Conference Bios

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About Auralie Wilde

Teacher - Saucy Sampler

Educated at a quaint university in the cornfields of Iowa, Auralie Wilde grew up in an affluent Midwestern family. Active in the dance and musical theatre community, she tittilated audiences as the bubbly, virginal star of the show. Worldly and well educated, Auralie is known for her sharp tongue and quick wit. What her teachers didn't know was that while they were admiring the shiny red apple she had given them, Miss Wilde was perfecting the art of the tease. Giving up her corn palace and Pork Princess title, Auralie Wilde decided to follow her grittier side to concrete pastures. She sold her sense of propriety for a one way ticket to New York City and hasn't looked back.    Website


About B.A.B.E.

Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds
Teacher - Beautiful Boas
Teacher - Burlesque Bumps 'n' Grinds
Teacher - Keeping the Tease in Striptease
Teacher - Keeping the Tease in Striptease
Teacher - Beautiful Boas
Teacher - Saucy Sampler
Teacher - Beautiful Boas
Teacher - Beautiful Boas
Teacher - Saucy Sampler

The Boston Academy of Burlesque Education (or B.A.B.E. for short) is the educational arm of The Boston Babydolls. We offer a wide variety of classes and workshops in many different burlesque skills and burlesque-related arts. Our classes offer something for everyone, whether you're an experienced dancer looking to add something new to your repertoire or if you've never danced before.    Website


About Bal'd Lightning

Teacher - Puttin' the X in X-Fades
Teacher - You Put Your Mic Where?

Bal’d made his Orchestra Hall (Chicago) stage debut at the age of 4 with a 1/2-size violin and it’s been pretty much downhill into vaudevillian shenanigans ever since! He brings bombastic blasts of bass and uke-electricity to the stage and is often found combining forces with Sunny Sighed to bring the spirit of Broadway to burlesque.    Website


About Betty Blaize

Teacher - Tuning your G-String: Music Theory for Burlesque
Teacher - Pastie Making 101

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.

   Website
   Facebook


About Blaze

Panelist - Panel: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque

Blaze is the fiery redhead from Dallas known as ‘The Red Rose of Texas’! An international award winning performer and costume designer, she’s garnered accolades such as 'Most Classic', E'Biggest Tease' and several crowns including 2014’s 'Evil Queen of Burlesque'. She is the master seamstress behind the dazzling costumes of www.RedRoseRegalia.com which are worn and coveted by performers all over the world. A proud US Army Military Police Veteran, she has long been a fan of pin up history and is now an accomplished model herself with her photographs on the covers and pages of Bachelor Pad, Pin Curl Magazine, Delicious Dolls and more.

   Website


About Boysinberry Cupcake

Teacher - Improving Your Burlesque with Improv

Boysinberry Cupcake is short and sweet, and perfectly bite-sized. After 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, and a dash of weirdness. 

Performing burlesque in the Bay Area and beyond. She has showcased in the Oregon Burlesque Festival, the NY Nedlesque Festival, the Humboldt Burlesque Festival, the Burlesque Extravaganza, The Body Political show, and competed in the CA Regional Burlypicks. She won Most Humorous at the Great Burlesque Expo 2017.

 



About Caramel Knowledge

Panelist - Panel: You Won? Now What

From Texas to Toronto, Alaska to Australia this traveling temptress has been stealing hearts world wide. Born from the bright lights of Hollywood, LA's sexual intellectual is ready to teach you a thing or two. Are you ready to be schooled?    Website


About Chakra Tease

Teacher - Better than Sex, Sweaty Burlesque Fitness
Teacher - Yogalesque
Teacher - Chakra Balancing

Chakra Tease, whose favorite philosopher is Socrates, began as a VaVaVette, with Cora Vette and the VaVaVettes. The VaVaVettes performed at Harrah's for Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend and at the House of Blues for the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. Locally Chakra performs at The Clocktower Cabaret. She has performed at the Colorado Burlesque festival for the past two years and was a soloist at the Ohio Burlesque Festival in 2013, performed and taught at the Great Burlesque Expo in Boston in 2015, 2016 and 2017, performed and taught at Southern Fried Burlesque, and performed at the Great Southern Exposure burlesque festival. In 2014 she became the choreographer as well as a performer for D'Sanez Productions "Feel This Moment" variety show. She was in the 2014 California Burlypicks, the 2016 Colorado Burlypicks, and the Golden Legends Champion Challenge in 2016.    Website


About DeeDee Queen

Teacher - Telling the Right Story: How to Write an Unforgettable Burlesque Number
Panelist - Panel: Production Basics and Beyond
Moderator - Panel: Body Image Panel

DeeDee Queen is a drag queen trapped in a cis-woman’s body—a performing woman who is performing “woman.” DeeDee Queen is rewriting her story, disrupting Diet Culture, and taking down the patriarchy by taking off her clothes in body positive burlesque, pole dance, and drag performances and classes around California’s Bay Area (and beyond!). She recently took home a gold medal for “Entertainment” at the Pacific Pole Championships, and is a certified Pole Level 1 instructor through Elevated Education. She currently teaches body positive burlesque classes in person and over Skype.    Website


About Guilted Lilly

Panelist - Panel: Kitten Power! Being a Kick-Ass Kitten

Guilted Lilly has been described as "a classically trained Siren who can switch from musical theater to jazz standards at the drop of a hat." With the face of an angel, the mouth of a sailor (convenient, given her Siren-like voice), and curves that would make even the Goddess of Love herself swoon, this multi-faceted flower of the evening is sure to surprise you. Along with her onstage appeal, she is an expert Stage Kitten who has worked with new performers and legends alike, and is always trying to raise the bar by showing that Stage Kittens should be (and are) a great deal more than just sexy outfits and picking up clothes. Lilly is the co-founder and artistic director of Shakesperotica, a whimsical combination of two of her favorite art forms: Shakespeare and burlesque! When she's not onstage, she enjoys helping the tech experts hang lights, build sets, run cables (she loves a good crawl under a stage), and is always available to help with a quick costume fix. She speaks French, volunteers at a parrot sanctuary, buys glitter ten pounds at a time, and loves to frolic. Lilly has a miniature poodle named Loki and two greenwing macaws named Isaac and Hayes. She makes floral headpieces out of naturally shed parrot feathers, and could talk about parrots for days. She also happens to strongly dislike talking about herself in the third person. Lilly spells her name with three Ls.

   Website


About Iridessa Blossoms

Teacher - Hot n'Sexy Hip Hop
Teacher - Belly Dance Workshop
Teacher - Twerking with Iridessa

Iridessa Blossoms is an Internationally known Performance Artist and is making her way around the world one show at a time. She has been stimulating audiences with her unique expression and artistic concepts in variety shows for close to a decade. She is known for her pop n' lock isolations and hybrid style of belly dance. She is multi- talented and her signature style is broad, diverse and ever-changing. While struggling to find her place in belly dance, she found her community while attending the annual burlesque conventions, The Great Burlesque Exposition and Burlycon. She is the founder and former producer of Poppin' Cherries and Eclectic~ Ka and owner of Creative Motion Dance! With her distinguished hips that tease and signature moves that please, she dances effortlessly in an unreal fashion. Sultry and sassy...transforming your senses to a place that is ethereal. Bridging the gap between worlds and transcending time and space, she is a magical goddess in motion! When she is not lighting up the stage you can find her frolicking with fairies.

   Website


About Jeannie Martini

Teacher - Bling Your Bra

Burlesque’s Colorful Cocktail

A performer all her life (on stage and off) Jeannie has been gracing the burlesque stage since 2015.  Happy that she found a way to manifest her exhibitionist fantasies without getting arrested, Jeannie will bring a smile to your face with her witty and enticing style.  Her inspiration comes from old Hollywood glamour, Carol Burnett and raunchy Harold Robbins books she secretly read as an impressionable youngster.

Jeannie has performed in many shows in the Boston area and numerous stages on the left coast.  You can catch her every month in Boston’s monthly bad-ass burlesque show and punk rock dance party, “Punk Rockin’ and Pastie Poppin’”.

   Instagram - Jeannie.Martini
   Venmo - @MartiniJeannie


About Kevlar B. Lightning

Teacher - Figure Out Your Face
Teacher - Making the Most of Improv Burlesque
Panelist - Panel: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque

The Curvy Cutie with a Bulletproof Booty Chicago based burlesque and variety performer, this lightly alternative lady is a theme queen known to stop audiences in their tracks with her bulletproof booty. She creates heavily themed burlesque acts with variety elements through work as Production Manager of Dramageddon Arts in Chicago. Whether it is scary, nerdy, sassy or on fire, her style mashup will be sure to shock you. When you hear thunder it can only be, Kevlar Bitch, LIGHTNING    Website


About Lucy Buttons

Teacher - Burlesque Basics with Buttons
Teacher - Vintage Hairstyling- How to wrap the perfect set
Teacher - MC1: Finishing Your Act

Lucy Buttons, "The Queen of Rock and Roll Burlesque," exploded onto the scene instantly becoming a headliner and force to be reckoned with. Her award-winning signature style has been featured in television, magazines, and film and made her a New York City Club Legend! Also an accomplished ballroom dancer, this professional temptress produces sell-out shows as Executive Producer of I Love Burlesque, and performs across the country from Boston to St. Louis, down to Texas, and up to Montreal.    Website


About Madame Anabel

Panelist - Panel: The Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque
Teacher - The Strong Sound

Madame Anabel has been singing songs for of the bawdier nature for many years, in many venues, across the country. She is well-known for her outstanding vocal prowess!    Website


About Mary Strawberry

Panelist - Panel: Being a Better Instructor
Teacher - Creating the Best Costume for your Act
Teacher - How to be a Poised Goof

Mary Strawberry is an internationally known award winning Atlanta, GA based theater artist. She finds herself at home both on the stage and behind it, and can be found sharing her art across North America. Whether performing, designing, building, or teaching, she is sure to inspire. Mary is a member of the Mayhem Femmes and the award-winning Greater Atlanta Goddess Society.    Website


About May Hemmer

Panelist - Panel: Kitten Power! Being a Kick-Ass Kitten
Teacher - Going With the Flow
Panelist - Panel: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque

May is known as "The Sassiest Thing in New Orleans" and has been dubbed the "Cocoa Barbie" by Vita DeVoid of Florida. This lady has a larger than life personality and has been gracing the stages with nerdlesque, neo burlesque, and much more since 2011. A member of the Storyville Starlettes and The Bluestockings, she performs regularly at Burlesque Ballroom,Big Deal Burlesque, and many more independent shows and private events around NOLA. With that said, May has started her own production by the name of Haus of MayHem that has traveled to Jackson, MS and will soon have a base in New Orleans. She has also begun a monthly production called Bohemian Burlesque at United Bakery Gallery which is the last Thursday of every month in NOLA. Her solo debut has included performances at the Southern Fried Burlesque Festival, Arizona Burlesque Festival, Great Southern Exposure, and many other productions for the troupe BurlEscapades in Phoenix, AZ. She was recognized in 2015, as the Master of Tassels in the Louisiana Regional Burlypicks and is both the 2016 Shimmy Showdown Siobhan Atomica Brown Noser and Jeez Loueez Boo Bitch Bye award winner.    Website


About Miss Mina Murray

Teacher - Getting Tight: A Guide to Corsetry
Teacher - Achieving Closure
Teacher - Subtle Sparkle: Edge-Beading Technique
Teacher - Miss Mina Murray's Little Class of Better Burlesque

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".    Website


About Mister Twister Maximus Sinsation

Teacher - Exploring Masculinity in Burlesque
Moderator - Panel: Kitten Power! Being a Kick-Ass Kitten
Panelist - Panel: Kitten Power! Being a Kick-Ass Kitten
Panelist - Panel: Body Image Panel

Mister Twister Maximus Sinsation (Mr. Twister for short) is an award winning male entertainer & burlesque performer based in Chicago, IL (USA). Having the background in both music and dance, Mr. Twister has started performing burlesque in 2015 out of hunger to explore his creativity and to change gender stereotypes. Through his signature movement style and choreography, in each of his acts he tells a unique and narrative story that takes the performance art to a new level. Approaching female-dominated burlesque community as an alley and a guest, he also teaches classes and workshops to promote positive masculinity in burlesque. And with the side interests in pole dancing and belly dancing, he expands his talent far and beyond the burlesque scene. Why walk when you can dance! Mr. Twister, he is the Maximus Sinsation of Burlesque who likes to get things twisted, and his influence in making America sexy again is proven. He was a member of burlesque troupe Better Boobie Bureau from 2015-2017, as well as various other burlesque productions in the Windy City. Mr. Twister has performed on the stage of many Chicago local hot spots, also in many other cities across the United States.

Burlesque Festival appearances:

Oregon Burlesque Festival 2016 & 2017, Smoky Mountain Burlesque Festival 2016, Michigan Burlesque Festival 2016 & 2017, Wisconsin Male Burlesque Festival 2016, Vermont Burlesque Festival 2017, The Great Burlesque Exposition 2017, Houston Burlesque Festival 2017, Dallas Burlesque Festival 2017, Empire Burlesque Festival 2017, Mile High Burlesque Fest 2017, Texas Queerlesque Festival 2017, Pensilvania Burlesque Festival 2017, Burlesque Burlesque Burlesque 2017, Discordia Days Burlesque Festival 2017, NY Boylesque Festival 2017.

At Burlesque Burlesque Burlesque 2017 he has won a Brew-HaHa award for the most comedic act.

   Website


About Mr. Scratch

Teacher - Being a Masterful Master of Ceremonies
Teacher - Around the Worldwide Web in 80 minutes

Scratch is the founding chair of The Great Burlesque Exposition, the director and producer of BeauTease Burlesque (formerly The Boston Babydolls), and the Curator of The American Burlesque Collection.  An experienced performer and producer, Scratch is regarded as an expert in promotion, act creation, the history of burlesque, and the diverse aspects of putting on a show.

   Website
   Website


About Phaedra Black

Teacher - Organize Your Burly-Life
Panelist - Panel: Being a Better Instructor
Panelist - Panel: The Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque
Panelist - Panel: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque

Phaedra Black is a villainous seductress best known for her perilous contour hailing from Chicago. She formerly appeared on the Gorilla Tango Burlesque, and can regularly be seen performing at Ties 'n Tassels and Festival of Flesh. She is also a founding member and producer for Chicago's newest burlesque troupe The Better Boobie Bureau.    Website


About Red Velvet

Teacher - Warm it Up and Stretch it Out
Moderator - Panel: Production Basics and Beyond
Moderator - Panel: Being a Better Instructor
Teacher - Hear Me Roar
Teacher - Basic Strengthening and Flexibility for Performers
Teacher - Cardio CanCan
Panelist - Panel: Body Image Panel

Red Velvet, a life-long dancer, has performed in musical theater and burlesque throughout the U.S. and internationally.   Red Velvet is proficient in various dance forms and teaches classes in burlesque, cancan, and Isadora Duncan dance.    Red Velvet is co-artistic director of a monthly show, DIVA or Die Burlesque, and is artistic director of the cancan troupe, The Velvettes.  She has performed with the award-winning Hot Pink Feathers and award-winning Flaunt Follies, Bombshell Betty’s Burlesqueteers, Alegria Samba Dance Company, and was artistic director for the dance group Pretty, Pretty Please.   Her burlesque performances have won Judge’s Choice at the 2019 Arizona Burlesque Festival, Most Classic at the 2016 Great Burlesque Exposition and Most Humorous at the 2014 Great Burlesque Exposition.  She co-created five full-length burlesque/cabaret/theater productions: Rebel without a Bra, At the White Rabbit Burlesque, Hotel Burlesque, Just Another Zombie Holiday Show, and Dollhouse Monsters.  She loves bringing her crazy ideas on stage for your enjoyment.  Come and Try a Slice of Red Velvet!

   Website


About Ruby Spruce

Teacher - Working the Floor
Panelist - Panel: The Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque

Ruby Spruce is the The Attractive Nuisance, using fluid dance moves, humor and a good jiggle to create burlesque that human eyes cannot resist. Sprucie has been all around the theater and burlesque stage, including award-winning acting, dance captaining, stage-managing, kittening and working the booth. She taught pole dance for six years where she brought out the inner diva in countless Baltimore area women. In 2016 The Great Burlesque Exposition awarded her Most Humorous for her uncannily sexy Carol Burnett act. Sprucie is the newest member of Baltimore's Gilded Lily Burlesque. Her neo-burlesque stuns with evocative imagery and amazing feats of long-limbed hotness.    Website


About Satine S'Allumer

Teacher - Embrace the FACE!

The fiery dame who cannot be tamed; watch your proximity or you may find yourself ablaze! Satine finds her flair in the art of the tease through channeling the sultry seductresses of the moulin rouge and the belle epoch. With twenty years of musical and theatre experience under her shimmy belt, Satine is no stranger to center stage. A published pinup model and photographer, Satine loves all things vintage.    Website


About Scarlett Letter

Panelist - Panel: Production Basics and Beyond
Moderator - Panel: The Body of Work: Longevity in Burlesque
Teacher - Keeping your Ecdysiast Books
Panelist - Panel: Kitten Power! Being a Kick-Ass Kitten
Moderator - Panel: Cosplay, Fan Fiction and Identity in Burlesque
Moderator - Panel: You Won? Now What

Scarlett Letter has been dazzling the world since 2004 and stunning them even longer. A long time fixture of the Los Angeles Burlesque scene, Scarlett has graced stages across North America and Europe and has won several awards along the way. Also a costumer and producer, Scarlett is known for a dark cold beauty reminiscent of Hollywood Noir and the classic Hitchock heroine. 

 

"With 4 feet of red hair and miles of bad intentions"

   Website


About Scratch

Panelist - Panel: Production Basics and Beyond

The "kindest man in burlesque", Scratch is lucky enough to be the front-man for BeauTease Burlesque.  A magician with comic timing, Scratch has been host at a wide-variety of presitigious (and not-so prestigious) burlesque events, a guest storyteller at BurlyCon, and has been seen in the audience of many on- and off-Broadway shows.

   Website


About Sunny Sighed and Bal'd Lightning

Teacher - 1+1=3 Duet Dynamics

Sunny Sighed and Bal'd Lightning are a tantalizing and titillating musical duo. Sunny brings years of musical theater training (including study at the Shenandoah Conservatory, from which she graduated Magna Cum Laude) to the burlesque stage as a tool for expressing her quirky and humorous vision of the world. Crowned The Baltimore Beauty Pageant's 2014 Queen of Crabs by Trixie Little and Mr. Gorgeous, her latest project has taken the form of Bawdy Shop Burlesque. Bal’d made his Orchestra Hall (Chicago) stage debut at the age of 4 and it’s been pretty much downhill ever since! Together they combine the heart of humor and satire with the mind of technology and connect your Broadway theatrical experience to the boudoir. A unique and sexy experience you won't want to miss!    Website


About Trixie Santiago

Panelist - Panel: Body Image Panel

Raised on a steady diet of classic musicals and golden age science fiction, Trixie Santiago combines elegance and a sense of limitless possibilities. Inhabiting the space between yesterday and tomorrow, dress and undress, dreams and reality, she brings audiences along on a journey of ecdysiac transformation. Trixie is a frequent performer at WTF Queerlesque. She has also performed at Rogue Burlesque's "Lucky 13" amateur burlesque competition, the Newcomers' Showcase at the 2014 Great Burlesque Exposition, and the Royal Court's New Talent Showcase.    Website


About UmA ShAdow

Panelist - Panel: You Won? Now What

International multi award-winning Boylesque Dancer

 

Performing around the world. 

In 2015, He won the 1st place in The World Burlesque Games

as an  International Newcomer Crown and 

1st prize and best costume award in Edmonton Burlesque Festival.

 

In 2016, He appeared Chaz Royal's 10th London Burlesque Festival as a Headliner 

and won the 1st Place-Crystal Corset Award at The 7th Annual Pennsylvania Burlesque Festival, 

King of Burlesque at The 5th Annual San Antonio Burlesque Festival, 

King of Great Southern Exposure and Most Glamorous at The 7th Great Southern Exposure 

and as well as 1st place winner at The 4th Annual Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival.

He also got a 1st runner-up at World Burlesque Games 2016 - Category : World Crown,

  2nd Runner-Up at The 2nd Annual Golden Legend Champion Challenge,

Most Theatrical at The 3rd Annual Arizona Burlesque Festival, 

Most Original at Oklahoma City Burlesque Festival and Best Costume at Texas Burlesque Festival.

And at Burlypicks World Championship, He won The Burlesque People's Choice Award ; 

Burlesque Bitch of 2016 and won the Bronze Medal - Best Overall in 2016.

​In 2017, He has awarded a WORLD CROWN at World Burlesque Games 2017,

Golden Legend Champion at Golden Legend Champion Challenge 2017,

Best Soloist at Great Burlesque Exposition, 

Rising Star of The West (1st Prize) at Galway Burlesque Festival in Ireland,

1st Place and Master of Amazement at Burlypicks World Championship Utah Regional in USA and

The Burlesque People's Choice Award 2017 ( Winning the second consecutive year ) 

and Best Dancer at Burlypicks World Championship, Final Round.

 

And also he awarded First Generation of Mr. Pin-Up Perfection 2017 in USA.

​Headliner at London Burlesque Festival, Pennsylvania Burlesque Festival, Futura - O - Rama in OSAKA JAPAN, RENAISSANCE MEN, The 4th Arizona Burlesque Festival etc.

   Website


About Willy Barrett

Teacher - Four Ruling Laws of Artistic Movement
Teacher - Traditional Stage Dancing With Three Steps!
Panelist - Panel: Being a Better Instructor
Teacher - Seducing with the Arms and Hands

The world’s foremost teacher of, and pioneer in, reconstructing the Delsarte System of Expression, used by the early theater choreographers to create the Broadway styles (including the Ziegfeld Follies). Joe's teaching has taken him around the world and he is proud to have taught Delsarte at the National Centre of Dance in Paris, at the Juilliard School, and also at numerous Middle Eastern dance festivals across the US. A great lover of burlesque for many years, he created and regularly performed a stripping gorilla burlesque for several years in Ohio in the late 1980's. Now he looks forward to teaching at the Great Burlesque Expo every year that he can and lends his support to the revival of this beloved, charming art.    Website