Burlesque dancing is enjoying a revival and now a Yorkshire academic aims to discover why.

The high profile of striptease artist Dita Von Teese and her marriage to rock star Marilyn Manson has helped propel burlesque into the mainstream and pop group Pussycat Dolls used the theatrical theme in a recent video.

Burlesque nights are now regularly being held in bars in cities such as Sheffield and Leeds as an alternative night out to pubs and clubs for its young audiences.

Claire Nally, a lecturer at Hull University's Scarborough campus, is researching the art of burlesque and aims to write a book on its surge in popularity.

She said: "Burlesque is a form of escapism... it appeals because of its theatricality, glamour and excess.

"From an academic perspective, I am particularly interested in the gender issues that arise from this."

Her research has found that unlike the original burlesque shows, modern performers attract audiences of men and women.

She said: "From the people I have interviewed, it attracts men and women up to the age of 45 and many have MAs and PhDs ; it is appealing to an intelligent audience.

"There is a lot of evidence that rather than the performer being an object, the audience are actually identifying with them. You see a lot of women emulating what the burlesque dancer is wearing."