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All That Glitters Preview

“All That Glitters: Portraits of Burlesque Performers In Their Homes” is a multimedia endeavor currently in production by BCJ Photography that seeks the answer to the question: What is burlesque? The project will culminate in a coffee table book, a documentary film, and gallery exhibitions in cities throughout the United States.

For more information visit http://bcjphotography.com/allthatglitters

We’re Not In Chicago Anymore

My plan was to blog about the All That Glitters – The East Coast and some Southern States Too Tour during the trip. It didn’t really happen that way, but I’m very pleased with the time I spent on the road and the results from each of the photo sessions.

In 28 days I drove 6,181 miles through 26 states (10 of which I slept in) and photographed 24 burlesque performers in their homes, including one “burlesque legend” known as Wild Cherry. Burlesque legends are dancers who began performing in the first half of the 20th century and in some cases still perform today.

I’m not usually a dog person, but it seems that burlesque performers own super-cute and friendly dogs, most of them rescues of some sort. In addition to the dogs, I had the pleasure of meeting many fabulous cats, a snake, and even a couple of prairie dogs named Chip and Dale.

Along with this adventure I moved my home & office from Chicago to Los Angeles. While the move helps to fulfill a number of personal goals, such as keeping my toes warm all year, it also leaves me in the prime geographical position to gather the remaining portraits and interviews for All That Glitters from West Coast performers.

I’ll begin scheduling sessions for Los Angeles performers in the coming weeks and hope to get back on the road by mid to late summer. First, however, I need to fill in some funding gaps to help cover costs of the remaining work. Once I figure that out I’ll be able to visit performers all along the West Coast.

In the meantime I’ll be sorting through the latest portraits and editing video from the interviews, so check back occasionally for some outtakes and updates.