The BurlyCon team is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Toni Elling. Many of us have had close individual relationships with her, and over the 15 years we’ve known her she has made our lives, and burlesque, infinitely better and more loving.
As Toni was the first legend guest of honor at Burlycon in 2008, our relationship with her was important to our organization from the beginning. She had so much to offer as a storyteller and teacher, and she was always generous with her knowledge. She shared the benefits of her experience and the secrets of her success. She made herself available to all, and understood the value of her history. She showed enormous respect for herself, her creativity, and the people around her, with a graciousness always worth emulating. She thrived on being an icon for the BIPOC members of the burlesque community. She was able to balance on a pedestal when placed there, and plant herself firmly on the ground when the truth needed to be told.
Legends are a diminishing resource, and making time to know them is one of the best ways we can understand and honor the history of our art form. As BurlyCon moves forward we will continue to work to connect upcoming performers to their elders by bringing Legends in to teach and to talk. We hope that by meeting them you will find relationships as rich and wonderful as so many of us had with Miss Toni – even though there will never be another like her.
