I want to wear tutus and lacy slips, feather boas and long gloves. I want to dance around on stage, croon to the audience, flaunt and flirt .

I heard of the Suicide Girls only recently. My first exposure to their project was on the Internet. They have a website that is more of a community than merely a source of information. Over 200 women have gathered under the name of the Suicide Girls, and they each have a page with pictures and postings. A small group of them recently performed at the Metro after a couple of live bands. I was lucky enough to go backstage before the event, and interview the touring troupe myself.

“We take traditional burlesque and we update it. We make it something that people of our generation and culture can relate to. It's a little bit punk, it's a little bit rock and roll…very cutsie and sexy, it's very DIY [do it yourself]—it basically comes from each one of the girl's own personalities and identities.”

The lights dimmed, and the swanky voice of Peggy Lee trickled in with the spotlights.

The performers, Snow, Siren, Shera, Violet, Tegan and Brandy , did take off their tutus, their gloves, and sometimes their stockings, but they did so while performing small theatrical vignettes. “We do a lot of parody and humor, and we try to act out these little stories to go with the music and the costumes.”

I used to want to be a ballerina. At 5 years old, I would twirl around the house in my ballet shoes, believing that a familiarity with Mozart and an addiction to the color pink would surely land me a lead role in the Nutcracker. A couple of the Suicide Girls I spoke with also wanted to be ballerinas when they were younger, and have channeled that desire to dance and perform into their acts. Others landed in the Suicide Girls because of interests in modeling, acting, and “being the lead singer for Led Zeppelin”.

Most of the girls wanted to become a part of the Suicide Girls after seeing the website. All of them fell in love with the site and the idea immediately. “I just knew I had to be a part of this...I just wanted to see girls naked so I joined cause I knew I'd get to see girls naked”

And while they may tip their top hats to old vaudeville tunes and costumes , they are far from old-fashioned. Decorated with piercings, tattoos, and dancing in trench coats to Modest Mouse, these women are not afraid to embrace whatever elements of contemporary culture that represent their identity.