Nasty Canasta is frequently hailed as a genius of the neo-burlesque scene, “burlesque queen” (The NY Times), 2nd Runner Up at the 2010 Miss Exotic World Pageant, and “Brooklyn’s greatest burlesque star” (The Brooklyn Paper). She is the producer of Naked Girls Reading NYC and was an original co-creator of Pinchbottom Burlesque. She is a regular performer with Wasabassco Burlesque, and teaches private and group burlesque classes. She is hosting the Thursday night pre-party and will be teaching Performance Theory through the Nerdlesque Festival, in conjunction with the New York School of Burlesque.