A Wink and a Smile

An intoxicating mix of private thoughts and public behavior, A Wink and A Smile exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power, sexuality and social identity under the glittery spotlight, as it follows the lives often "ordinary" women who do something extraordinary - learn the art burlesque dancing and striptease.

Students of Seattle's Academy of Burlesque have just six weeks to peel and reveal their hidden talents with little more than a tassel and a twirl. Through their adventures, we see how a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student join the American cultural revival of burlesque, as it moves from fringe fascination to mainstream obsession, engaging a world where performance art and showgirl spectacle music, theater and sensuality crash into over-the top glamour - a world where many want to go, but very few dare.