I expect corsets and feather bustles, though I know I am being absurd. Yet when the three walk in ? two of them dancers, the other their manager ? I find myself staring just as I would if they were in their full dancing outfits.

They're all immaculately dressed: the dancers in long, elegant summer dresses, their make-up done tastefully for the daytime, their manager, sporting a bowler hat, suspenders and a black shirt. She calls herself Fox, her piercing blue eyes set off against raven black hair, as well as her suited-up style, give her a "showbiz manager from the 1950's" style.

Next to walk by I presume are the dancers: Scar Lit Hearts, her cheeky red and white-streaked bob lying provocatively above her eye and Diva DisaStar, her pendant falling tastefully toward her bosom.

I have chosen a table in the shady corner of an empty restaurant ? the sunny day has drawn patrons outside to sit amongst sprouting umbrellas to chatter and guffaw raucously.

I ignore the noise and turn my attention to my present interview and for good reason, because here sit before me the first burlesque troupe in South Africa: Black Orchid Burlesque.

They set about telling me all about their passion for burlesque right away as we work to find common ground, searching for that comfortable foothold that will help the conversation flow.

Diva DisaStar. That name, how do you pronounce it? Diva, I am told, is pronounced as we all know it to be: "deeva". DisaStar is pronounced "deesastaar" ? disaster, so she says, because she is prone to tripping on stage.

I offer that nothing can be as disastrous as Mariah Carey's recent drunken acceptance speech at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Besides, I wonder, isn't burlesque meant to have a little bit of clowning, a little bit of tongue-in-cheek?

Aha! It is.

Burlesque performers are playful yet elegant, sexy yet sophisticated, making an unplanned trip on stage into part of the act ? allowing the performer to cover up her faux pas by acting the part ? a pretty yet clumsy clown, mouth open aghast, eyes wide in feigned surprise. I doubt whether Mariah could've come back from her slurred and inane babbling speech at those awards.

And why the different names? They're stage names, I'm told, and as being a burlesque dancer is all about maintaining the mystery and intrigue, they say they will not reveal their real names. Taking on stage names gives them the opportunity to adopt the persona that dramatises the more diva-like aspects of their personalities.

But before we bury ourselves in the depths of what it means to be a burlesque girl, we discuss what "burlesque" is in the first place.

An 18th-Century phenomenon found first in gentlemen's clubs in France and extending, in many forms and variations, to saloons in mid-West America, nomadic circuses across Europe, it has most recently extended to the southernmost tip of Africa.

The over-the-top performers that accentuate and dramatise everyday life in a way that is both sensual, witty and appealing offer an escape from the harsh reality of life by parodying it, literally turning it on it's head and laughing at it.

It has seen a revival in recent years with films such as Moulin Rouge and performers such as Dita von Teese, herself a modern-day burlesque performer, making waves as a socialite and fashionista in the USA. And I hear that we await a new film called "Burlesque" starring Christina Aguilera set to debut this year.

The act always combines a witty repartee ? making fun, teasing, seeing the funny side of life while always being charming. Its more risque side is associated with Strip Tease, and it is possibly where stripping originated.

Watch the girls in action here:

Even so, stripping down to nothing is not what burlesque performance is about. Or is it? I ask the dancers. Together, they begin to fill me in on what it is to be a burlesque dancer. It is about empowered women, about embracing femininity and mysteriousness and absolutely not about the strip but all about the tease.

Diva explains, "It's not about what you're revealing, it's what's suggested that makes burlesque so sexy." In this way, the power always remains in the hands of the dancer ? the flesh they do choose to reveal is an act of empowerment rather than one of debasement or compromise.

With their small troupe of dancers, Diva DisaStar and Scar Lit Hearts share their mojo with their audience through their spell-binding and sexy performance.

They firmly believe that the power of their sensuality and sexiness stems from how they feel within themselves. Their femininity and sensuality does not require affirmation from a second source to make it legitimate. They are adamant that all women can achieve this if given the chance.

"Self-confidence is what allows you to develop your life," Scar Lit offers. Diva and Scar Lit run burlesque workshops and have found that encouraging women to be themselves is greatly rewarding for them, just as it is for those that take part.

A black feather bower draped elegantly across my shoulders, a laced-up corset, sauntering elegantly across a stage flooded in red light ? the image appeals to me. Perhaps I'll join the workshop. But I think I'll keep my name...