Las Vegas Strip Tease: Dita Von Teese to ‘Reimagine the Showgirl’ in New Residency

Posted on: July 6, 2023, 10:47h. 

Last updated on: July 6, 2023, 11:51h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Myths.

Burlesque revivalist Dita Von Teese will perform a Las Vegas residency on the Strip at Horseshoe Las Vegas, it was announced on Thursday.

Dita Von Teese poses in a classic ‘Jubilee!’ costume to promote her upcoming residency, ‘Dita Las Vegas’ at Horseshoe. (Image: KF Publicity)

“Dita Las Vegas: A Jubilant Review” opens October 5 at the Jubilee Theater. That’s the venue that hosted “Jubilee!” at Bally’s for 35 years. The very last showgirl show on the Strip ran there from 1981, when the casino resort was still known as the MGM Grand, through 2016.

“Dita Las Vegas” is designed to reimagine the showgirl aesthetic through Von Teese’s brand of sensual, prop-based burlesque. Inspired by musicals and films from the 1930s and 1940s, and featuring giant carousel horses and powder compacts, it was invented by Von Teese in 1992.

“Like burlesque, the showgirl is no relic of the past,” Von Teese said in a press release. “It’s powerful to see this art form evolve and thrive, and that includes beauty and gender standards within it.”

Von Teese is renowned for using props such as this giant martini glass. (Image: Dita Von Teese/Facebook)

Von Teese, who stands 5-foot-3, noted in the release that she never fit the height, figure, or age standards to become a showgirl, ballet dancer, or “Crazy Horse” cast member. “But I’ve always been about shattering expectations,” she stated. “This Vegas residency will be no different.”

Von Teese will serve as star and creative director of the 75-minute show, which will incorporate old-school hydraulic lifts, floating platforms and footbridges, and many of “Jubilee!’s” original Bob Mackie-designed costumes and sets, which she began buying up around town about a month ago.

“It’s been my dream to create a show that honors the great American art forms of burlesque and the showgirl,” Von Teese said.

Strip Teese

Born Heather Sweet 51 years ago, Von Teese chose her stage name as a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo. Her breakthrough Playboy magazine cover shoot in December 2002 required her to supply a surname, so she chose “Von Treese” from a phonebook, and she kept Playboy’s misspelling.

In addition to burlesque dancing, Von Teese is also known for modeling, fashion-designing, and for her three-year marriage to Marilyn Manson, the now-canceled goth-metal icon in whose videos she performed in the early aughts.

“Dita Las Vegas” will be directed and executive-produced by Michael Schwandt, former director of Cirque du Soleil’s “R.U.N.” at the Luxor.

“Dita Las Vegas” will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 9 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 13 through ticketmaster.com/DitaVegas, which also contains information about fan and Caesars Entertainment presales.