( also burlesk ) n [ U , C ] ( AmE )
a type of stage variety show once popular in the US. It began as family entertainment in the 1860s with singers, dancers, performers of comedy, etc. It started to include striptease (= women taking their clothes off) in the 1920s when films began to reduce the audiences. Performers who began in burlesque included W C Fields , Fanny Brice and Al Jolson .