David N. Jahn

David Jahn is a neo-burlesque impresario, filmmaker and musician based in Prague, Czech Republic. Jahn is best known for his louche MC persona Sonny Vargas with the stage troupe Prague Burlesque, which he founded in 2007 and developed into a local institution and international touring company. According to Prague TV, "his aim is to continue the long tradition of burlesque, and to make this concept popular once again." Prior to the stage debut of Prague Burlesque in September 2007, the last burlesque performance in Prague had taken place in 1910. Inspired by the Weimar culture of interwar Berlin, as well as by Michelle Carr's 1990s Los Angeles revival troupe Velvet Hammer Burlesque and by Dita Von Teese, Jahn maintains that the genre adheres to a strict set of rules. "For instance, I never reveal a woman's entire nude body. Rather, I indicate what lay beyond her undergarments, always working with the feeling that more will follow. The essence of burlesque is in parodying courtesanal m...