In RARE PLUS, Bjorn Iooss presents a new series of photographs entitled Birds of Paradise: Burlesque Portraits that embodies the elegiac yet proud grace of New York City burlesque dancers. In each image something is slightly amiss, awkward or disheveled, as though an exotic bird is preening its feathers, belying its fragility and vulnerability.

Far from the polished acts and bright lights of Broadway, where burlesque once thrived, Iooss documents an original group of characters who create a seedy but regal dream world in a city hardened by reality. Though its Golden Age has come and gone, burlesque continues to find new life through ornately costumed characters that are raw and undone.