Dirty Martini (born Linda Marraccini) is an American

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

pin-up model A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

and dance teacher. She is best known for her over-the-top performance acts, which mostly incorporate various classic burlesque styles such as the

fan dance In the West, a fan dance (i.e., a dance performed with fans) may be an erotic dance performance, traditionally by a woman, but not exclusively. Beyond eroticism it is a form of musical interpretation. The performer, sometimes entirely nude o ...

, balloon

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

, and shadow stripping. Martini lives and performs in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but tours extensively throughout North America and Europe. She has performed on stages that range from weekly burlesque venues, gay leather bars, the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

and

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. In 2004, Dirty Martini was crowned

Miss Exotic World The Miss Exotic World Pageant (officially, the Miss Exotic World Pageant and Striptease Reunion) is an annual neo-burlesque pageant and convention, and is the annual showcase event (and fundraiser for) the Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly the E ...

Biography

Born to an opera singer/visual artist mother and a band director father, she was raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

,Johnson, Holli-Mae
Your Number One: Miss Dirty Martini!
"''21st Century Burlesque Magazine'', February 19, 2010" where she studied dance since the age of six. Martini later honed her choreography skills at SUNY-Purchase, where she graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance.Dirty Martini Q&A at The Martini Lounge

Performance

Miss Dirty Martini Show Musto Party 2011 David Shankbone 8

Martini moved to New York City and started out working in collaborative theater and modern dance groups. She then viewed some old burlesque reels when she was searching for a style that was conducive to performing solo and showcasing her voluptuous figure. Shen then started with developing and performing a fan dancing act. Among Martini's notable acts are her homage to

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

, Jennie Lee,

Zorita Zorita is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto N ...

and

Sally Rand Sally Rand (born Helen Gould Beck; April 3, 1904 – August 31, 1979) was an American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress, famous for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck ...

. In May 2001, Martini performed in the first new burlesque convention, "Tease-o-rama", in New Orleans. Later that year, at the

2001, she won the

Award for Fan Dance. In 2004 she was awarded the main title and the Jennie Lee award for tassel twirling at

. Martini has worked with comedian and drag king personality, Murray Hill, playwright/performer

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

in ''Red Tide Blooming'', follow burlesque performer

Julie Atlas Muz Julie Atlas Muz (born Julie Ann Muz on May 30, 1973) is a New York City-based performance artist, dancer, burlesque artist, stage director, and actress. In 2012, she married English actor Mat Fraser. Muz is best known as a performer in the New Y ...

and

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

in ''Bad Reputation'' and ''New York Values''. She also performed in

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

's 2007 burlesque-style variety show, ''The Sensuous Woman''. On 6 December 2017 Dirty Martini opened Off-Broadway in ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

'', the first large-scale

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

to be presented in New York for over a century, at the Playhouse Theater of the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

. Adapted from the fairy tale of the same title by Mat Fraser, and directed by

, the production also starred

David Ilku David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Michael Johnnie Lynch Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Matt Roper Matt Roper is a British comedian, writer and musician. Career Roper made his comedy debut in London during the late-1990s and is noted for his early work in sketch comedy at the Jermyn Street Theatre and in the satirical sketch show ''Newsrevue ...

and a cast of downtown performers. Awarded the NYT Critic's Pick, the production closed on 23 December 2017 and enjoyed a revival the following year at the same theatre, running for three weeks during the 2018 holiday season. Martini played the role of the Good Fairy. She presently tours theatres and opera houses across the world with

Dita Von Teese Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Queen ...

TV and film appearances

Miss Dirty Martini Michael Urie and Michael Musto 2010 Shankbone

She has appeared on the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

TV series, "Into Character", in the 2004 documentary ''The Velvet Hammer Burlesque'', in

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...

's 2006 film ''

Shortbus ''Shortbus'' is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. Th ...

'', and in Mitchell's video for "

Filthy/Gorgeous "Filthy/Gorgeous" is a song by American pop- rock band Scissor Sisters. It is the seventh track on their self-titled debut album. Released as the album's fifth and final single in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2005, the song peaked at number ...

" by the

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...

. She has been the featured subject in two documentaries. One is the 2009 short film ''Dirty Martini'' by Iban Del Campo, which won the best documentary film award at the 2010 FreeNetWorld International Film Fest held in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. The other is the 2010 feature length ''Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque'' by Gary Beeber, which is about Martini and her colleagues in the

Neo-Burlesque Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can r ...

scene. Martini also appears in the ''Burlesque Undressed'' documentary with

Immodesty Blaize Immodesty Blaize (born Kelly Fletcher in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) 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 Exo ...

Catherine D'lish Catherine D’lish is an American performance artist specializing in classical strip tease and burlesque. Career D'Lish uses elaborate costumes, and decorative props are part of her show. She has been the headlining performer at multiple events i ...

Satan's Angel Angel Cecelia Helene Walker (September 18, 1944 – April 11, 2019) was an American exotic dancer specializing in stripping and burlesque under her stage name Satan's Angel. Career Satan's Angel started dancing in San Francisco in 1961, after ...

, and

Michelle L'amour Michelle L'amour (born April 15, 1980) is an American neo-burlesque performer who grew up in Orland Park, Illinois. In 2006, she performed stripteases on NBC's '' America's Got Talent'', Showtime's ''Sexual Healing'', and in small touring perfo ...

, and in ''Exotic World & the Burlesque Revival'', which focuses on the history of Dixie Evans' Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum (formerly The Exotic World Museum).Exotic World & the Burlesque Revival
/ref> Martini, alongside burlesque performers including Mimi Le Meaux, Kitten on the Keys,

, Evie Lovelle and Roky Roulette, were featured in

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich (2005 film), ...

's 2010

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

-award winning film, ''

Tournee ''Tournee'' is the eighth album and the second live album by the German jazz rock band Kraan. It was recorded in four venues between March and November 1979. Track listing # "Borgward" – 8:16 # "Almrausch" – 5:57 # "Peterchens Reise" – 7: ...

''. A drawing of her is used for the film's promotional poster.

Print media

Martini has been featured in the books, "Striptease, from Gaslight to Spotlight" by Jessica Glasscock, "Burlesque, The New Bump and Grind" by Michelle Baldwin and Katherina Bosse's "New Burlesque". Martini is also featured in "Neo-Burlesque: Striptease As Transformation" by Lynn Sally, released in October 2021. For the spring 2010 edition of '' V Magazine'', she was featured in a fashion spread shot by

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

at the House of

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

References

External links

* *
Dirty Martini on MySpace

Dirty Martini profile on Jac Bowie's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirty Martini American neo-burlesque performers American female erotic dancers American erotic dancers Living people Miss Exotic World winners American beauty pageant winners American vedettes Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women