POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

This costume was worn during many performances by the striptease dancer Elizabeth Burton at Australian and overseas venues. Elizabeth Burton purchased it c.1976 at a second-hand costume shop in Hollywood. She thinks it was originally a swimsuit. She wore it during performances at the Moulin Rouge in Vienna, Austria, and at the Moulin Rouge, Kassel, Germany, early in 1977. The costume was worn with a huge hat (see photograph copied by Museum). The shoes that accompany this costume (a pair of stiletto-heeled mules) were also worn with the brocade 'Miss Modesty' ensemble. Burton has a particular description for this type of shoes: 'We call them follow me home and f*** me shoes'. Born in 1947, Burton grew up in Captain's Flat near Canberra, the eldest of eight children. She worked as a hairdresser and discovered a talent for go-go dancing at the age of 18 after auditioning at the Redfern RSL. Although she had no training as a dancer she received an invitation to work as a go-go dancer in Vietnam, where she stayed for four months in 1968-69. She got into trouble for talking to black servicemen and in 1969 the American Military Entertainment Bureau asked her to leave Vietnam, citing her as a 'race riot risk'. (See Australasian Post, 7 October 1976 under the headline 'Stripper's Own Story … They called her a riot risk'.) Burton first worked as a stripper in 1971 at the Psychedelic Fun House on 42nd St and 8th Avenue in New York. She obtained an agent, Jess Mack, who got her work on the American and international nightclub and theatre circuits. It was around this time that she developed the 'Miss Modesty' character, who began her strip act totally covered, complete with hat and gloves. Burton toured extensively in the USA in the early 1970s. She made twelve working visits to Las Vegas, appearing at venues like the Palomino and the Royal Casino. Not having a 'green card' work permit for the USA, she was sought by the immigration authorities. For this reason she married an American dancer in 1973 at Las Vegas. She was arrested four times in the USA, where the law stated that strippers must keep their bottoms covered. At Cleveland, Ohio, in October 1973 she was arrested by the Vice Squad at the Paris Art Theatre and charged with nude dancing. She was also arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct in Hawaii. In September 1974 she was arrested for conspiracy to demoralise the people of Philadelphia. She told the Philadelphia Inquirer (18 Sept 1974) 'I think the human body is a beautiful instrument. I don't want to be thought of as a sex object. I much prefer to be thought of as a racehorse with good body control'. Returning to Australia Burton became a star stripper at the Pink Panther Club at 41 Darlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross, where her appearances received top billing as 'Direct from Las Vegas'. She also worked at the Barrel Burlesque Theatre at 26 Bayswater Rd, and later at Eros (George St), Lido and Town Theatres. In 1976 Burton went to Japan for six months, then Malaysia and Singapore, where she was billed as a 'sizzling dance contortionist'. She went to Vienna to work at the Moulin Rouge and also appeared at the Moulin Rouge in Kassel, Germany, in early 1977. She made headlines in Norway in 1979. Burton has worked as a dancer and performance artist with fringe theatre and cabaret. She performed regularly with Cabaret Conspiracy at Garibaldi's restaurant in Darlinghurst. In the 1980s she performed at RAT parties at venues including Bondi Pavilion, and at the Gay Mardi Gras. She appeared with the Sideshow Theatre Company at Paddington Green Hotel with Michael Matou and Simon Reptile. She appeared in 'Beauty and the Beast' at the Regent Theatre. In the 1980s she was a showgirl at South Sydney Juniors, wearing huge headdress and feathers. She performed in 'High Spots' at the Tivoli. She has run classes in 'Disrobing Deliberately' at the local Neighbourhood Centre and 'Learn to love your body' workshops at the Belvoir Theatre.