On June 27, 2025, inside the glowing walls of CaliKings Studios in Silver Lake, something radical unfolded. And no, I’m not just saying that to be dramatic. The show was called June-Tease, and it wasn’t just a celebration of Juneteenth. It was a full on reclamation of space, story and sensuality, centered around the brilliance of Black burlesque performers.
CaliKings is the kind of venue built on legacy. Not the velvet-rope kind of legacy, but the kind you earn with mixtapes and mic drops. It was born in hip hop culture and now serves as a hub for creative rebels, community-makers and artists across LA.
This made it the perfect backdrop for a night that honored Black freedom in glitter, pasties and unapologetic power.
Before We Get Into It, A Personal Story
It’s important for me to start with this because my love of burlesque goes way, way back. Years ago (okay, it’s actually decades), my friend Eric Christensen asked me to join the burlesque troupe he was starting. I was 20, basically just surviving, and very much in my “no idea what the hell that means” era.
Eric, who you might know better as the legendary, Eddie Dane, asked me more than once. He invited me to join Dane’s Dames, which would go on to morph into what we now know as the Hubba Hubba Revue, one of the best burlesque shows in the world.
Now what did I say? I told him I wasn’t sure what burlesque was. But I had this idea where I’d walk on stage with wearing pasties, sit on a stool naked and just dance and play around with my ukelele. He laughed, I laughed and I said no. Again. Every time. Eric died in 2011 and left such a hole in my heart.
I always think back to those moments, because even then, before I fully understood the art, I knew the courage it takes to claim space like that, especially as a Latina, LGBTQIA and Indigenous woman.
The Women Who Made the Night
So back to June-Tease. This show wasn’t curated by chance. It was designed with intention, and that started with Ashleeta and Gwen Ruby, the co-creators, for their Herbal Elegance Review.
Ashleeta opened the night walking out to the iconic words: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, and let me tell you, she meant it. That entrance laid down the law and set the tone for the night. Her performances are layered with fire and depth, but this one felt personal, political and proud in a moment we needed it most.
Offstage, Ashleeta is the brains behind Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, which celebrates spooky babes and alternative femmes.
She doesn’t just perform. She builds platforms for others and that’s real power.
Gwen Ruby has been running things since before most of us could spell “burlesque.” A founding member of The Hollywood Jane Revue and a Rocky Horror alum, Gwen has been holding space for weirdos, misfits and femmes for more than a decade. Without her, this show would not have happened. Period.
Coco Took the Mic & the Room
Coco Lamarr did double duty that night. Not only did she perform, she hosted. And look, we need to talk about what that means. Burlesque emcees are still mostly white men, standing there with their dad jokes and their dusty comedy about boobs but not here.
Coco owned the mic with the same velvet intensity she brings to the stage. Her voice is sultry, commanding and entirely her own.
As part of her upcoming Amy Winehouse show, Winehouse Revival Project, she sang a slowed down, sultry version of “Back to Black” and it was not a cover. It was an invocation. This was a complete stopped moment in time. She gave us just a sneaky peek to show it’s more than a tribute act. It’s a vocal séance. She channels Amy’s ache, her soul and her strength and makes it feel fresh, painful, and gorgeous.
The Performers Who Raised the Bar (And the Roof)
Jessabelle Thunder, your reigning Miss Exotic World 2025, is nothing short of magic. When she moves, you forget time exists. She’s toured with Dita Von Teese, topped Top 10 lists, and literally made burlesque history by helping secure international performance visas. But what struck me most was her joy. It’s radiant. Infectious. She’s not performing for approval, she’s dancing because she can. That’s freedom.
Egypt Blaque Knyle is a goddess in every sense. She calls her style Sexlesque, and it shows. Her performance oozed power.
She’s won more titles than anyone in burlesque history, and it’s not hard to see why.
She doesn’t tease for your pleasure. She dominates for her own. And if you’re lucky, you get to watch.
Lux LaCroix is what happens when art and activism go to finishing school. A professional choreographer, filmmaker and burlesque legend, Lux performs like she’s writing a thesis with her body.
Every move is exact. Every transition is intentional. Her act was bold, lush and smart as hell.
Amaya Absynthe is the kind of performer who makes you laugh and cry and yell “YES BITCH” all in one set. With a background in aerial arts and pole, she’s part acrobat, part comedian, part poet.
When she hits the stage, you get camp, sex and storytelling all at once. She’s not just a performer. She’s a showstopper.
Lena Julian is the Herbal Elegance Revue’s Stage Kitten and she brought a haunting elegance to the lineup. Her performance was slow, thoughtful, and full of dark glamour. With a background in theatre and media studies, she’s clearly thinking five layers deeper than your average performer.
Lena moves like she’s letting you in on a secret.
This Is What Happens When Women Run the Show
Now let’s take a moment to address the honesty that so rarely is discussed in burlesque. Since the days of Minsky, women take the stage while men take the credit. But we’re not living in 1917 and. June-Tease was curated, hosted, performed and produced entirely by women, mostly Black women and it showed. The energy was different. There was no performative empowerment, no empty “girl power” aesthetic. This was real, grounded and embodied artistry that in the past probably would have just been slapped with the “see exotic women” label.
Coco’s presence as a host is especially worth highlighting. Having a woman hold the mic flips the script. It shifts the power. The narrative no longer runs through the male gaze. It flows from the performers themselves. In a white male dominated world, in a time that women are being plucked off the street and disappeared, and where BIPOC women still fight for representation, it’s essential, now, more than ever.
Why It Mattered
June-Tease didn’t tokenize. It centered. It didn’t ask for permission. It demanded respect. This wasn’t just another show. It was a blueprint for what burlesque should be.
Obviously, it’s always going to ooze sex and high drama, but it’s also political, historical, joyful and loud.
If burlesque isn’t it in your face, did it even happen?
Every performer that night was bringing something bigger than themselves to the stage: resistance, remembrance, pleasure, protest. For many of us in the audience, it was a transcendental healing moment.
Keep Showing Up
We need to continue to support these performers. Tip them. Share their work. Follow them. Book them.
Better yet, build spaces where they don’t have to fight to be seen.
Black women didn’t just help shape burlesque history. They are burlesque history and when they take the stage, they don’t just change the show. They change the damn rules. And in a world of Ditas, be a Jessabelle Thunder
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