For the past two years Katharina Bosse has photographed the performers of burlesque in the United States. Across the whole country, in cities such as New Orleans, Memphis, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Boston, Atlanta and of course Los Angeles and New York, artists, alone or in groups, are rediscovering the art of the burlesque. "Burlesque is above all a sort of old-fashioned striptease in which the emphasis is on suggestion rather than nudity. There is often humour and comic elements. It differs from commercial striptease in that performers do not force the audience to give money; in fact, one does not earn much with burlesque. Performers do it for the love of playing, of being on stage and of expressing themselves. Each is unique, and on stage one finds a wide range of ages and body sizes. Generally there is no director: performers create their own character, costumes and choreography. The new burlesque is halfway between a classic performance and Las Vegas-style variety, spiced with postmodern irony."