Ben Tinsley

From Staff Reports

DALLAS — The true idea behind Burlesque encompasses a lot more than good-looking, scantily-clad, ladies shimmy-shaking on stage.

Just ask the Arlington artist known as Arielle. It transformed her into a dancer, producer, teacher and Burlesque mentor.

Arielle, who pronounces her name the way Sabastian The Crab did in the classic film the Little Mermaid (R.E.L.), will bring her signature Burlesque style and the voices of a couple of her colleagues to The Texas Newsroom radio show from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.

This will be the Texas Newsroom’s official Valentines Day Show. It has been scheduled earlier than previously announced so that co-hosts Ben Tinsley, Shane Danger and Michelle Smith Davis can enjoy the Feb. 14 heart-shaped holiday.

Master musician Jeffrey Christian will be on hand Thursday to accompany Arielle as she demonstrates the art of the tease. (Burlesque is the original form of strip tease.)
Christian will also perform the show’s unique “Sweet Tweets” feature.

The show takes place in the brand new studio of Power Play Radio, 7800 Stemmons Freeway, Suite 370 in Dallas.

Thursday’s show — as always — will be produced via the superlative talents of Donald Willis and Trudy Modica Willis.

Burlesque has been described as an art form “built on a potent foundation of escapism and empowerment, as vital and necessary in 2019 as it was at any point in its centuries-long history,” Alex Biese, of the Asbury Park Press, wrote earlier this month.

Some Hollywood films attempted to recreate the spirit of these performances from the 1930s to the 1960s, or included burlesque-style scenes within dramatic films, such as 1972’s Cabaret and 1979’s All That Jazz, among others, media reports show.

There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s film of the same name.

Arielle first became interested in Burlesque after seeing the eponymous movie. She noted at the time that the film actually seemed to be more Cabaret style.

Her interest picqued a couple of years later after seeing her first live Burlesque show at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas.

“Viva Dallas Burlesque is the largest and longest running Burlesque show in the area,” Arielle wrote on her webpage, http://www.arielleburlesque.com/. “After watching those Bombshells on stage, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I walked out of the show and told my companions, ‘I can do this!’ For which they agreed. You see, I had been dancing from a very young age, always dancing alone in a room full of people. I loved the attention, showing off and intimidating those more nervous onlookers. Always willing to help those willing to learn. I have taking hundreds of classes on dance and countless hours out on the floor. ”

Years later, after numerous classes and learning at the Dallas School of Burlesque from many, many mentor friends such as Iris Le’Mour, Pixie O’Kneel, Black Mariah, May May Graves, Rachel Stone, and the Dirty Blonde, Arielle joined a strong sisterhood.

Through the Burlesque Experience, she evolved into a producer of shows and a teacher of the Art of The Tease.
“It was so rewarding to see shy women because they became confident ladies though the lessons — and patrons of the club yearning for the next sexy show,” she writes on her site.

Arielle is appearing on the show to discuss her upcoming show, Rogue Angels Burlesque Show Experience, at the Arlington Music Hall on Friday, March 8. She will also discuss the huge DFW Burlesque scene and a little history.

Viewers can see it all starting at 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 7 2019.

The show will be online at https://www.powerplayradionetwork.com/the-texas-newsroom and online and on Facebook athttps://www.powerplayradionetwork.com/the-texas-newsroom.