Dina Klein

What my show actually looks like

My era is the nineteen fifties: red lipstick, black eyeliner, seamed stockings. I am the only one in the gallery doing genuine vintage pin-up with a feather fan rather than simply wearing a retro dress.

My fan is pink turkey feathers, a metre and a half across, and it is the main instrument. Open it, close it, hide behind it — it does all the work of clothing without being clothing. Anyone who has seen real vintage burlesque knows that is the moment.

I also have a chair routine, a full piece of choreography on a chair, which is the closest thing to what the cabarets actually did. It is my favourite part and it works in any room with one chair.

Who I suit

A birthday, especially when the guests are in their thirties and forties. The retro speaks to them, and it is a show you can laugh during rather than only watch.

Themed parties, Gatsby evenings, a company event wanting something light and elegant. And a stag night too — the retro line removes the awkwardness because it is amused rather than heavy.

I play well to a mixed room, which is one of the advantages of the style: pin-up is playful without being crude.

Where it works

Any room with a chair and two metres. The fan needs space to open, about two metres across, and beyond that I am not demanding.

I work across the metro area: Florentin, Jaffa, Herzliya and everything between. Hotel rooms work well too.

What I do not do

Nobody touches the fan. Turkey feathers come out on one grab, and the fan costs about as much as two shows. It is the one request I say out loud before we begin.

No filming and no touching unless I invite it. The show ends when it ends, with no afterwards.

How I got into this

I started in swing dancing. Three years of lindy hop in Tel Aviv, then the costumes of the period, then the performance. It was completely natural and I did not plan it.

I ordered my first fan from the United States and waited two months. When it arrived it took me six months to learn to open it without it looking like a broom. That sounds funny and it is genuinely hard.

Five years in the work. I set the curls myself every time, which is an hour before every show.

What I bring and what I need from you

The fan, a dress, a corset, seamed stockings, shoes and the music — swing, rockabilly and big band.

From you: a chair without arms, two metres of clear floor and a speaker. Warm light if possible, a yellow bulb or a table lamp. Under cold white light the retro reads as fancy dress.

And a smooth floor, because part of the chair routine relies on controlled sliding.

Mistakes people make when they book me

Touching the fan. I said it and I will say it again, because it happens every other evening.

Booking me with no chair. Possible, but then you have given up my best part without knowing it.

Expecting something hot. Pin-up is playful rather than heated. Anyone wanting something more direct needs a different style and I will say which.

Hard white light. It kills the aesthetic. One yellow bulb solves everything.

What I ask before I confirm

Four questions, all practical. The answers decide whether I bring the large fan and which part of the show is possible at all.

Is there a chair without arms. Always my first question, because the chair routine is my strongest part. A kitchen chair is entirely enough.

How much width there is. The fan opens to two metres. In less it opens partly, and that looks like half a show.

What the lighting is. A yellow bulb or a table lamp is perfect. Hard white light turns the retro into fancy dress and I will ask for it off.

Floor or carpet. Part of the chair choreography relies on controlled sliding, which does not happen on carpet.

Booking me

Name, hour, address, how many guests, and whether there is a suitable chair. I always ask about the chair.

Standard price, no deposit. Closest to me: Yasmin Coral in classic burlesque and Shira Leon on the elegant line. The gallery is here.