Arts
AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with the legendary GiO! We had the honor of catching up to this New Orleans icon during the 2007 Tennessee Williams Festival right here in the Crescent City. In this brief 120 seconds, GiO talks about her time on Bourbon Street as well as her contribution to Louisiana in Words. GiO came to perform in New Orleans during the 1988 Republican Convention and got hooked on the architecture and feeling of decay exuded by the city. With ten years of dancing behind her and degree from New York's Pratt Institute, she moved to New Orleans possessed of a vision. A vision of re-igniting the fires of classical burlesque and bringing it acknowledgement as a legitimate art form. Dubbed "The Burlesque Queen of New Orleans" by The Times-Picayune, she reigned on Bourbon Street for seventeen years. This highly educated woman has also been a radio host, poet, performance artist, and much, much more since the day she came to New Orleans and discovered that it was her home. Eloquent, playful, and lovely to behold, even with only two minutes, GiO is not one to miss!