Lottie 'The Body' Graves

Lottie 'The Body' Tatum-Graves (born 1930) is an American burlesque dancer.

Biography

She was born in 1930 in South Carolina but her parents came from Barbados.[1] Her parents migrated to Syracuse, New York when Lottie was only one years old. She graduated high school in 1947. Lottie "The Body" Graves was classically trained in New York. She began her dance career at only seventeen years old.

Career

She began dancing with Alan White and several theatre troupes. Lottie traveled as a performing dancer all throughout the United States before she settled into Detroit, in what used to be recalled as Paradise Valley. After she moved to Detroit, Lottie began dancing at the Twenty Grand nightclub. It was rumored that Lottie might've even been the inspiration for the Pink Poodle nightclub, which was created by a racketeer hailing from Indianapolis.

Lottie was just as well known for her classical moves spiced with an afro-Cuban essence as she was for her eye catching costumes. Lottie's costumes were always known for their flare, and how much attention they drew to her. Lottie was skilled in the SoCal, Chi-Chi, Calypso and various Cuban styles. Her first marriage was to Harlem Globetrotter Goose Tatum for six years. While married, Lottie "The Body" Graves, and Goose Tatum visited Cuba. It was whispered that she may have even been rather close with Fidel Castro. The City Council of Detroit often commemorated Lottie for increasing the city's entertainment and tourism. Lottie was also known for her connections with the big names like: Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, T- Bone Walker, B.B. King, Maurice Taylor, Solomon Burke, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday and the aforementioned Fidel Castro. Lottie "The Body" Graves was one of the most notable Black Burlesque and Vaudeville dancers. Her talents even transgressed to white clubs during the segregation period in the U.S. Lottie is known as a famed Black Burlesque dancer alongside Aida Overton Walker, Josephine Baker and Toni Elling. African American performers of Vaudeville like Lottie "The Body" broke through racial tensions during the height of segregation and open racism.

Lottie was not considered a " stripper" or even an "exotic dancer" like those in her time. She was regarded more as an ecdysiast. She was different than the other dancers of her time period in the way that she was known for being quite the performer. She wasn't remembered generations after for just taking off her clothes. Her dance style and body techniques were praised as uniquely her own; notably something that many dancers couldn't pull off.

References

  1. ↑ "Detroit Dissolving:: LOTTIE THE BODY - "Built like two stacks of pancakes": There is a lot of Lottie Online". detroitdissolving.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  • 2. Jones, Tiffani. "Secret History of The Black Pinup: Lottie "The Body" Graves." Coffee Rhetoric:. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. This source recounts Lottie "the body" Graves upbringing and her history as a burlesque dancer. It talks about how the notable black burlesque/ vaudeville dancer danced in white clubs at the peak of segregation. It even goes as far as her mingling with Aretha Franklin and famed others.
  • 3. Klein, Sarah. "Paradise Regained." Detroit Metro Times. Metro Times, 03 Aug. 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. This source notes Lottie " The Body" as the muse behind the pink poodle, and friends with notables like Billie Holiday and Fidel Castro. She's noted in this source as Detroit's Gypsy Rose Lee.
  • 4. Doherty, Serena. "This Is How You Burlesque." Burlexe. Burlexe, 30 May 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. This source lets us know where Lottie was born and the age she began her Burlesque career. It also takes snippets of quotes from authors who wrote on Lottie.
  • 5. "Legend: Lottie the Body." Red Hots Burlesque. Red Hots Burlesque, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. This story talks about how Lottie could've been the inspiration for "Brick House" by the commodores. It also reiterates the same information found in other sources.
  • 7.Clements, David. "LOTTIE THE BODY - "Built like Two Stacks of Pancakes": There Is a Lot of Lottie Online." Detroit Dissolving::. N.p., 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. This source gives a view on Lottie Graves' life currently.
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