Calamity Chang – Asian Burlesque Dancer

A good friend of mine, right here on AsianceMagazine recently sent me a photo of Calamity Chang with a comment saying, “Steven Speliotis would love this…”
My reply was, “Now, Why would you Think that?”

The photo was of the glamorous Calamity Chang dressed in classic burlesque style, arched back, smiling as she was pouring an oversized martini glass of glitter onto her chest…… mmm Now why would I love that?

I had to find out for myself, who this goddess Calamity Chang is & here’s what I found…

I hope you enjoy the read & come to her burlesque shows. They’re sexy, fun and admission is a smile..

ASIANCE: What is your Asian Heritage?

Calamity: Chinese

ASIANCE: Where are you from? When did you get to New York?

Calamity: I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. We left Taiwan when I was eight years old and we lived in Bolivia, South America for three years. Then we immigrated to the US when I was 11. We moved around a lot – Florida & many different cities in Texas. I credit my easily adaptable nature to the fact that we moved around so much and that I had to learn 3 languages. I left Texas immediately after high school and went to Cornell University. After undergraduate I moved to NYC permanently.

ASIANCE: How did you first get introduced to Burlesque?

Calamity: I saw The Starshine Burlesque show at Rififi’s more than 6 years ago and was under the spell ever since!

ASIANCE: What is the appeal of Burlesque for you?

Calamity: The glamour, the costumes, the theatricality, and celebrating the female form.

ASIANCE: When did you know you wanted to be a performer and now a producer?

Calamity: I always knew I wanted to perform, but producing was forced on me when my friend Peter Klein, ex-owner and chef of West Village restaurant Chow Bar, asked me to produce “Dim Sum Burlesque” on Sunday nights. He insisted that I produce, host, and perform in the show myself. I followed the path and it has led to many good things.

ASIANCE: Generally Speaking, why do most women get into Burlesque?

Calamity: I can’t speak for all women, but I think it’s because it’s fun. It’s like one big slumber party/princess fantasy but forever.

There are quite a few boy-lesquers and it’s very quickly becoming popular internationally. In NYC you can look up Tigger!, GoGo Harder, Scot the Blue Bunny to name a few.

ASIANCE: Are you seeing more Asian Women getting into Burlesque these days?

Calamity: Some but still not a lot. Since I started, I’ve seen a handful of Chinese girls become performers: Minx Arcana, Cheekie Lane and Stella Chuu. Each of them has a very different aesthetic and style of performance.

ASIANCE: Where do you find all of your costumes? Do you make them or have them made?

Calamity: I make them myself. I start out with the base such as a bra, underwear, and corset. The other materials such as rhinestones, feathers, trimmings, and sequins, I sew or glue on myself. The more complicated costumes I would consider hiring someone to do for me. For instance, rhinestoning and making pasties are not my forte, so I hire Nasty Canasta and Hazel Honeysuckle to make them for me. My little cocktail hats are made by Little Stormy and some of my feather hair clips are made by my friend Elizabeth Cherry. I do like making really big feather headdresses myself.

ASIANCE: Can a woman make a living in Burlesque?

Calamity: Not in NYC. In London the performers are paid better. Here in NYC, everyone has at least one other day job that they hold on top of performing. Some people are art models, bartenders, theater actresses, or like me, web designer in advertising.

ASIANCE: What have been some of the highlights of your career?

Calamity: When audiences tell me they had a great time or really loved the shows I put together are always highlights for me. I want to entertain! And if everyone walks away feeling like they experienced something worth telling their friends or colleagues about the next day, then that’s reward enough for me.

ASIANCE: So, What’s next for Calamity Chang? as a performer? a producer? Teacher? Model? actress?

Calamity: I believe destiny will lead me to where I need to go. I have an open mind and my instincts have served me well all my life, so I will leave it up to the universe to take me where I need to go. Having said that, I do want to return to my first passion – writing – and write a fictional story with the perspective of the new generation of Asian American women in a few years.

ASIANCE: Where can our readers find out more about your performances?

Calamity: The best way to find out more is to sign up for my monthly newsletter where I list all the shows I will be doing: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1415812/acctId:1403536

I am also on
Twitter http:///www.twitter.com/calamitychang
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Calamity-Chang-The-Asian-Sexsation/129734287086436

ASIANCE: where can our readers find out more about the art of Burlesque?

Calamity: I love reading all the biographies and autobios by the performers of the past like Georgia Sothern, Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr.
I learn invaluable things from their experiences and lives. I also recommend the following books:
THE BURLESQUE HANDBOOK by Jo Weldon (Headmistress, New York School of Burlesque)
Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture by Robert C. Allen
Striptease: From Gaslight To Spotlight by Jessica Glasscock
Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens by Liz Goldwyn
Strip City: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America by Lily Burana
Films:
A wink and a Smile
Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque

ASIANCE: Thank you Calamity for the time we shared here and for all that you do and bring to the world of burlesque.

Calamity: It’s a pleasure to get to know you and to experience Burlesque in the way it ought to be,
All in good sexy fun !!!

As a closing note:
Calamity Chang’s burlesque show has quickly become the highlight of my week…
This is one assignment that I will just have to keep following up on ..
I will see you at Nurse Betties on Thursday Night 10:00pm