Torchy's on Fire!

Ex-stripper Eva Wynne-Warren is reviving the old va-va-voom art of the tease

Comments (0) By Amy Guthrie Thursday, Apr 26 2007

The element of mystique is extremely important in the world of tease. Torchy admits it took her a while to catch on to this cornerstone of showmanship. Reading about circus promoter P.T. Barnum helped clue her in.

Like most of Torchy's stories, this one begins with a tantalizing hook and is animated with full-body gestures. "I used to do a snake act," she begins. With a real snake? "Oh yeah," she answers with an enthusiastic nod. "I would sit there and explain it like Miss Von Von Snake and tell people: No, the snake isn't going to hurt me." Torchy shoos away the imaginary concerned listener with a wave of her hand. "I was doing the snake act four times a day, four times a week, and the snake would be stretched out reaching for the spotlights — and I finally realized that I was spoiling it. The next time someone asked me [about the snake], I said: Oh yeah — watch out! — if she's bad, she'll bite me."

C. STILES

Never a dull moment with Torchy

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The same goes for the intricacies of tassel twirling. If Torchy shows you how to do it, you'd better keep your lips sealed. Like a magician guarding the secrets of her trade, she vows to reveal the trick only to a few promising candidates. Hopefully, those in the know will then join Torchy's burlesque troupe for performances in South Florida.

And if anyone ever asks what it takes, tassel twirlers should reply with one of these two standard answers: My breasts are talented!Or It's sooo difficult; it took me years to perfect.

Some things just shouldn't be demystified.