Yves is 28 years old, born in Flatbush, Brooklyn and working full time as a model and musician. Yves is a foster parent and dog trainer to pitbulls in New York City with the Animal Rescue Center and in Costa Rica with the Animal Love center. A bingo player and chef for homeless senior citizens at the Manny Cantor Center in New York City, Yves also volunteers with the Streetwork Project which provides resources and services for LGBTQ+ youth in New York City. Arrested over 16 times in 14 different states and jailed for protesting, Yves is 11 years drug and alcohol-free and is a relentless and passionate activist for civil rights and all issues that have to deal with BIPOC, trans people, bodily autonomy, mental health and social justice. Yves will always do anything for the girls.

Co-Artistic Directors Anya and Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery are born and raised New Yorkers—Clarke hailing from Brownsville, Brooklyn and Verdery from Upper West Side, Manhattan. They founded MICHIYAYA Dance in fall 2015 with a vision to synthesize their backgrounds in dance and visual art, while uplifting their voices as queer women. Anya (Long Island University Brooklyn, BFA) uses their performance and choreographic experience to cultivate the physical and visceral MICHIYAYA movement. Mitsuko (Carnegie Mellon University, BFA) uses her visual and performance art focus to form MICHIYAYA contextual landscapes for the dance artists to live inside. Together, their roles overlap and intertwine to co-direct their group of dance artists and collaborators. The duo was selected as Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Art and Drama 2019 Resident Artists and Guest Lecturers. They were 2018 PearlDiving Movement Residency artists, and first place winners for Choreographic Excellence at the 2016 International REVERBdance Festival.

Brooklyn-based Corrine Jasmin is a poet, published and celebrated writer, musician and multidisciplinary artist. Jasmin recently served as an opening act for Flo Milli and is newly a two-time, back-to-back Brooklyn Poetry Slam Champion. While previously attending school for film and screenwriting, she immersed herself in Pittsburgh’s arts community, exhibiting visual work in various galleries and giving electric performances around the city, the midwest, and ultimately the country. As the buzz spread, Jasmin became known not only as a vibrant young filmmaker and artist producing unique lens-based work, but also as a commanding, alluring performer and thoughtful writer. “Move Through,” Jasmin’s debut single, was accompanied by a music film, directed and edited by her, and followed up by self-recorded “Fever Dream Insomniac.” The 30-minute electro hop (micro) album is influenced by jazz, house, and rap to alternative R&B styles, soft rock, experimental music and of course, the Black art form of spoken word. “Fever Dream Insomniac” is available on all streaming platforms and for purchase on Bandcamp.

soft boy crash landed from the planet Plush into the Western Pennsylvania drag scene in 2021, and they quickly established themself as Pittsburgh’s pink pop prince ever since. Defying earthly notions of gender and sexuality, they’ve become one of the city’s most in-demand new performers with their trademark fusion of sensitivity, sensuality, and fantasy. Their recent performances at Pride on the Shore and Jellyfish have showcased soft boy’s ability to bring high-energy showmanship and emotional vulnerability to both the big stage and the dancefloor. Through their monthly show “HEARTTHROB,” they created and hosted Pittsburgh’s premier all-king drag show. In addition to their frequent appearances throughout Pittsburgh, soft boy can be seen every other month hosting “Songs 2 Dance & Cry 2” at Necromancer Brewing Co. Follow the king @mx.softboy on Instagram.

Manny Dibiachi lives outside the box. Rhyming over fluid beats and creating his own through his vicious wordplay. His introduction to music was his Mother cleaning on Sunday Mornings or inviting her sisters over on Friday Nights. Inspired by the sounds that shaped a black millennial from the hood. From 90s R&B to the early 00s Pop Divas. These sounds created the soundtrack to his childhood. Music helped him get through some of the toughest times in his life, cementing his love for the art and understanding of its healing properties. Fighting social stigmas, he uses his music to speak through the human experience. Creating boundaries for himself and breaking them simultaneously, he is a creative with intention and spectrum. Through every ballad to club banger, he creates a moment or story all the while he is true to every facet of himself. Dibiachi is a Pittsburgh-born and raised artist. There, his mother created a safe space for his art to shine through unconditionally and unapologetically. She is his biggest inspiration. His talents are songwriting, rapping, singing, and composing. He is a self-taught engineer, and most of his works are that of his own recording techniques. He wishes to be an inspiration for young kids who are like him and for them to see that this could be possible.

Instigated in 2022 by Hilary Harp and Suzie Silver, Flamming Creatures is a shifting group of collaborators dedicated to the creation of queer pageantry for all occasions. For twenty years, Harp and Silver have been romantic and creative partners. Their videos, installations, and media performances celebrate experimental and counter-hegemonic aesthetics, including camp, psychedelia, folk art, and science fiction. Since 2014 Harp and Silver have been developing Fairy Fantastic! a platform for the production and presentation of queer folk and fairy tale films for audiences of all ages. Elements of Fairy Fantastic! have screened and exhibited nationally at venues including the Carnegie International Cinematheque, Anthology Film Archives, the Walker Art Center, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Andy Warhol Museum, and at international film festivals including in Belarus, the UK, Portugal, Canada, Romania, and Australia. Their short films have been screened at hundreds of festivals on five continents and are distributed by the Video Data Bank. The unending, screen-dominated isolation of the Covid 19 pandemic created a longing for joyful, musical, live, communal queer expression, and Flamming Creatures is the still-evolving response to this yearning.

VJ Ass Troll has performed lives visuals for queers since the early ’00s and is a co-creator of the NYC monthly party WOAHMONE which formally ended in 2016 but still pops up here and there.

Mara Bailey has been representing the Exclusive House of Makaveli since debut. They started their Ballroom career in winter of 2011; Here in Pittsburgh. He has opened for Kesha and Jennifer Hudson. Co-Performed with TrueT’s KnowShade®. Present day they’ve won many trophies, traveled over 20 states, and constantly remain Pittsburgh’s reigning OTY (Of the Year) Butch Queen Vouge Fem. This year Mara was selected to compete on 2022’s Legendary Season 3 HBOmax®. Mara, alongside the “Legendary” Makaveli’s, fought, clawed, and defended their name – all the way to the TOP FOUR houses in this year’s season. “We were always treated like the underdogs of the ballroom; we have always had to fight to stand next to the previous generation of Houses. But this time around, we are not accepting the underdog status! Especially when we’ve made it to the top.” -Legendary HBOmax’s Mara Bailey “Makaveli” It does not stop there- Mara’s passion for community advocacy is defined by nothing but love and passion. He works at Central Outreach Wellness Center to help promote and service the community that is in need of competent health care. Outreach, tabling, and hosting community panels are just a scratch on the surface of the work he gives back to the community.

Victoria L Van-Cartier is a fierce Sagittarius with an undeniable Smile and fiery charismatic spirit who has served 5 years and 4months to the Pittsburgh drag community. By turning heads and stopping traffic literally, she has created a reputation as Pittsburgh dancing Doll herself. Victoria holds 2 former pageant titles and currently holds the Miss Schit to Chic Title in the Local Pittsburgh drag scene. You can find her monthly at Brewers bar and hotel for V Squared every first Friday of each month along with Freakin Fridays every 4th Friday of the month. Victoria has a big heart and has dedicated her time, love, and energy to supporting local fundraising events through her drag Platform. She loves giving back to her community in any way she possibly can and also supports her other feelings LGBTQIA+ Artists.

sarah huny young, the 2021 guest curator for TQ Live!, is a DJ, photographer, event producer, and king of all trades soundtracking and producing events via the Mostbeautifullest collective. Bred in NYC and currently residing in Pittsburgh, her work in music, photography, and visual art is rooted in exalting Black women and LGBTQ+ communities. Currently, huny is a 2021 Sibyls Shrine resident artist and a “Marking this Moment: Pittsburgh Artists in 2020” Fellow via Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, ESPN, Pittsburgh City Paper, New York Magazine, The Verge, and more.

Music is her, she is music. With a father who is a former emcee/ producer and a mother who is a writer, dancer, and singer, Joelle Felder was destined to be a musician. Bouncing between the cities of Pittsburgh, PA, and Charlotte, NC is when Joelle found her niche for music. At an early age she participated in talent shows and pageants. As she got older, she attended Charlotte School for Performing Arts. While there, she began to find a love for entertainment. She took a liking to writing, acting, visual arts, and more. With her family going through a tough time, they were forced to return to Pittsburgh in which she had to attend a public school. Holding onto a dream, Joelle would write music and sing for fun. At the age of 16, Joelle was introduced to the Alumni Theater Company (ATC). Falling in love with the fact that they performed musicals and original shows, Joelle auditioned and got accepted. While a member of ATC Joelle performed in the Musical “Aida” and “I Am An Artist,” where she created and performed an original piece.

After graduating high school in 2014 she realized how strong her love for the music was, and Juiced Up Joey emerged. She wrote and recorded her first song and began networking around the City of Pittsburgh. Juiced Up Joey began to link with different producers and artists. This same year she met L.A.Chae and became a member of NxLvb3l (No Label), a movement that motivates people to be themselves and love themselves. In 2017 Juiced Up Joey linked with KK Management and Productions, LLC. Since then, her music career has taken off with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Juiced Up Joey has toured with performances not only in Pittsburgh, but Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and more. Five months into the year 2018, Juiced Up Joey has released her debut studio project, “First Try,” which can be found on Tidal, Spotify, and all of your music streaming sites. She has multiple videos scheduled to release within the next weeks to come; she is on a paid tour, has landed a role in a film, and has a brand new single, which is available for download and purchase on all platforms. Taking time to work on her brand and creating her newest character to add to the 100% juice brand, which will complete the story coming soon!