’” she says.

“It’s always an evolution and I really feel grateful to be in a position where I can put the spotlight on other performers and show why the burlesque community is so special, and what kind of audience it brings.”

After having to postpone shows due to the pandemic, Dita has been delighted to return to the stage.

“I just couldn’t wait to get back to showbusiness. Every time I have a significant amount of time off, I genuinely think: ‘Can I really still do this?’ And then the curtains open, the spotlight turns on and I’m ready to go. It’s exciting.”

She’ll be back in the UK next spring with her Glamonatrix tour, but for now, she’s in Paris, competing in the French version of Strictly Come Dancing.

“I love doing this show because it kind of puts me in a place of vulnerability,” she says. “I’m not used to having cameras on me when I’m rehearsing, so I’m trying to let go of my control freak demeanour.”

To get tickets for Night of the Teese – A Cinematic Special, visit driift.link/DitaVonTeese.