Elliott, Estrellita

"Interviewed by Vanessa Concepcion and Stefani Evans. Twins Estrellita "Estelle" and Julieta "Julia" Elliott were born in Manila and raised in Cebu City by their maternal grandparents. Their lawyer grandfather and Spanish professor grandmother raised them with a tricultural identity (Spanish, Filipino, and American) but with emphasis on their Castilian Spanish heritage. When they were twelve and their grandfather died, they went to live with their parents in Maryland, where their father was an educator and author and their mother was a concert pianist. They both received full-ride double scholarships in the arts and academics from Stevens College in Columbia, Mo., from which they graduated with both a B.A. and a B.F.A. From there, Estelle married Mark Dolginoff, a veterinary student at the University of Missouri, and the couple moved to Las Vegas in the late 1970s, where Mark set up his veterinary practice and their daughter was born. Julia earned her Masters degree from the University of Utah and joined her sister in Las Vegas in the late 1970s. The twins both joined Minsky's Burlesque on the road as a specialty act choreographed by Betty Francisco. From 1981-1989, Julia (later joined by Estelle) danced covered for Irvin and Kenneth Feld with Siegfried and Roy at the Frontier Hotel/Casino. They discuss their costumes, specialty act with "Prince of Magic" Kirby Vanburch at the Aladdin's Abracadabra show, and dancing at the Playboy Mansion and meeting Hugh Hefner. Julia credits Siegfried and Roy with changing the culture of Las Vegas shows to promote diversity throughout the show (and not just in specialty acts) and for bringing the King Charles Troupe of Black unicycle basketball players into the show. They touch on Las Vegas diversity and the ways Las Vegas has consistently allowed them to combine business with dancing." taken from OHRC notes