Born Marjorie Rose Lee, Rosita Royce -also known as the ‘Doves Dancer’- 
was a very popular 1930’s American burlesque performer. She was also
one of the controversial burlesque artists having brushes with the law
due to her “indecent performances”.

On one occasion, Rosita Royce was arrested and taken to court for appearing
in the nude in the ‘Streets of Paris’ show. She explained to the judge that a
thief had snatched her costume just before she was due on stage and she had
to make do with a fig leaf… but “the wind blew it off”. Aw bless! Those tricky
on stage wardrobe malfunctions…

In spite of – or perhaps thanks to – the controversy that surrounded burlesque
dancers back in the 1930’s, the popularity of this art form boomed. With New York
as its epicentre, the American burlesque scene was one of fierce competition and
by 1935 there were reportedly 3,500 strippers in the US performing for over 50,000
people per night. Wowza!

More than ever burlesque performers were pushed to their limits to come up with
acts which were not only racy and risqué, but also -and most importantly- acts
which were extremely creative.

It was back then when famous burlesque routines still used today such as ‘The
Bubble Dance’ were first seen on stage. The dance is attributed to Sally Rand
(Rosita Royce’s most distinguished competitor) although Rosita claimed that she
had performed it first and that she was being copied. It was then when Rosita
planned to substitute the bubble with a new number, one which was to become
her trademark and signature act: the Dance of the Doves.

Rosita Royce filled her mouth with birdseeds and struck artistic poses while seven
trained doves carried off pieces of her evening gown. Her costume consisted mainly
of the seven doves or alternately of a cockatoo called “Silly Billy” and a macaw named
“Red.”

Despite being rather controversial, her new dance which she went to perform at
the 1939 NY World’s Fair was a hit and her act remains one of the most charming
and entertaining.

She was the number one attraction at the NY 1939 World’s Fair and she appeared
in Jerald Intrator’s 1953 comedy film Striporama – A film which starred a number of
burlesque, comedy, dance and striptease acts popular during the early 1950s.

Despite being a prominent figure in the world of burlesque, there doesn’t seem
to be an official biography of Rosita Royce – at least not one that yours truly
managed to come across after scouring the net; if you have, then by all means
please share with us.

Time.com published an article on her called: ‘The Teathre: Bird Fancier’ which
makes an interesting read and there are bits and pieces printed about her life
in various books too, among them is Jane Briggeman’s ‘Burlesque: Legendary
Stars Of The Stage‘, which gives two interesting accounts of her death in 1954.

Image © Bettmann/CORBIS | Photographed: October 21, 1937| Collection Bettmann

‘Doves Perch on Sleeping Woman’
Original caption: 10/21/1937- Students of ornithology and terpsichore alike will be pleased to witness the dove-dance, devised by Rosita Royce, now appearing in Memphis. Miss Royce has trained a covey of pigeons to perform flight maneuvers, and to alight on her person at strategic moments, substituting ingeniously for fans, during her daring dance. This, as may be instantly surmised, is “the awakening.”

Here is a video of Rosita Royce performing her iconic ‘Bird Dance’:

We may not have doves, cockatoos or macaws on stage at Wam Bam but
rumor has it that monkeys and peacocks are sometimes seen dancing with
our very fabulous Miss Bunny Galore.

Now here is a bit of last Saturday’s right royal knees up:

Let us know if you came! And if you didn’t then come over and see us sometime!!!

You can catch what’s on next at Wam Bam and get your tickets here.

xoxo
Nonita