programs
Thank you for joining us at the 3rd Annual Queen of the West Burlesque Festival! We are excited to bring these talented artists from in and around Greater Cincinnati, Kentucky & Indiana and beyond to the stage at Memorial Hall OTR! Scroll to see the program, and don't forget to follow your favorite performers!
main stage show
enjoy the show!
mistress of ceremonies
stixen stones
She/Her
Stixen Stones has been performing in drag for the last 12 years. Previously, she was the show director of ODD Presents: an alternative drag art show in the Cincinnati, OH area that welcomed multiple different types of artists to show off their weirdest and wackiest performance art pieces. She is the forever reigning winner of Drag Me To Hell at Play Louisville- a three month drag competition where drag artists created horror-themed drag performances around weekly themes. In 2023, she was crowned Mx Maniac and went on to fight for the Title of National Monster Xtreme. While she didnt win, she is proud to be in the top ten Monster performers in the Nation. In 2022, she was named Cincinnati Ohio’s best drag queen by City Beat Magazine. She can’t wait to thrill you, chill you and leave you begging for more!
01
jo monroe
She/Her
Journalists say that jazz is “public vulgarity disguised as dancing”, but that’s just the way Jo Monroe likes it! Like any showgirl worth her rhinestones, Jo got her first taste of the spotlight in a chorus line, and her thirst for overindulgent glamour has been insatiable ever since. From the back corners of smoky jazz clubs to center stage at lavish theaters, Jo has been dazzling audiences with her smile and her bejeweled costumes alike. Now, she’s stepping off the silver screen and into your heart. Let Jo Monroe show you just how jazz music is ruining the nation!
02
pierrot dice
Pierrot Dice is here to turn your clown phobias into philias. This harlequin hottie is a lifelong dancer that fuses vaudevillian humor and classic burlesque, in one playful package. She carts her circus all over the midwest, and has shared the stage with Queen Bee Cabaret, Smoke and Queers, Riot Rose and more. A tattooed lady by day and clown by night, she aims to pack all the spectacle and drama of the big top into a one-woman show!
She/Her
03
salem le fay
She/Her
Intriguing, magnetic and powerful, she'll lure you in with a flick of her wrist and switch of her hips - Salem le Fay is a veteran dancer and performer and who has done it all. A student of multiple dance disciplines including ballroom, Latin, bellydance and Irish step, tango and pole, Salem has been performing her entire life. This bold enchantress is a performing member and co-producer of Smoke & Queers Burlesque Troupe out of Cincinnati and has charmed audiences across Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan with Queen Bee Cabaret, Gem City Burlesque, Blanc's Burlesque, Goddess Collective, and others in the three years since she began her cabaret crusade. For Salem, movement is freedom and her spellbinding acts reflect her bewitching range, with elements of neo-classic burlesque, the dark, the dirty, and sometimes, even the nerdy. She shifts her shape with powerful sorcery, seduces the mind and soul with her many beguiling gifts, and all she asks in exchange is an offering of zealous adoration. It's the Cin City Siren - Salem le Fay.
04
thee hbic
Hailing from Fort Wayne, Thee HBIC serves a perfect cocktail of classic burlesque with a bold Black femme twist. Equal parts tease, power, and polish, Thee HBIC commands the stage with slow burns, sharp wit, and unapologetic sensuality. With tassles twirling and legs for days, prepare to be teased and pleased.
She/Her
05
eris astra
Eris Astra is a Chicago based showgirl and the current Burlypicks Nationals Pop Culture Champion. Costumer by day, cryptid by night, your whoreoscope always calls for something unexpected when Eris is around. She’s a professional theater kid, confrontationally queer, with AWARD WINNING tits! She’s the Red-Hot Fire Sign From Planet 69, it’s Eris Astra!
She/Her
06
autumn leaves
Autumn Leaves is a nationally-touring burlesque performer, emcee, and educator based in middle Tennessee. Since her burlesque debut in 2017, she has twirled her tassels from Atlantic to Pacific and regularly takes to the open road in her Honda Fit-That-Won't-Quit to drive to bookings and festival appearances all over the country. When she isn't out and about, Autumn performs in the Nashville area and teaches burlesque fundamentals classes.
She/Her
07
desiree de carlo
She/Her
As fancy as she is filthy, Desiree De Carlo has made the stage her home, earning the tagline “Glamour Incarnate” and reigning as “Miss Nude Indiana”. A founding member of the Rocket Doll Revue, Co-Director of Circle City School of Burlesque, and Co-Producer of The Titty 500 Indy Burlesque Festival, Desiree has been dazzling audiences with live performance magic for over 15 years!
08
plezher sssea
From Madison, Wisconsin, this Roach is continuing her tour for her hilariously fabulous Roach act, after being crowned Master of Munchies in 2025 from Mile High (weed themed) Burlesque Festival.
Last year her tour took her west, and south this year she will go east and has been invited north, internationally, to Vancouver in April.
We love her for her quirky style and can’t forget her beautiful smile. She teases, and definitely pleases, Plezher SSSea!
She/Her
intermission
09
danielle tillie
She/Her
Danielle Tillie has been entertaining audiences on the pole for nearly two decades, but as a classically trained musician, she’s been a performer her whole life.
She competed regionally and nationally from 2012-2017, culminating in medals at Central Pole Championships and the North American Pole Dance Championships. Heavily influenced by the burlesque community in recent years, her style has transformed to include polesque: a blend of burlesque & pole dancing.
Danielle teaches pole dancing classes at Dimension Fitness, and is co-owner of Ignite Studio, a private rehearsal space, where she teaches private lessons.
A co-founder of Passion Productions in Cincinnati, Ohio, she is proud to provide a quality stage for amazing local performers.
10
vanta black
Vanta Black is here to defy all expectations. They reign as a drag queen, drag king and burly babe; in hopes to bring their audiences all things silly, sexy, quirky, and queer. They are a producer of Cincinnati’s all Black drag and burlesque review, Melanin Magic and The creator of Cincinnati’s Queer Disability Pride.
Vanta challenges convention in all spaces they enter. They are proof that every body is a burlesque body. As a performer with hip dysplasia, Vanta promises to deliver a dazzling performance with 9 metal screws in their right hip.
They/Them
11
the shimmy shakes
What's better than one sexy burlesque dancer? A whole stage of sexy burlesque dancers, of course! The Shimmy Shakes are a Cincinnati-based burlesque troupe, founded on the shared love of big, crowd pleasing group numbers. Building on the lifelong dance experience of its members, The Shimmy Shakes bring choreographed comedy and a cheeky "wink and nudge" to the stage. This group of veteran burlesque dancers specialize in dance heavy performances that will have you on your feet, begging for more!
12
bones malone
Bones Malone is an international showpony from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a former Nudie Nubies Ultimate Reveal Champion and Nudie Nubies Nationwide competitor, and has since gone on to light up national and international stages and festivals with their spunky performance style. Bones was also a nominee for the “Tormented Artiste” 2026 Silver Tusk Burlesque Award. Known for their impassioned expression, dynamic musicality, and campy charm, Bones is one crowd-pleasing, heartbreaking tease!
They/Them
13
sista soleé
She/Her
Sista Soleé is a Cincinnati based Burlesque artist who is known for her sensuality, floor work, and charm. She been featured at the Hell City Tattoo Convention, Pay Tribute Festival, and Queen of the West Burlesque Festival. Teacher by day and seductress by night. The gold standard of Soul and Sass, Sista Soleé!
14
dd & lili - geriatrickz
Geriatrickz is a Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky duo: Death Divine (DD) and LiLi Luv (LiLi). They produce early bird burlesque shows, promising their audiences, “you’ll be home by 9!” Because they’re here for a good time, not a long time, or a late time. Both growing up with a background in theater, they create character-based burlesque performances that are sure to make you laugh, gasp, and beg for more!
She/Her
15
jessica sunset
She/Her
Jessica Sunset is the Liberace of Burlesque! Both a musician and dancer, she blends her crafts with classic Hollywood glitz to create her very own style of burlesque. This classically trained knockout traded her concert hall for a cocktail lounge in 2020 and has been hitting all the right notes ever since. Jessica appears regularly in Chicago, and showcases her talents at festivals across the country, most recently at the New York and Ohio Burlesque festivals.
16
harlem nyte
Harlem Nyte (she/they) is a Chicago by-way of New York City based burlesque performer, choreographer, emcee/host and producer. Since stepping on stage, just shy of 4 years ago Miss Nyte has performed on more than 100 US cities& 5 international stages.
Notable performances includ: Chicago PrideFest, Panama International Burlesque Festival, Milwaukee Pride Festival, The Juneteenth Jumpoff, New Orleans Teaser Fest, The inaugural Black Burlesque Festival (London, UK), Lincoln Center(NYC), Steppenwolf Theater and the Ohio International Burlesque Fest, where after debuting in ‘23, was invited back the following year as a festival featured act. In 2024, Harlem was awarded the Silver Tusk Award for outstanding burlesque newcomer.
In 2023, Harlem founded Nytes In Harlem Production Company with the mission to curate shows and events that are not only inclusive, but center performers who exist in marginalized bodies, specifically those at the intersections of being Black, Queer and Fat.
Her signature production ‘R & Burlesque’ combines burlesque, drag and variety acts with the art of storytelling, all set to the soundtrack of R & B music, a genre created specifically by and for Black people. The show is quickly growing into a staple in the Chicago fringe arts community, and has had the honor of hosting multiple performers who were previously and/or currently on the Burlesque Top 50.The show celebrates 2 years in spring, 2026!
She/They
Thank you to our Sponsors:
GORILLA CINEMA
Thank you to our Community Partners:
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