Rose Chan - The First Malaysian Burlesque Star

(I posted this on The Merch Girl too.)

Rose Chan is Malaysia’s most popular (and possibly only major) Malaysian burlesque/striptease star. She was a cabaret performer who turned to striptease in the 1950s after a wardrobe malfunction (snapped bra strap) got her more applause than she expected. Since then she had been very popular for being very brazen and open with her sexuality before the days of Madonna et al – especially in a conservative puritanical country like Malaysia!

I had vaguely heard of her before, but her burlesque connection only just occured to me. She’s more referred to as a stripper or exotic dancer, but the description of her show (from the Wikipedia article on her) pretty much describes burlesque, aside from the hardcore stuff:

Once the music starts, the troupe emerges from behind the curtains, and parade on stage, clad only in panties, and a star covering each nipple. Dancing slowly to the tune of Chinese music, typically cha-cha and mambo rock, they strip naked the moment a voice booms “Hoi!” (Cantonese: open) over the microphone. The opening striptease is followed by various sideshows — standup comedians, clowns, and jugglers — which served to prolong the mounting anticipation for the star attraction.

When Chan comes on stage, she moves subtly, gently swaying in a slow dance, all by herself. As she removes one piece of clothing after another, the tempo gradually picks up. When she reaches the point of removing her brassiere, she holds back. That is when her stagehands bring in the pythons, and she dances with the snakes wrapped all around her. Next, she removes her brassiere, and dances bare-breasted. After a while, the snakes are removed. She then approaches the people sitting nearest to the stage, who are normally the elderly big towkays (Hokkien: business owner). She takes an old man’s spectacles, rubs it against her private parts, and then gives it back to him.

…

She then tells some jokes. Sometimes, she will ask a Caucasian (because she knows they are more sporting than the shy, local guys) to go up on stage, and gets him to strip her or any of her performers. She slowly rolls down her panties, bit by bit, until the audience can have a peek at her pubic hair. The crowd goes hysterical, and eventually, she removes her panties, and dances and sways to the beat. The music then slows down, and she walks around, and then off she goes backstage.

It’s surprising that for a long time, her shows were even allowed – it wasn’t until her later years, when Malaysian authorities became more Islamized, that she started to get in trouble for her shows. According to some real-life accounts, her shows were legal. LEGAL!!! (Or rather, even if they weren’t by the spirit of the law, the authorities didn’t seem to mind.) Nowadays you can’t even wear a tank top on stage without being slapped with an indecency fine.

She was such a legend that an exhibition held to raise funds for her cancer treatment drew tons of fans – though many were disappointed that Rose herself wasn’t stripping. Even now, her memorial site draws tons of fans.

There’s been a song about her, Rose Rose I Love You, which was originally in Mandarin but was covered in English by Frankie Lane. The song itself sounds so burlesquey – why didn’t I include this in my Burlesque Beats mix CD?

There’s been a musical about her life (which garnered mixed reviews) and there’s a movie in the works, which I really want to see.

Wow, this is awesome. Could there be any more Rose Chans lurking in the middle of the country now?

Some other links (The Star had a recent feature on her, hence the chunk of links from them):

Rose Rose I Love You lyrics
Random forum articles about Rose Chan
Rose Chan’s niche still a draw (!!! I suggested doing a Hungry Ghosts RaGTaG to Lena since there’s a tradition of a burlesque-style show on the night of the Festival. A routine of her would be PERFECT.)
Story behind stage name
She was a woman who loved life, says Teoh (Patrick Teoh is a well-known radio DJ and media dude)
A cut above the rest with her daring acts
The one and only (about the musical)
Bare necessities (about the costuming in the musical)

Comments

1. Rose is gorgeous!

   — Kathleen · Mar 15, 10:29 PM · #

2. Hehehe. I remember my dad talking about her once. In fact, I think I once found an old photograph of her in the house. Fabulous. <3 Great find, Tiara!

   — Jha · Mar 25, 11:16 AM · #