Conference Bios
About Anabel G
Teacher - The Centered Breath Teacher - Stories for Performers Teacher - Voice Savers Teacher - Performance Workshop Anabel began performing professionally in 1960, and since then has acted and sung in night clubs, theatres, festivals and museums. Anabel is currently one half of The Proper Ladies, and their alter egos, The Bawdy Ladies. She, along with two friends, created the original Bawdy Ladies' Book cassette in the 1980's. She is an accomplished actress, with many theatrical and TV credits. She recently appeared in the award winning HBO mini series, Olive Kitteridge and will soon be seen in movie theatres as Ruth in Island Zero. She has devoted much of her life to the study of voice and was a Fulbright scholar in the 80's, studying vocal techniques in Bulgaria.
About Angie Pontani
Teacher - MC: Struts, Bumps, Grinds, and more! Teacher - Go-Go Basics Burlesque Queen, Angie Pontani, “The Italian Stallionette,” is one of few involved in the ecdysiast arts who shimmys and shakes on stages around the world, as well as carries her art into other fields and genres, including film and television. A child of New York and a key player in the burlesque revival, this bump-n-grind bombshell has spread the gospel of burlesque across the globe for over a decade. The New Yorker calls Angie, “first rate, the perfect centerpiece!” and rightfully so, since her signature acts and productions all set standards of style and class. This international superstar’s ability to mix glamour of yester-years with contemporary sensibility has earned her burlesque’s most prestigious award: “Queen of Burlesque, Miss Exotic World 2008.” Aside from its substantial part in Angie achieving burlesque’s highest Angie has toured multiple runs in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. She has headlined the largest burlesque festivals in the world, including New York, Dallas, Milan, Rome and Helsinki. In 2009 she was named “Best International Touring Artist,” by The Naked City/Alternative Media Group of Australia. Angie’s repertoire and show curating skills are frequently sought by discriminating clients including Lady GaGa, Campari, Esquire Magazine, Dos Equis, The Fox 5 Superbowl Party, Guggenheim, Donatella Versace and more. She worked exclusively with Hendricks Gin to create her glass bathtub act, which was the featured entertainment at many of their events throughout the U.S. In the midst of her wake, Angie has wowed celebrity fans the likes of Sting, Anthony Kiedas, Hillary Duff, The Strokes, Adrianna Lima, and Hugh Hefner. As “New York’s Burlesque Queen” (ToscanaTV.com), Angie has appeared multiple times on the Conan O’ Brien Show and Gossip Girl. She was also featured in other New York productions: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, MTV’s The 50 Cent Project, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. Angie also appeared on The List (Canada), Lady Burlesque (IT), Burlesque Mania (IT), Good Day New Zealand (NZ), and Nightline (NZ). On October 24th, Angie will be featured in the Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett television special for PBS. Always reaching for new fields and genres, Angie had a featured role in Michael Imerioli’s directorial debut film, The Hungry Ghost, and was also featured in the Italian television series, Lady Burlesque and The Poor Man’s Follies, an Italian film created for MTV. She was also a part of an ad campaign for Peter Werth (UK), X-Rite Photosystem with Brian Smith (USA), and Marlboro (worldwide). Aside from having been photographed by renowned photographer Ellen Von Unwerth for L’uomo Vogue, she has graced the covers and pages of many magazines including Pin Curl, Page Six, Glamour, Spanish GQ, Java’s Bachelor Pad and countless others. Angie even made a cameo in Eric Powell’s comic, The Goon (#36).
About Betty Blaize
Teacher - Go-to Choreo Teacher - Tassel Twirling 101 Teacher - Belly Dance Workshop Teacher - Shaped Pastie Making Workshop Betty Blaize, 6' of Fun... is a veteran of the Boston Burlesque scene. She's a founding member of the Boston Babydolls with a background in belly dance, Indian classical dance and martial arts, and... computer science. She's also the web mistress for this site and an ardent artisan, making a substantial number of costumes for herself and the Boston Babydolls.
About Boysinberry Cupcake
Teacher - Improving Your Burlesque with ImprovBoysinberry Cupcake will have your mouth watering in delight. This pint-sized cutie has been performing burlesque in the Bay Area for the past four years creating solo, duet, and group acts, along with dancing in Bombshell Betty's Showgirl Chorus. Winner of Most Humorous 2017 at The Great Burlesque Expo. After five years of performing improv comedy, she discovered the art of sparkly things. She bought a few pounds of glitter and took to the stage to take it all off. Through burlesque she blends her love of comedy with a sultry tease. Boysinberry Cupcake is sinfully delicious.
About Dante the Inferno
Panelist - PANEL: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque The most recognizable boy-lesque dancer in Richmond, VA, Dante the Inferno was a founding member of the nerd-lesque troupe Those Freaking Weirdos and performs regularly with Blacklist Burlesque. Drawing on his lifelong love of all things geek, Dante imbues his routines with his natural sense of humor. He has a twice crowned Prince of Great Southern Exposure. Dante can be seen at the monthly Brews & Burlesque shows, as well as themed shows throughout the region and the national, George R. R. Martin-approved Burlesque is Coming tour.
About Devastasia
Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds (Drop-in Class) A lover all things dark, mysterious, strange and unusual. A promoter of feminine prowess, and attracted to all things shiny. Burlesque was a natural draw for her, and she hopes to share this love with the world...one clothing removal at a time.
About Gin-ni Gelato
Teacher - Beautiful Boas (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Beautiful Boas (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Keeping the Tease in Striptease (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Keeping the Tease in Striptease (Drop-in Class)Gin-ni was dancing right out of her Momma's womb!
She is a current apprentice for the Boston BeauTease.
She has performed in Providence, Central Massachusetts, and Boston.
About Jenny Jewels
Teacher - Cardio Showgirl/Burlesque Teacher - Cardio Dance TeaseJenny Jewels has been teaching fitness dance inspired classes such as Cardio Showgirl/Burlesqe, Cardio Latin, Cardio Pop, and Belly/Bollywood Fit, for over 10 years.
She is and avid salsa dancer who has taught, presented, and performed with the Cuban style salsa performance group, Salsa Vale Todo, at the San Francisco Salsa Rueda Featival for many years.
In the last two years Jenny has recently persued her longtime interest in burlesqe dancing and performing. She is part of the Bombshell Betty Showgirl Chorus group in San Francisco, has performed in the Fishnet Follies Showgirl group, and more recently is one of the newest members of the Velevettes Can-Can performance group!
Please join Jenny for a fun,flirty, and invigorating Showgirl/Burlesqe inspired fitness dance class to warm you up and start your dance filled day!
About Lili VonSchtupp
Teacher - Master Class: Clothing As A Prop Teacher - Ask Lili! Panelist - Panel: Is Burlesque Growing Up or Blowing Up? Lili VonSchtupp made her debut performance at the legendary Derby in Hollywood CA, on a starry Monday night in September of 2004. She's performed headlined, emceed, and taught classes at Viva Las Vegas, The Great Burlesque Expo, The New York Burlesque Festival, The Hawaii Burlesque Festival, The Las Vegas Burlesque Festival, The Vermont Burlesque Festival, and was the founder and producer of The Hollywood Burlesque Festival. Lili was featured twice at #40 and #42 on the 21st Century Burlesque's Top 50 Industry Professionals and was featured as one of the top 13 burlesque performers in Los Angels by Timeout LA. Her weekly burlesque show, Monday Night Tease has been featured internationally in many press outlets. Having worked with Satan's Angel, and studied with many burlesque legend educators and performers, Lili's 13 plus years in performing plus 10 years teaching and producing serves as great grounding in the art of burlesque. As producer of Monday Night Tease! est. 2003, Friday Night Happy Hour, Burlesque After Dark, and The Hollywood Burlesque Festival, Lili has booked over 600 live burlesque shows and worked with both local, national and international talent. Her unique experience as a performer and a producer allows her the eye to understand what works artistically for the performer as a work of art, and from the audience perspective of entertainment. Serving the art form and the consumer is her expertise.
About Lucie Luxe
Teacher - Beautiful Boas (Drop-in Class) Teacher - Saucy Sampler (Drop-in Class) When faced with any decision in life, Lucie’s answer always comes based on the question “What will make for the funniest story?” Teaching and performing burlesque seems to be a natural combination her history as a former competitive ballroom dancer and a founding member of Boston University’s first improv comedy troupe. Outside of the studio she’s currently obsessed with rock climbing. And gin. But not at the same time.
About Magnolia Minxxx
Panelist - PANEL: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque Magnolia Minxxx is a burlesque performer from Savannah, GA, that is known as Classy, Sassy, SexyCool, with a Taste of Twisted. This BurlyBombshell hit the scene with a local burlesque troupe called, The Savannah Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue, since they began, in 2013. With each performance, Magnolia takes the stage in a bigger way, leaving the crowd wanting more.
About Miss Mina Murray
Teacher - Who's Who in Classic Burlesque Teacher - Caring for Your Costume Teacher - Achieving Closure Teacher - Get Tight: A Guide to Corsetry Teacher - Subtle Sparkle: Edge-Beading Technique After the job market for glamourous archaeologists dried up, Miss Mina Murray abandoned her Ivory Tower and turn to the art of the striptease. She is a co-founder of The Boston Beautease (formerly The Boston Babydolls) and Headmistress of the Boston Academy of Burlesque Education (B.A.B.E.). Known as "The Educated Ecdysiast" and "The Martha Stewart of Burlesque", she recently published "Miss Mina Murray's Little Book of Better Burlesque".
About Moxie LaBouche
Teacher - Putting Yourself Out There (or: How Not to Piss Off Producers) Panelist - PANEL: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque Teacher - Basic Music Editing with Audacity Teacher - Foam-crafting Moxie LaBouche performs and produces burlesque around the mid-Atlantic and beyond, specializing in a style known as “nerd-lesque,” which involves dressing up as (then undressing as) beloved fictional characters. Her style as a performer tends toward the silly, portraying everything from a washed-up beauty queen to giant barbarian knight to Grover from Sesame Street, though she has a penchant for the dramatic, as well. Moxie has produced tributes to Jim Henson, Archer, Mel Brooks, and of course the works of George R. R. Martin. She was also a presenter in the 2016 TEDxRVA.
About Mr. Scratch
Teacher - Being a Masterful Master of Ceremonies Teacher - It's Not Personal Moderator - Panel: Is Burlesque Growing Up or Blowing Up? Scratch is the founding chair of The Great Burlesque Exposition and the director and producer of The Boston BeauTease (formerly The Boston Babydolls).
About Red Velvet
Teacher - Basic Strengthening and Flexibility for Performers Teacher - Yes! You Can Can-Can! Cardio Cancan Basics Teacher - Hear Me Roar Teacher - Warm it Up and Stretch it Out Teacher - Samba BasicsRed Velvet is a life-long dancer, began studying dance at the age of 2. Proficient in tap, ballet, and jazz, Red Velvet continues to study new forms of dance such as samba and flamenco. Ms. Velvet began intensively studying Isadora Duncan dance in 1999, and began studying burlesque in 2008 with Bombshell Betty. Red Velvet has performed extensively in musical theatre, performed throughout California, has studied and performed dance in New York, and has toured internationally. She has taught dance to adults and children, including training and teaching children to perform in professional musical theatre events. Ms. Velvet currently performs Isadora Duncan dance, she has performed with the award-winning Hot Pink Feathers, Bombshell Betty’s Burlesqueteers, the award winning Flaunt Follies, and Alegria Samba Dance Company. Red Velvet is also a prolific choreographer and can frequently be seen performing solo work at the Elbo Room in San Francisco and at many shows around the Bay Area. She is a co-artistic director of the “DIVA or Die” burlesque show, a production of the Exit Theatre. She is the co-creator of four full-length burlesque plays: “Rebel Without a Bra: A Burlesque Cabaret,” "Hotel Burlesque," "White Rabbit Burlesque," and "Just Another Zombie Holiday Show." Ms. Velvet has performed solo acts at the Texas Burlesque Festival, the Ohio Burlesque Festival, the Hollywood Burlesque Festival, the Carolina Burlesque Festival, The Great Burlesque Expo in Boston, Mile High Burlesque Festival, The Wiggle Room at Heavy Rebel Weekender, ABurly!, The Windy City Burlesque Festival, Oklahoma City Burlesque Festival, Burlypics California, and the International London Burlesque Festival. She is the artistic director and choreographer for The Velvettes cancan troupe. She teaches regular Isadora Duncan Dance classes and teaches burlesque classes for Bombshell Betty.
About Roxy Stardust
Teacher - What to do when it all goes tassels up! Panelist - PANEL: Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque Panelist - Panel: Is Burlesque Growing Up or Blowing Up?Roxy Stardust: International Travelling "GlasVegas" Showgirl Burlesque, GoGo Dancer and Cabaret Performer.
Described as "Explosively Gallus" and dubbed the” Powerhouse of Scottish Burlesque," Roxy Stardust brings 100% to each performance and so much more! She has performed throughout the UK, Europe and has toured the US multiple times. She has shared a bill with some of the world's premier performers and delighted audience members both at home and internationally. Roxy is a pioneer of the neo-burlesque scene in Scotland. She is recognised as one of the top producers of Scottish burlesque and cabaret and has played a vital role in the revival of burlesque throughout Scotland. Roxy is producer of the “Glasgow Festival of Burlesque”, “Roxy’s Round-Up: Cabaret Showcase” which encourages new performers to take their first steps on stage and holds residencies at both of Glasgow’s top cabaret venues. She is a frequent and popular host at the Edinburgh Fringe and and produces Scotland’s only monthly independently produced burlesque showcase. She’s a trained singer, actress and an experienced compere experienced at handling the even most raucous of crowds with her usual Glaswegian tact… or perhaps lack of. Roxy can often also be found performing as her Drag King alter ego “Rodeo McGregor” or as her sassy grandmother “Granny Stardust” both of whom have many acts of there own!
About Scarlett Letter
Moderator - PANEL: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque Panelist - PANEL: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque Moderator - PANEL: Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque Scarlett Letter has been dazzling the world since 2004 and stunning them even longer. Besides performing all over Southern California, she has been seen across North America and Europe. Awarded burlesque titles at The Great Burlesque Exposition and The Great Southern Exposure, she is also an award winning costumer and choreographer. Scarlett currently co-produces Peepshow Menagerie and The Naked Show (and Tell). Red hair, a vintage flair and very calculating feet are her calling cards.
About Stephanie Schorow
Teacher - Inside The Combat ZoneA freelance writer, journalist, author, and teacher, Stephane Schorow has made a reputation as a lively speaker about off-beat historical and cultural topics, mostly focusing on Boston's more nefarious history. Using images and video clips and telling tales that are often stranger than fiction, Stephanie takes her audiences on journeys into a past that few people know. For example, how many folks remember walking along Washington Street, right smack in the middle of Boston, and seeing rows of strip clubs proclaiming the best in exotic dancing? Yet from the 1960s to the 1980s, Boston's "combat zone" was an officially designated adult playground. In her newest book, Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s Most Notorious Neighborhood (Union Park Press, 2017), Stephanie recounts the stories that made the Zone infamous.
Stephanie is the author, co-author or editor of seven nonfiction books, including Drinking Boston: A History of the City and Its Spirits, published by Union Park Press in 2012, and, with co-author Beverly Ford, The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts, published in December 2011, by the History Press. She has also written on the tragic Cocoanut Grove fire, the Boston Harbor Islands and the "Crime of the Century," the 1950 Brink's robbery.
She teaches professional writing at Regis College and other area colleges. A former reporter for the Boston Herald and Associated Press, she now writes restaurant reviews for the Boston Globe North section. She once attended a stripping class for a feature for the Boston Herald.
About Tapitha Kix
Teacher - Getting Butts in Seats Panelist - PANEL: Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque Tapitha Kix is a founding member and producer of the Baltimore-based Troupe, Twisted Knickers. Her foray into Burlesque was as a prop kitty for Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey. She then attended “Burlesque Bootcamp” with Baltimore’s Gilded Lily Burlesque troupe and has since been performing on her own and with Twisted Knickers. In addition to Burlesque, she is a member of the Part II Dance company, performing traditional tap and jazz dance. She fuses her classical dance background with her acts and often tap dances while she strips. Tapitha is also the only known Burlesque dancer since the 1940s to perform in a pair of specially-made ballet pointe shoes equipped with taps. Her “pointe/tap” routines combine traditional ballet, Broadway-style tap dancing, and old-school bump and grind Burlesque to create a truly unique performance.