A native of Nogales, Arizona, Lola Coquette attended the University of Arizona, earning her bachelor's degree in political science, creative writing, and Spanish. She has studied ballet, salsa, and other Latin dances, and took her first burlesque dance class in 2011 in Phoenix, studying with a troupe called Va Va Voom. She moved to Portland in 2014 and has since worked as the producer of the Oregon Burlesque Festival.

Holly Dai was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in San Diego, California. In 2008 in Seattle, a friend introduced her to burlesque and she began to help out by kittening (picking up clothes and props after an act is done). When she moved to Portland around 2009, she connected with a group of local performers and eventually helped form the Rose City School of Burlesque. In 2013 she founded the All That Glitters Burlesque Academy and that same year she helped to organize the first Oregon Burlesque Festival in Portland.

Born in Southern California, Luz de la Concha moved to Portland around 2011. In 2016 she started her burlesque career by taking classes at the Rose City School of Burlesque in makeup, facial expression, and stage presence. She then began performing around Portland. She is now an international performer who was featured at the 2018 Argentina Burlesque Festiva, the 2019 Oregon Burlesque Festival and the 2019 Panama Burlesque Festival, among other events.

Miss Darling Divine was raised in Boise, Idaho. She moved to Seattle to study at Cornish College for the Arts, where she took her first burlesque course in 2017. She then moved to Bend, Oregon, to become a massage therapist and subsequently joined the Bend Burlesque Company.

Eva D'Luscious was born in South Lake Tahoe, grew up in Nevada and attended college at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Around 2010 Eva began performing burlesque. Living in Sebastopol, California, with her family, she produced and managed a burlesque troupe called the Verses of Seduction and also produced a monthly show, Cabaret De Caliente. After moving to Portland, Eva continued to produce shows in the Bay Area in addition to opening her own burlesque school, Showgirl Temple, and maintaining her performance career.

Sandria Dore was introduced to burlesque in 2005 when she discovered the work of performer and designer Catherine D’Lish. By 2009 Sandria was performing with Portland producer Raylene Courtney and the Sin Savvy shows. She has since performed widely, including international appearances at the London Burlesque Festival in 2013 and the Cirque Erotique in Finland in 2014.

Hai Fleisch grew up in Northern California. She began performing in 2006 as part of Kiss Que C’est, a queer, gender-bending burlesque troupe. She moved to Portland in 2008 and co-founded the Rose City Shimmy collective. She joined Sign of the Beast Burlesque for their first show in 2010, and co-produced the troupe from 2012-2020. In 2016 she also co-founded the world’s first annual festival dedicated to Heavy Metal & Burlesque: Metalesque Fest. She has a degree in Film and Theater, and works as a fabric artist and fabricator.

Raised by parents active in theater, Velvet Ice was exposed early to the performing arts, cinema, and theatrical environments. She started performing burlesque in the early 1970s in San Francisco, stepping in for a friend after watching and admiring the confidence and charisma of the dancers. Though she initially lacked formal dance training, she later studied various forms, including jazz, Afro-Cuban, and Pilates-based movement with renowned teachers, which deepened her performance quality.

IZOHNNY is the burlesque performing and producing duo of Isaiah Esquire and Johnny Nuriel. Based in Portland, the married couple performs together and separately, nationally and internationally. Esquire is a native of Portland, while Nuriel grew up in Santa Cruz, California, and moved to Portland to attend college in 2007. That same year, Esquire helped found an all-male Portland troupe, Burlesquire, and in 2012, Nuriel began performing as an aerialist at Sky Club, a queer-positive performance space. In 2013 Esquire and his former co-producer also started a variety show, BOYeurism.

Dahlia Kash was born in San Francisco, California. She has multiple family members and a close friend who have been involved in burlesque. Dahlia herself got started in 2013 while in the Bay Area. She moved to Portland in 2016 and, once there, began co-producing Mélange: A Queer and POC Variety Show as well as Your Turn, a show for beginning performers. Outside of performing and producing, she works as a massage therapist, photographer, and nanny.

Cali Kid is an art and alternative education teacher in Ashland, Oregon. He worked previously as a burlesque event producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1997 he co-produced the original one-night San Francisco "Teaseorama" burlesque show. In 2001, he joined with co-producers Baby Doe and Allison Fensterstock to coordinate subsequent Tease-O-Rama events.

Lacy Knickers was born near Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Southern California, and moved to Oregon in 2006. They hold a degree in liberal arts and teacher education, and a master’s in creative writing. Beginning in 2014, they studied burlesque at the Rose City School of Burlesque and the All that Glitters Academy of Burlesque. They have produced numerous shows including Book Lovers Burlesque, Burly Night Live and Master Tease Theater. Another of their shows, Cabaret Des Arts, features performers who create acts inspired by famous paintings.

Honeydew La Roux was born in Plainville, Connecticut, and holds a degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University in Boston. In 2010, after moving to Portland, Honeydew took a burlesque class with a friend and discovered a new art form with which to tell a story. Honeydew then signed up for classes at the Rose City School of Burlesque. Today she performs primarily in the Portland area, but traveled in 2019 to Seattle as a performer in the all People of Color festival, What The Funk!?!

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native Baby Le’Strange moved to Portland around 2005. Her background is in journalism, photography, and film. A founding member of the Rose City Shimmy troupe, she first performed in 2008. She was subsequently chosen to perform in the Portland show of the Tease-O-Rama West coast tour. She has also performed with the Sign of the Beast Metalesque Festival, the Black Lodge Burlesque show, and the Oregon Burlesque Festival.

The Mad Marquis was born in Minneapolis and grew up in West Linn, near Portland. Around 2010 he attended his first burlesque show with his ex-wife, who had started performing at about that time. Together, in 2011, they produced a nerd-themed burlesque show, Geeklesque, at Guardian Games in Portland. After that, he began producing another monthly review show called Burlynomicon at The Lovecraft Bar. Outside of burlesque, The Mad Marquis has worked in network security and IT operations.

Taylor Maiden was born in Montana and grew up in Cottage Grove, Oregon. She earned her degree in theater from the University of Oregon. In 2009 Taylor started her burlesque career with The Broadway Revue in Eugene. Over time, she developed a connection with the venue Spectrum and the Queer troupe, Unveiled. In 2015 she took a class at the All That Glitters Academy in Portland with Holly Dai and Tana the Tattooed Lady. She has also been to BurlyCon in Seattle, attending many training workshops there.

The Infamous Nina Nightshade grew up in Minnesota and Colorado. She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design. Nina began performing burlesque in 2008 and was later introduced to the Portland burlesque scene. She immediately began to produce shows in the Salem area, and continued as a producer and performer after moving to Portland.

Dandy Pie was born in Orange County, California, and grew up all across the United States. She studied theater at Lane Community College in Eugene. Dandy started in burlesque around 2006, singing bawdy songs and performing. Besides working as a magician, a Tarot reader, and burlesque performer, Dandy has also found employment in a vintage clothing store, a sex-postive shop, and teaching magic. She is also a singer in the band, Beast of Eden.

Leo Prowl earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in near eastern languages, and works in senior living communities in assisted living, memory care and independent living. He started performing burlesque in 2018 with Bend Burlesque. This led him to produce and direct performances and help with digital marketing and promotion. Leo has since performed across Oregon and Washington.

Rocket Queen grew up in Texas and Michigan, and moved to Oregon at age 20. She went on to earn her college degree in fine arts. After moving to Portland, Rocket Queen took a pole dancing class for fun around 2005. This launched her club stripping and Go-Go dancing career. In 2010 she began co-producing shows with members of The Rose City Shimmy troupe. They developed a heavy metal burlesque show called The Sign of the Beast, which further developed into an annual three-day festival called The Sign of the Beast Metalesque Fest.

Rachael Reckless was born in Astoria, Oregon, and moved to Portland in her early teens. Around age 18, she started working in call centers and as a nude model on the Internet. She also performed in punk rock bands and enjoyed being on stage, which led her to working in strip clubs as a dancer. She attended the All That Glitters School of Burlesque in Portland and participated in BurlyCon, the educational conference in Seattle. She began her burlesque dancing career working in bars around age 21.

Natasha Riot was born in Mountain View, California, and grew up in Willits, California. By 2004 Natasha owned a dance school and continued to expand her own skills. She was hired to dance in a festival in West Virginia and developed a 45-minute act that used her theater and dance training. She was later hired to perform in a show that was being emceed by Jim Sweeney from the Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco. She first discovered Portland when she was touring with a band and moved there in 2016.

Rummy Rose was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a dancer in the punk rock troupe, The Can-Cannibals, she started performing at burlesque shows around 2008 in the Oakland area and eventually formed a duo act with dance partner Vaudie Va-Boom called the Dishrag Dollies. Around 2010 she branched out to perform solo. She moved to Portland in 2011. In addition to dancing, Rose is also trained and works as a professional hairstylist.

Montana St. Claire is a native Oregonian, born in Salem, raised in Central Oregon, and working now as a full-time nurse. In 2012 she and her business partner, Leah, began pursuing a shared dream to create a burlesque scene in Central Oregon. Starting with just the two of them plus a band, the Bend Burlesque troupe now numbers 20+ members and performs all over the region.

BeeBee Sanchez was born in Fresno, California, and grew up in the East Bay. She earned her undergraduate degree and went on to graduate school in Corvallis, after which she moved to Portland. In 2019, to launch her burlesque career, she attended the Showgirl Temple burlesque act development series in Portland. As a producer, BeeBee creates shows through her company, Querencia Dance. She was also a member of the What the Funk?! BIPOC Burlesque festival planning team in 2021 and 2022.

Sundae Sparkles was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon. In 2008 she attended the traveling burlesque show, Tease-O-Rama, in Ashland, and in 2014 she threw a birthday bash that incorporated burlesque as part of the entertainment. That same year she attended the burlesque educational conference in Seattle, BurlyCon. Within a year, Sundae was performing in the Rogue Valley. She works full-time in the world of art, traveling with her husband to vend at large conventions across the United States.

Chris Stewart is a burlesque producer and entertainer who performs as Zora Phoenix, a gender illusionist, and as Sean Nannigans, a Boylesque performer. He has been part of the burlesque and performing arts communities in Portland and beyond for 22 years. Chris was born and raised near Louisville, Kentucky, and moved to Portland in 2007. He worked for 20 years in corporate marketing, network administration and as a digital media analyst. Today he is an entrepreneurial creative artist and also Executive Director of the Rose City School of Burlesque.

Tana the Tattooed Lady was born in Amarillo, Texas. While attending college at Chico State University she was instrumental in creating the school's musical theater degree. Tana was later recruited by burlesque performer and designer Jamie Von Stratton and was hired as a member of the Atomic Bombshells Burlesque troupe in Seattle around 2004. She moved from Seattle to Portland in 2007 and promptly started producing burlesque and variety shows. She has also taught at the Rose City School of Burlesque.

Velvet Thorn is a burlesque performer, actor, aerial circus performer and singer. Originally from Willits, California, Thorn was inspired to pursue burlesque after seeing a show with Dita Von Teese in San Francisco. She trained briefly in the North Bay with Eva D’Luscious and then moved to Ashland, Oregon, graduating from Southern Oregon University with a degree in Theatre. While at university, she began to perform burlesque with show producers Miss Darby Doll and Sundae Sparkles.

Dame Peaches Von Killingsworth grew up in Montana and moved to Oregon as a young adult. She holds a degree in humanities, focusing on gender studies, from the University of Oregon. An accomplished singer-songwriter, Peaches began performing burlesque in 2016 when she auditioned for Broadway Revue, Eugene’s longest-running burlesque show. Once accepted into their troupe, she developed new acts and performed weekly for four years. She then formed a new troupe in Eugene, The Wax Poetry Revue, which focused more on avant-garde performances.

Kat Wondergloom was born in Modesto, California, and grew up in Antioch, California. Beginning in 2010, Kat attended Southern Oregon University where she earned a degree in studio art. In 2011 Kat began studying burlesque and attended the BurlyCon educational conference. While still living in Southern Oregon, she joined a local troupe and subsequently produced her first show called Rockin’ Pin Up Revue. She has since produced different editions of the kink-based show, Love, Lust and Leather.

Ember Ophelia Woody was born in Florida and moved to Oregon when her car broke down there on a road trip. She studied theater and science in college. Ember started in burlesque in 2009 in Eugene, co-producing an original show that was performed at Sam Bond's Garage. She developed her burlesque career from there with the Red Raven Follies and the Broadway Revue in Eugene. She continues to produce two shows a year, amongst many other artistic endeavors.