Review: THE ART OF THE TEESE / Dita Von Teese at Opera Garnier Monte-Carlo - Glamour, Seduction, and Striptease

BWW Review: THE ART OF THE TEESE / Dita Von Teese at the Opera Garnier Monte-Carlo - Glamour, Seduction, and Striptease

On the evening of the 20th of October, 2018, Monaco was treated to the long-awaited show of glamour, beauty, and temptation by the Queen of Burlesque in "The Art of the Teese". For the first time in Monaco, Dita Von Teese set foot on the Opera Garnier Monte-Carlo stage, dazzling the crowd in the art of seduction, burlesque striptease, and physical beauty.

Fascinated by the Golden Age of Cinema, pin-up imagery and vintage lingerie, Dita Von Teese transformed from a natural blond, mid-western girl into the glamour girls she admired. She started performing striptease since the early '90s and has grown into the internationally renowned Queen of Erotic Cabaret.

And the setting for this "Burlesque Superheroine" (Vanity Fair) could not have been more accurate. In the elegant and opulent Salle Garnier of the Monte-Carlo Casino, Dita Von Teese follows in the footsteps of celebrated stars, such as Prince, Lana Del Rey, Sarah Bernhardt and more. Constructed in 1878, the Salle Garnier embodied the excess and boldness that characterized the show, as Dita strutted her stuff in sensational haute-couture costumes ordained with hundreds and thousands of Swarovski crystals.

However, not only Dita Von Teese was dressed for the occasion. As guests gathered in the foyer of the famous Monte-Carlo Casino, the glamour and beauty of the evening's dress could not go unnoticed. It was clear the crowd was ready to be teased and seduced in style at this sold-out event.

And they were. Announced by the MC of the night, comedian and singer Jonny McGovern, the first act on stage was by Dita Von Teese herself, surprisingly no less than her legendary yet brand new version of the "Martini Glass" act. After a slow and teasing striptease of high designer clothing and being accompanied by her "Vontourage" of two exquisitely handsome young men - which jokingly by the MC had one of the best qualities in life: "they don't speak" - the star of the tease climbed into her magnificent neo-baroque champagne glass decorated with over 150,000 Swarovski crystals.

It is instantly clear why Dita Von Teese receives an international high appraisal. If it was during her tribute to the art of ballet in the "Swan Lake Striptease" act en pointe, or her musical striptease "Lazy", she glided gently and seductively over the stage, expressing her most beautiful features every single moment and keeping the viewer captivated. Though kindly asked not to at the beginning of the show, the audience could not help themselves but sneak in a picture - and it wouldn't be surprising if every photo taken would come out magnificently. At any given time during her acts, Dita Von Teese knew how to position her body in such beautiful and titillating posture, that only a master in the arts would understand. And evidently, it all looked easy and natural.

Though for some the show may be regarded as conventional and slow in comparison to other highly entertaining burlesque performances we see today, what was shown was a classic, sexy yet classy approach with the focus on the "tease" in the word "striptease", thus showing more emphasis on the coy removal of long gloves and stockings. The eventual gentle reveal of near-nude bodies was consequently a fluid sensual result of these captivating scenes. As Dita Von Teese says: "It's always a thrill to create new acts, exploring new ideas that capture the spirit of vintage burlesque that we love, but in ways that haven't ever been seen before."

In addition to her acts, Dita Von Teese invited today's phenomenal stars of burlesque onto her stage, starring Ginger Valentine performing one of Dita's beloved signature acts in a heart-shaped structure ("My Heart Belongs To Daddy"), and Gia Genevieve, Playboy-bunny and though new to the art of burlesque, she made a stunning appearance in Teese's gilded claw-foot bathtub act. Furthermore, the Australian Zelia Rose curved and twirled, showcasing the beauty of the movement of the female body, and Jett Adore, the only male solo-act of the evening, who brought the house down with his humorous "best boylesque act ever created" as a stripping zorro-like matador. And last but not least, no one other than the voluptuous tassel-twirling Dirty Martini made the stage, who unequivocally got the crowd excited, and deservedly received the biggest cheers of the accompanying acts, as even the star of the show calls her the best in the business.

Though how high the praise, no act of the night could have beat the final masterpiece of the show. Dressed from head to toe in pink Swarovski crystal, Dita Von Teese took the stage for the fourth and last time with her famous "Rhinestone Cowgirl" act. Dancing and stripteasing out of her Rhinestone chaps and high-heeled spurred cowboy boots, she eventually mounted the world's most glamorous sparkly mechanical bull, proceeding in sensuous poses as the bull dips, rocks and rotates on stage. Of all acts, this was the most eroticized and suggestive performance of the show, which definitely got some hearts of the appreciative crowd racing.

And so the titillating night of the celebration of both male and female bodies ended, leaving the audience with excited and inspired thoughts of glittering glamour, endless seduction, and blood pumping striptease.

The ART OF THE TEESE will continue its international tour through Switzerland, France, England, Austria and more. It is advised to book promptly as multiple shows are currently sold-out. For more information, please visit www.dita.net.

For more information on shows in Monte-Carlo hosted by Societe des Bains de Mer, please visit www.montecarlosbm.com/en/shows-monaco.

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