Dita Von Teese Bringing 'Personal Obsessions and Fantasies' to the Stage in New Vegas Burlesque Show (Exclusive)

The showgirl must go on. It’s been six years since a showgirls production has taken place on a Las Vegas stage, but Dita Von Teese is changing that. 

On Oct. 5, the burlesque queen will launch DITA LAS VEGAS: A Jubilant Revue, which she promises will be a fresh take on the age-old classic. 

Prior to the launch of the highly visual show at the Horseshoe Las Vegas’s Jubilee Theater, Von Teese, 50, chatted exclusively with PEOPLE about her inspiration for Jubilant Revue vision, the evolution of burlesque and being “high on feathers.”

“Let’s never move in reverse, let's keep evolving burlesque to a new place because there's no point in making an old, tiny show that was done in the ‘40s or ‘50s,” she said of her mentality toward A Jubilant Revue.

“My creative partner Catherine D’Lish and I never did that. We always thought about how to innovate and make things more relevant and new and fresh.”

This show will be lavish and, she believes, larger than any other burlesque production in the world. 

Von Teese, who’s been the modern day face of burlesque since the ‘90s, believes she’s doing just that with costumes, props, the inclusion of both male and female dancers and, yes, her iconic oversized martini glass, which was recently featured in Taylor Swift's "Bejeweled" music video. 

"You're not going to just see the glass. I'm going to put all of my glasses on stage,” she promised. “I have enough for a full cocktail party. I probably won’t put all of them on stage, but I'm gonna put at least five up there.”

The striptease artist also plans to put a modern twist on the famed Jubilee show — which ran from 1981 to 2016 — and she’s even using some of the Jubilee costumes and sets.

“I feel like I've seen all the showgirls shows out there, but not on this scale anywhere,” she said. “The costumes in this is bonkers. The amount of feathers in this show cost something like $1 million dollars — just the feathers, not the costumes, the feathers. That was in 1981, so I don't know how much that is now.”

She continued, “I am not trying to recreate Jubilee. What I'm trying to do is merge my tour and bringing the crème de la crème of burlesque and dance world into one show. I'm just bringing in all of my own personal obsessions and fantasies and the best of what I love about burlesque and merge it together with a little wink of the eye toward Jubilee. I think Vegas needs something that continues the art of the showgirl and the art of burlesque.”

Von Teese’s excitement for the show is palpable as she worries that she’s rambling. “Sorry, I’m high on feathers,” she joked as she shared exclusive photos with PEOPLE. 

While Von Teese, real name Heather Sweet, has performed burlesque in London, Paris, New York City, Berlin and more, her journey to becoming the "Queen of Burlesque” actually stems from failure. 

“I wanted to be a ballerina, but I grew up in a small town with barely even a ballet school,” she said of her West Branch, Michigan, upbringing. “If I had been some great ballet dancer like I dreamed of being, I wouldn't have looked into burlesque and looked to revive it. Burlesque was a way for me to parlay my dance failures.”

“I was never tall enough to be a Vegas showgirl, so there were all these things that worked against me — but then they really worked for me. The universe conspired to give me exactly what I was asking for, just in a very different way. I wanted to be a ballerina with the red velvet curtains and roses and makeup and fancy outfits. It was never about dance. It was about the glamour and living life like in a movie.”

Ironically, her life is actually getting the movie treatment.

An upcoming documentary will highlight her unconventional life, give an inside look at her global tour and will feature interviews with the modern day “Queen of Burlesque” and her family. The timing of the documentary and the Vegas show is rather symbiotic.

“We started filming the documentary in 2019 and kept going,” she said. “I feel like this has to be the big moment. This feels like a really important moment in my career to do this show.”

Tickets to DITA LAS VEGAS: A Jubilant Revue are now available can be purchased at ticketmaster.com/DitaVegas.