LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Georgette Dante has lived a life on center stage, draped in feathers and heavy makeup.
She also had a lot of determination to make a name for herself. The 77-year-old has been a performer for a long time in the Las Vegas area.
“My name was Little Egypt, the Shimmy Queen from New Orleans,” Dante said.
She went from Shimmy Queen to Georgette Dante in no time. As she sits down with FOX5, Dante tells us the feathers and sequins were just a small part of her life in show business.
“Burlesque taught me it’s more than taking clothes off, its acrobatics, fire breathing,” she said.
After all, she was introduced to show business at a young age.
Dante said she was born into the Ringling Brothers circus and to a mom who already made a name for herself.
“My mother, she is a burlesque legend, her name was Delilah Dante,” she said.
Victoria Saha: Do you remember her performing while growing up?
Dante: I was stripping with her when I was 12-years-old working with Tenpest Storm.
When the curtain dropped, this burlesque dancer was not afraid to bear it all. There was no room for fear. She said it was about survival.
“You had three months to make your money, you put up, you tear down, back on the road,’ she said. ”We did 25-30 shows a day. Short shows, pop pills and keep going,” Dante said.
When the going got tough, Dante said she was forced another route.
“My brother and I were out siphoning gas. I used to pick pocket,” she said.
By the time the show business legend made her way to Las Vegas in the 70s, her name was everywhere. Dante showed FOX5 a sign outside the Royal Casino where it advertisement said “Rare and Bare Georgette Dante.”
“Back in the day, burlesque dancers were not allowed to have any tattoos, you weren’t allowed to be a person of color, things are so much more relaxed people are allowed to be themselves,” Dante said.
Dante later would hang up the feathers and sequins and start magic tricks. She even whipped up a couple during the interview with FOX5.
Dante also explained how she was a stunt performer.
“I was once buried under ground for a week with 120 rattle snakes. I had a scope that went down, had a bathing suit on, had a lot of marijuana. I was happy, they were happy, they didn’t know why,” Dante said.
These days, Dante spends her life in her decked out trailer, navigating her bad hip.
Saha:Do you often go down memory lane?
Dante: Not too much because I am still living.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
