The Board has been busy for the last eight months searching for the next Executive Director of BurlyCon. And today I have the deep pleasure of announcing, our search is over!
BurlyCon’s next Executive Director is….
Twirlisha Devine AND Iva Handfull!
Yes you read that right, the Board fell in love with both of them. Their knowledge, skills and energies are a wonderful compliment and we are over the moon that they have accepted this co-EDship. Their combined visions for bringing BurlyCon to the next level are giving the Board life. On the practical side, the split of responsibilities between Twirlisha and Iva will be shared with you all soon.
We would also like to thank, Pixie Parcelle, for stepping in as Interim ED during this time to help us find the best people for the job. Thank you!
Getting to know Twirlisha Devine
Born and raised in Chester, PA this whirlwind of sass and ass twirled into Burlesque in 2017 and hasn’t looked back. Twirlisha began her dance training in ballet, modern, tap and jazz at a young age and spent years working as a professional modern dancer in Philadelphia and NYC. Since making her solo debut in Ginger N Whiskey and Feisty Fuego’s Burlesque Boogie Nights in San Diego in 2017, Twirlisha Devine has performed, featured, headlined and competed all over the U.S. and internationally. She is the 2019 Fresh Face Feature for the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, the 2019 Master of Funk for What the Funk an All POC Burlesque Festival, has had the honor of performing in the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s VHoF showcases in 2020 and 2021 and most recently at the 2022 Jeezy’s Juke Joint in Chicago. Twirlisha is just warming up and plans to continue throwing her body around on stage and leaving a trail of glitter and fireworks everywhere she goes for many years to come. Stay tuned lovers… the Burn It Down Tease of Burlesque is on the rise!
One thing Twirlisha’s most looking forward to:
I’m most looking forward to utilizing my skills and experience as a long time activist, project manager, strategic coordinator and working/learning/evolving with all the brilliant, sparkly humans that make up BurlyCon. My ultimate goal in this role is to help facilitate a culture rooted in equity, inclusion, antiracism, experiential education, visibility and growth at all levels within BurlyCon as an organization and the art of burlesque as a whole worldwide.
Getting to know Iva Handfull
I am thrilled to take my non-stop BurlyCon idea generation to the Executive Director level! I’ve attended every BurlyCon since its inception in 2008 as an attendee, bookkeeper, vendor, sponsor, hotel troublemaker, presenter, peer reviewer, Director of Programming, Director of Online Programming and now Co-Executive Director alongside the brilliant Twirlisha Devine. In my three years as Director of Programming, BurlyCon went from a single in-person annual conference to the beginnings of a global, online burlesque education platform and university. We’ve accomplished the following:
- launched BurlyLabs and a trial run of the Masters Program
- pivoted from an in-person convention to a hybrid and then to a fully-online convention in 9 months
- created a year-round online convention
- built a BurlyCon on Demand program for instructors to house and sell their virtual, recorded classes, allowing people around the world to peruse burlesque classes and take them at their leisure
- built a Legends Docuseries Archive to share burlesque legends’ history with the world
- starting online scene studies for seasoned professionals
- building an online anti-racism program and burlesque university
My sexy body of work includes being a burlesque soloist for 15 years, festival and show headliner for 11 years, burlesque show producer for 13 years, burlesque instructor for 10 years, and I was a traditional club stripper for 5 years. I won the title of Showgirl of the Year in 1998 and 2000 and Kansas City Burlesque Festival Queen in 2013. My other career is as a bookkeeper/business manager for a nonprofit theater, art gallery and public utility. I’ve also worked as a financial analyst, cost analyst, accountant, and finance manager.
I am ready to co-lead BurlyCon into its future, fulfill the educational needs of the burlesque community and industry and strategically grow and sustain BurlyCon as a nonprofit.
One thing Iva’s most looking forward to:
I’m most excited about being in this new co-EDship: We’re ushering BurlyCon into its next generation.