Showgirl History

Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 28 The importance of preserving the Showgirl through costume preservation and its individual history featuring Karan Feder

ep 028 The importance of preserving the Showgirl through costume preservation and its individual history featuring Karan Feder

From dressing Mitzi Gaynor on tour straight out of fashion design school to designing for film and fashion, Karan Feder’s path led her to her position curating the costume and textiles collection at the Nevada State Museum Las Vegas where she helps preserve this unique time in Las Vegas history for generations to come.  We …

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Showgirls Life podcast former Las Vegas showgirl Athena in purple showgirl headdress

ep 027 Auditions: Does it ever get any easier? Featuring Athena Patacsil and various guests

Today’s episode is all about AUDITIONS! Listen in to hear about my experiences with auditions from my very first ballet audition when I was 12 years old until my final audition as Principal in Jubilee! eighteen years later.  I discuss what went down in a showgirl show audition, what dancers went through during the process …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 26 Occupational hazards of dancing in a topless show featuring Scott Barnard

ep 026 Occupational hazards of dancing in a topless show featuring Scott Barnard

Scott Barnard went from taking classes in a small village in New York to a full scholarship to train with Gus Giordano in Chicago. After a year of training, he went to Las Vegas, where the tall dancers went, to audition for Jubilee. We discuss the elementary school bullying that almost prevented his dance career, …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 25 Las Vegas really was the wild wild West featuring Alan Clancy

ep 025 Las Vegas really was the wild wild West featuring Alan Clancy

Alan Clancy came to Las Vegas in his early twenties after traveling the world as an acrobat from the age of 17, and then performing in Fredrick Apcar’s Casino de Paris production in Sydney, Australia. Blown away by the lights and lifestyle of the entertainment industry, he settled there and performed in many of the …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 24 The joy of being asked by producers to work for them without an audition featuring Sal Angelica

ep 024 The joy of being asked by producers to work for them without an audition Featuring Sal Angelica

Today’s very special guest, Sal Angelica, shares about his journey from Brooklyn to the stages of Las Vegas and beyond over his 35+ year career as a dancer and adagio partner. From working with Donn Arden in Sky High in the Latin Quarter as his first professional dancing job to his dream job of performing …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 23 What happens when weight notices don't bother you featuring Janet Sawczuk-Chapman

ep 023 Long legs, feathery costumes and weight notices featuring Janet Sawczuk-Chapman

This episode features former Las Vegas Showgirl turned Pilates instructor, Janet Sawczuk-Chapman. From her first professional dancing job in Japan to jobs on the Las Vegas strip, she shares about the decade she spent on the Jubilee Theatre stage.  We discuss the highlights of being a Showgirl and some of the more difficult aspects of …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | Ep. 22 We started breaking that color barrier featuring Jakki Ford

ep 022 We started breaking that color barrier featuring Jakki Ford

This episode features the multi-talented star, Jakki Ford sharing her story about how she got started in the performing arts and how she has worked as a model, dancer and actress. We discuss how she sang and danced in all three of Donn Arden’s MGM productions and continues to sing and record albums to this …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep 21 MGM Grand fire and the impact on the opening of Jubilee!

ep 021 MGM Grand fire and the impact on the opening of Jubilee!

November 21st, 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the devastating fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada that killed 85 people and injured several hundreds more. This episode features survivors from the fire that were working on the opening of Donn Arden’s Jubilee! One member of the crew perished in the fire. …

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Showgirls Life podcast former Las Vegas showgirl Athena in purple showgirl headdress

ep 020 The hidden stories of shame about being a topless dancer

This episode features excerpts from previous guests discussing the subject of being a topless dancer and the shame (or not) surrounding it. Each guest has unique perspectives and experiences about their time being a Showgirl or topless dancer and how it has shaped their life since. We also have a couple of men that worked …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep. 19 Now stick that giant headpiece on and go with special guest Sheri Lewis

ep 019 Now stick that giant headpiece on and go featuring Sheri Lewis

She’s back! The host of Bluebells Forever Podcast, Sheri Lewis, takes the hot seat again to share her own experience as a Showgirl in Hello, Hollywood, Hello and beyond.  We discuss her experience of accepting a “nude” dancer contract and being disowned by her parents and the shaming some Showgirls went through from family, friends …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | Ep. 18 I really felt right at home with special guest Donna London

ep 018 I really felt right at home featuring Donna London

Donna London, former head of wardrobe of Jubilee shares her story of unexpectedly joining the circus and then moving to Las Vegas and joining the wardrobe crew of Jubilee in the winter of 1981. She shares about her time as a wardrobe technician and then moving up to management during her 33 1/2 years with …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | ep.17 We all played dress up with special guest Diana Eden

ep 017 We all played dress up featuring Diana Eden

This episode features broadway dancer turned costume designer, Diana Eden. We discuss her brief, but important role in the creation of Jubilee as the assistant to Bob Mackie and Pete Menefee. She was the creator and keeper of the famed “Costume Bibles” that were used to help rebuild the costumes after the tragic MGM fire …

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Showgirls Life podcast former Las Vegas showgirl Athena in purple showgirl headdress

ep 016 Feathery Revelry featuring Martie McNabb and Lindita Torres-Winters

What happens when you put Showgirl hats and jewelry on a chef and an entrepreneur? Surprising results! These two women, bravely attended a Feathery Revelry and got to experience the magic of the Art of the Showgirl. In this very special episode, they share how they felt before, during and after the event as well …

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Showgirls Life podcast | ep 015 We were there for the opening featuring Bluebell dancer Anne Marie O'Connor

ep 015 We were there for the opening featuring Anne Marie O’Connor

This episode features a woman that became a Bluebell in the opening cast of Jubilee and then went on to create her own showgirl troupes all over the world in the 1980s. Anne Marie O’Connor shares her Showgirl story And how that time shaped her life today. We discuss how the Bluebell training she received …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | Ep. 14 The Showgirl gave me confidence with special guest Su Kim Chung

ep 014 The Showgirl gave me confidence featuring Su Kim Chung

This episode features the more scholarly side of the history of the Showgirl. My guest, Su Kim Chung, Head of Public Services, talks about her role in the preservation of the Showgirl legacy for the UNLV library Special Collections and Archives in Las Vegas.  We discuss a bit of the history of the Showgirl, what …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | Ep. 13 Hanging out in the Showgirls dressing room with special guest Christopher Childers

ep 013 Hanging out in the Showgirls dressing room featuring Christopher Childers

This episode of Showgirl’s Life features former Principal dancer of the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Christopher Childers. Christopher’s career took him from Dancing in production shows on the Las Vegas Strip, to touring the world as a dancer with such celebrities as Paula Abdul, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson …

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Showgirl's Life Podcast | Ep. 12 Command the stage with a walk with special guest Anna Cooke

ep 012 Command that stage with a walk featuring Anna Cooke

In this episode, featuring my good friend from Jubilee!, Anna Cooke, we go through her career from theme parks to cruise ships to Vegas performer over the course of 27 years.  We discuss her experience with small shows versus larger productions, her love of ritual and the beauty of body variety that Jubilee standards held. …

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Showgirls Life Podcast | ep 011 Sparkle Darlings featuring Elana Braianis-McKinley

ep 011 Sparkle Darlings featuring Elana Braianis-McKinley

Today’s episode features Elana McKinley-Braianis, from Australia. She is a former Bluebell turned principal dancer that performed in La Scala Barcelona and later moved to Las Vegas to perform in Merci Beaucoup, Bare Touch of Vegas and Casino de Paris. Her vast experience included musical theater, modeling and dancing through the 60s, 70s and 80s …

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