Saturday 18 September 2010

vintage showgirls in florida


"From the cabaret to the nightclub, from the theater to the ballet, women who perform in public have attracted writers and artists for as long as women have performed in public. Unlike the prostitute, who, as Walter Benjamin once said, is "saleswoman and wares in one," the chorus girl is not exactly selling herself—she's selling a dream of who she mightbe. The gaze that falls on her is sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes singular, sometimes multiple. Onstage or off, the chorus girl is defined by her relationship to a necessary other—her audience—who, after all, may just be the reader."lauren elkin



recommended reading, of chorus girls,
nana, by emile zola
the chorus girl, by anton chekhov
the vagabond, by colette
voyage in the dark, by jean rhys















photo c/o allan grant, showgirls in florida, 1947

5 comments:

  1. They don't make them how they used to (SIGH)

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  2. Oh, I love these pictures! One of my favourite vintage showgirls books is called Carnival, by Compton Mackenzie, though it is a really sad one. I loved Voyage Into The Dark, as well. Have you read Wide Sargasso Sea?

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  3. Goodness, I don't know how you do it, but you always have the most lovely photos.

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  4. love it love it love it love it love it loooooooove it!

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  5. oh its like we stepped back in time to backstage at a busby berklee musical! love it!

    xo
    sami
    www.aglimpseofglamour.com

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