Nasty Canasta

Internationally-renowned artstar (and reigning Cheese Queen of Coney Island) Nasty Canasta is frequently hailed as a genius of the neo-burlesque scene. A "burlesque queen" (The New York Times), 2nd Runner Up at the 2010 Miss Exotic World Pageant, and "Brooklyn's greatest burlesque star" (The Brooklyn Paper), Nasty is host and producer of Naked Girls Reading NYC - "New York's Best Story Hour," (The Village Voice) - the impresario behind Sweet & Nasty Burlesque, and was an original co-creator of Pinchbottom Burlesque ("Best Burlesque in NYC" - NY Magazine, "Most Innovative" - Burlesque Hall of Fame). Nasty began her performance career as a stage actor, studying theatre and costume design at Brown University. In 2005 - after too many years of horribly embarrassing (though, fortunately, horribly-attended) off-off-off-Broadway shows - she discovered her true calling on the burlesque stage. Now a full-time burlesque performer, producer and costumer, Nasty draws on her years of experience in the theatre to create acts and shows that combine tease and titillation, humor, spectacle and theatricality. In addition to her burlesque performances, she spent the summer of 2010 as a snake charmer and contortionist with the world-famous Coney Island Circus Sideshow in Brooklyn, NY. Nasty is best known for her 'burlesques on burlesque:' subtle and surprising twists on classic striptease such as her car-alarm fan dance, her "Unknown Stripper" act, and her award-winning ecdysiastal tribute to Dorian Gray, "The Portrait." Equally at home with classic tease and contemporary pop culture, her numbers range from the sublime to the silly, and have been a favorite with audiences around the world.