Immodesty Blaize
{{short description|British dancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Immodesty Blaize
| image = ImmodestyBlaizeMEW2007Cloak.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Performing at the 2007 Burlesque Hall of Fame pageant which she won.
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Burlesque performer and novelist
| spouse =
| children =
| website = http://www.immodestyblaize.com/
| footnotes =
}}
Immodesty Blaize (born Kelly Fletcher in Hitchin, Hertfordshire{{Cite news| url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/story/0,,2162066,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Portrait of the artist: Immodesty Blaize, burlesque dancer | first=Laura | last=Barnett | date=4 September 2007 | accessdate=5 May 2010}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp120464/immodesty-blaize-kelly-fletcher|title=Immodesty Blaize (Kelly Fletcher) – Person – National Portrait Gallery|website=npg.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-10-31}}) is an English burlesque dancer who performs internationally. She was crowned Reigning Queen of Burlesque in June 2007 at the Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame formerly known as Exotic World.
Her stage name is an allusion to the character Modesty Blaise.
Rise to fame
Immodesty has been performing burlesque internationally since 1999. Originally she performed in addition to her film day job.{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jason-holmes/immodesty-blaize-a-venus-_b_1876301.html|title=Immodesty Blaize: A Venus on Tour|date=2012-09-13|work=HuffPost UK|access-date=2017-10-31|language=en-GB}} She worked in film, first as a storyboard artist, then progressing to producing and eventually getting her break directing. She won an EVCOM award for directing 10 short films for the Nobel Prizes sponsored by CNN and Cisco systems. By night she moonlighted, performing burlesque striptease, until she chose to perform and produce shows full-time. Immodesty has been widely credited as trailblazing the burlesque renaissance in Europe.{{Cite web|url=http://www.immodestyblaize.com/press|title=Immodesty Blaize | Press Room|website=immodestyblaize.com|access-date=23 January 2019|archive-date=27 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727101051/http://www.immodestyblaize.com/press|url-status=dead}} Immodesty brought a mainstream profile to the genre in Britain, bringing the genre into mainstream press, and onto Prime Time TV.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG_lBm_AfBQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/mG_lBm_AfBQ| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Immodesty Blaize, la regina del Burlesque|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} as well as bringing burlesque out of clubs and back into West End theatre with a continual nightly run that was extended to 5 months. She also wrote two books published by Ebury and produced a docu-film Burlesque Undressed that premiered in cinemas in 30 countries and became one of Sky Arts top rating documentaries for 8 years.
Showgirl and writer
Immodesty performs her live shows in theatrical venues globally such as London Royal Opera House, Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, Wintergarten Berlin, various Las Vegas Casinos, and Sydney State Theatre. She performed for Cher and Christina Aguilera at the premier of the Sony Pictures Burlesque movie, and she has performed in shows with artistes such as Marc Almond, the late James Brown, Roxy Music, Goldfrapp, Scissor Sisters, Barry Adamson, and Nick Cave. In 2009 Immodesty signed to EMI{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/blaize-lands-film-and-record-deal-1947685.html | work=Irish Independent | title=Blaize lands film and record deal | date=18 November 2009}} She produced the feature-length documentary Burlesque Undressed{{cite web |title=Empire's Burlesque Undressed Movie Review |url=https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=136654 |work=Empire|accessdate=27 November 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924132947/https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=136654 |archivedate=24 September 2015}} which screened in cinemas in over 30 countries. She competed at, and was crowned 'Reigning Queen of Burlesque' (to date, the only British performer ever) in Las Vegas 2007 at the Burlesque Hall of Fame.
In pushing continually over 20 years for burlesque's profile in the mainstream as legitimate theatre, Immodesty beat TV censorship to perform a full showgirl striptease on Prime Time TV on ITV1 the Paul O'Grady Show and on Italy's Dancing with the Stars (Ballando Con Le Stelle) on RAI1 .{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/hub/categories/drama-soaps|title=Drama & Soaps – Categories|website=ITV Hub}} Immodesty is best known for her signature act with an enormous rocking horse, but has many other shows including with her giant telephone, a crystal bubble bath, and her signature oversized powder puffs.John Walsh, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090531003024/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/immodesty-blaize-sex-scandal-and-naked-ambition-1692829.html "Immodesty Blaize: Sex, scandal and naked ambition"], The Independent, 30 May 2009
Immodesty is known as a public speaker away from the burlesque stage and in 2008 she was the first showgirl to be invited to debate at "the world's most prestigious debating society" the Oxford Union, which she took part in alongside US Congressman Bob Barr and Lord McNally. She's spoken extensively on radio and television as a pundit e.g. Woman's Hour and BBC World Service, various TV shows, and at places such as National Film Theatre, and Hay Literary Festival. She also outsold Archbishop Desmond Tutu's presentation at Hay Literary Festival.{{cite news| url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article6187253.ece | location=London | work=The Times | first=Jessica | last=Brinton | title=People like them | date=3 May 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Immodesty also follows in a tradition set by Gypsy Rose Lee, and has written two novels set in the modern showgirl world, which are published by Ebury, Ambition and Tease. Immodesty lives in Monaco.
Publications
Immodesty has written two novels.
- {{Cite book
| date = May 2009
| title = Tease: the Secrets of a Showgirl
| last = Blaize
| first = Immodesty
|place=London
| publisher = Ebury Press
| isbn = 978-0-09-193001-1
}}
- {{Cite book
| date = June 2010
| title = Ambition
| last = Blaize
| first = Immodesty
|place=London
| publisher = Ebury Press
| isbn = 978-0-09-193004-2
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Immodesty Blaize}}
- {{official|http://www.immodestyblaize.com}}
- [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/pets/features/me-and-my-pet-832569.html Immodesty talks about her pet]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaize, Immodesty}}
Category:British erotic dancers
Category:British neo-burlesque performers
Category:Miss Exotic World winners