BURLESQUE performer Missy De Meanour may be a relative newcomer to the scene but she showed enough talent to be crowned Miss Burlesque Tasmania.

The 23-year-old psychology student and court typist from Sandfly took the tiara on Friday night at Wrest Point Casino.

She performed three routines, including a charleston-themed classic routine and a slightly raunchier one involving an empty box of candy.

"I came on stage as a 1960s gogo girl, I had a present, it wasn't candy, so I cracked it, and it turns out hey, I had candy under my dress! How lucky!" she said.

Missy, better known to her friends and family as Katrina, started burlesque dancing after her boyfriend's sister dragged her along to a class with Bebe Sparkle at Diamonds of Burlesque last year.

"I just went along for a bit of fun, learned how to take a glove off and did a bit of a chair routine," she said.

"Then a girl dropped out of the Miss Burlesque Tasmania competition and Bebe said I should enter and have some fun, so I had four weeks to get three routines together, having never danced before in my life."

This year's win came a a huge surprise to Missy.

"Before they announced the top five to go through to the last section, we all had to get into our costumes and I was so convinced I wasn't gong to get in I nearly didn't even put my costume on," she said.

"Then, when they read my name I was in shock."

Missy said she was a tomboy and a shy music nerd at school but started to come out of her shell when she entered a 1950s-style pinup modelling competition last year.

"I loved the big hair, the bright red lips and the massive dresses," she said.

"Missy is me but she's an exaggerated version of me. I'm quite silly but she's just insane."

She said she saw burlesque as empowering and fun.

"Some see it as exploitative or objectifying but I see it as empowering and also a way to be an exaggerated version of myself and make people laugh," she said.

"For me, it's my body, I do what I want with it and I want to go out there and entertain people.

"I don't see it as guys coming to the show to ogle us, because most of our fans are women.

"Why can't you just relax, you know? I mean, just have a little fun! I am!"

Missy De Meanour will now compete for the title of Miss Burlesque Australia in Sydney on April 20.