David Jahn is a neo-burlesque impresario, filmmaker and musician based in Prague, Czech Republic.
[1] Jahn is best known for his louche MC persona Sonny Vargas[2] with the stage troupe Prague Burlesque, which he founded in 2007 and developed into a local institution and international touring company.
[4] 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.
The essence of burlesque is in parodying courtesanal modes of conduct, which I like to unfold—gangasrotogati—in what might be called the gentle spirit of sarcastic orgasm.
[5] Moreover, burlesque resonates with Jahn's childhood—two of his grandparents were opera singers, and as an adult he enjoys watching this erotic form of operetta make its return to the European stage.