A search of the Web for Murasaki Babydoll will likely snag you a six-minute Time video from this year's New York Burlesque Festival and with it a look at the Tokyo burlesque troupe's festival debut.
Just over four minutes into the video the host asks a Japanese woman in a neon yellow bob her name. When three attempts to convey that name don't click she spells it out. "A-n-n-i-e, Annie!!" she shouts feistily and raises her hand high to whoops, hollers and wild applause from the New York Saturday night crowd.
She's a crowd-pleaser, this Annie, with spunk that transcends borders. Annie is otherwise known as Ryoko Hashimoto, one of five "babydolls" in a troupe that has caused a stir in Las Vegas, San Francisco and New York as well as Japan.