Bio
Alyssa Kitt Hanley is one of the world’s leading minds and behinds of the global industry and art-form of the burlesque. Beginning her career in the emerging boom of Australia’s neo-burlesque revival in 2007, she has been at the forefront of shaping the modern world of burlesque and is an award-winning performer, renowned teacher, and producer (Mx Burlesque International). She has twice competed for the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s coveted Queen of Burlesque competition in Las Vegas (2017, 2022) and was recently invited to judge their annual ‘Tournament of Tease’. In 2022, Alyssa was a featured presenter at BurlyCon and presented her research on digital burlesque performance at the American Society for Theatrical Research (ASTR). Based in New York City, she is a specialist burlesque historian, journalist, writer, researcher, and physical dramaturg. Alyssa is currently undertaking her PhD in theatre and performance at City University New York. Her academic focus is on erotic performance art, burlesque, and striptease history. She is a graduate teaching fellow and lectures in theatre history at Brooklyn College.
Research Interests
- Burlesque
- Erotic performance art
- Queer theory
- Contemporary dance
