NEW CHAMPAGNE ROOMS - Burlesque dance has been described as being the art of the tease. Burlesque is all about old-fashioned glamour and being a lady… albeit a lady with a naughty side. On a recent evening this reporter took in a show at the New Champagne Rooms – a recently opened burlesque venue owned by Ahnyanka Delphin.

Filled with vintage style (1920’s-40’s) and exotic performances, it was a fascinating and beautiful evening. We sat down with Delphin and manager and dancer, Bettye Dugan, to talk about bringing burlesque to Second Life.

Delphin had first been a dancer at the original Champagne Rooms. She told SLNN that when the previous owner, Miss Gemma, had to leave Second Life, “We were all devastated that the club was gone... so I chatted with Miss Gemma for a few and she mentioned she was sad she had to close and hoped that someone would raise the flag and start up again…So I decided that would be a fun adventure.” Thus, the New Champagne Rooms was born.

The décor of the club sends patrons back in time – from the rich red walls and velvet curtains, to an elegant bar and highly detailed furnishings. When asked how she had decided on the décor of the venue, Delphin explained that since the original club was gone, they had to rebuild it from scratch. “I tried to keep the same general feel and layout with a few modifications that worked well…. we wanted rich warm and inviting decor... and since the Champagne Rooms has always been set roughly in the 20's to 40's era... we wanted to match. I wound up building a good portion of the furniture as well... when I first came to SL I had a building bug.... so I already had a lot of pieces to play with.”

Upon joining the New Champagne Rooms, Dugan had never done any burlesque dance performances, describing herself as having been, “…a very unsuccessful stripper”. Dugan performed a fire dance routine the night that SLNN took in the show. Of Dugan, Delphin said, “She's a darling and a huge asset to the New Champagne Rooms. I'm lucky to have her as one of my managers!”