Marbella Carlos AKA Joy Rider

Marbella Carlos, also known as Joy Rider, fuses Filipino cultural traditions with neo-burlesque to create performances that are sensual, playful, personal, and politically charged. For Marbella, burlesque becomes a vehicle to reclaim agency over the body and sexuality, while Filipino dance, costuming, and storytelling provide a rich cultural vocabulary and heritage to draw from. She weaves these forms together to craft comedic, sensual, and often subversive moments that challenge colonial narratives, interrogate acculturation, and celebrate diasporic identity. Her practice revels in glamour and joy, while opening space for complex conversations about identity, belonging, and liberation.