I started Burlesque in 2006 when I was attending College for the Performing Arts for (singing, acting and dancing) after my sister took me to a Scandelles show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. Their radicalized, feminist performances and diverse body representation shook me to my core (in the best way) and from then on I was hooked!

oooh this is a tough one! Daddy Lessons, my signature Archery act is one of my favourites because it’s truly a show stopper! My favourite outfit has got to be my Audrey II (from Little Shop of Horrors) Costume because it’s the size of a small SUV and brings down the house!

Trends I would love to see more of include: more representation on stages – I want to see plus sized cabaret, BIPOC cabaret, Disabled cabaret, Trans cabaret, Queer cabaret. I want to see all of us living our best lives and earning a sustainable living as performers. I wish the trend of underpayment and underfunding in burlesque and cabaret would end. Producers and performers shouldn’t have to keep circulating the same $20 from local show to local show just to keep the scene alive – the entertainment scene in Canada has welcomed Drag with open arms (as so it should!) and rates and opportunities for drag performers have skyrocketed as a result . Likewise, Burlesque should be recognized and paid as a legitimate performing art- both by granting bodies and by the venues, booking agents and larger funding sources. Artists should be able to build sustainable, well-paying careers with access to health benefits, rather than constantly scraping by.

For me, maintaining a career as a performer for the past 20+ years has been challenging – it’s part of the reason I diversified my artistry (as a singer, model, actor, dancer, firebreather, target shooter, host and body positive advocate) – in order to provide me with the most opportunity to pursue this dream full time

Ha! As a multidisciplinary performer who is constantly spinning plates, I deal with burnout near constantly – I find it’s a cycle for me, between wanting to create, produce, perform and stay busy, and needing to step back ,reflect, rest, reset and recharge. I just do my best to listen to my body (and my heart) and build in time for rest during times of heightened output, so that I minimize the burnout (and its after effects) as much as possible.

Oh man! From Music, from world events, from pop culture, from the divine…inspiration strikes me everywhere I look!

Not in the Slightest. Been Ivory for everything I’ve done for 23 years plus and my name is as much a part of me at this point, as the air that I breathe

Oh boy! I’m always looking to pick up new tricks! I’m currently training myself (and my horses) to do mounted archery – I’m also learning roping (but that’s being hindered by a torn shoulder from a car accident where a drunk driver hit me) annnnd I would love to take up the banjo at some point, or the harp, or the pennywhistle….I’m serious. I wanna learn ALL THE THINGS!!!!! LOL

Ooooh thats hard. Ummm….honestly right now my dream is to see the Toronto Burlesque Festival hosted at Toronto’s legendary Elgin Wintergarden Theatre – it historically had burlesque and Vaudeville until 1929 and then shut down, and that history has largely been forgotten. It’s one of my biggest dreams to see (and perform) burlesque returned to that stage with a starstudded case. My dream cast?? All of the fabulous folx working independently in Burlesque across Canada and the US, but being paid at rates in line with the top entertainment acts in the world? Be still my heart!!!!!!

Destiny is not a matter of chance but a matter of CHOICE. (This has been my mantra for ever 20 years) / SLEEP WHEN YUH DEAD!! (thats another longtime favourite of mine)/ RIDE IT TIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF (another long time favourite)

Goals for myself – keep pushing, keep dreaming, keep climibing, and remember – if you have to climb a mountain, you can chose to grumble the whole way to the top, or you can choose to sing. I choose to sing.