Seven burlesque acts from around the country performed at Fifty Gorillas on Princes St on Saturday night. Organiser Jersey Rhein said all of the entrants were top regional acts, and the judges were internationally known burlesque performers.
The format of the competition was inspired by a boxing contest.
Seven performers strutted their stuff on a stage inspired by a boxing ring, and they were whittled down to four entrants and then two.
First place went to Blue Virtue, from Wellington, the competition’s only male — "boylesque"— performer, who won a $1000 cash prize.
The runner-up was Constance Mayhem, of Christchurch, but Dunedin woman Lunar Eclipse, who specialised in "glamour burlesque", won the crowd favourite award. Both of them won photoshoots.
"It was a really good night," Ms Rhein said.
"There were about 140 people watching."
Many people associated burlesque with stripping but it was about telling a story and providing "the tease without the sleaze", Ms Rhein said.
