Categories
Performers
Dance Performer & Troupe
Dance performers cover go-go dancers for nightlife, choreographed troupes for brand activations, ballroom and house performers for events programming, and themed acts (showgirls, can-can, Bollywood, K-pop) for corporate and gala work. NYC operators book through agencies, ballroom Houses (Xtravaganza, Mizrahi, Ninja), and AGVA-affiliated talent at $150-$275 per dancer per shift — go-go in NYC clocks $300-700/shift, roughly 2x the national $150-275 baseline.
View briefing →Burlesque Performer
Burlesque performers cover solo acts, troupe shows, and themed revues for nightclubs, members' clubs, immersive dinners, and bachelor/bachelorette parties. NYC operators book through House of Yes, Slipper Room, Duane Park, and direct talent at $200-$600/act for working performers with Dita Von Teese tier and produced revues moving five-figure book-outs, and AGVA covers contract/rider questions at the union end.
View briefing →Caricature & Portrait Artist
A caricature artist is the live sketch-of-the-guest entertainer for corporate parties, brand activations, weddings, and bar/bat mitzvahs. Operators book at $200-$800/hour with Mollie Fox Studio dominating brand-activation work (Glossier, Givenchy, Chanel, Macy's portfolio at $800-$1.5K/hour), and live artists held +10% YoY against AI caricature booths because the dwell time and theater of a real artist is the actual product.
View briefing →Circus & Acrobatic Performer
Circus and acrobatic performers cover aerialists, contortionists, hand-balancers, and ground acrobats for galas, opening parties, brand activations, and immersive nightclub programming. Operators book them through House of Yes, Aerial Arts NYC, Trapeze School, Streb, and Body & Pole at $300-900/performer with a $5M aerial-arts COI now standard post-2024 incidents — and any rigging requires venue structural sign-off, which is the actual booking gate.
View briefing →Comedian & Stand-Up
A stand-up comedian is the working comic you book for a corporate dinner, brand activation, charity gala, holiday party, or members'-club night. The NYC market splits sharply into headliner-celeb tier ($25K+ through WME/CAA/UTA) and indie-club tier ($300-$2K through The Stand, Comedy Cellar, and direct booking) — with the post-2022 Caroline's-on-Broadway closure and UCB-NY shutdown leaving a thinner middle than operators expect.
View briefing →Drag Performer
Drag performers cover queens, kings, and gender-nonconforming acts for brunches, residencies, members'-club nights, brand activations, and corporate Pride programming. NYC operators book direct or through PEG (RuPaul's Drag Race canonical booker) and CAA at $150-$500/set for working talent up through five-figure Drag Race alumni, with drag bingo (Linda Simpson, Murray Hill XL, Brita Filter) the dominant recurring-residency format.
View briefing →Face Painter & Body Art
Face painters and body artists cover kids' parties, family events, brand activations, festivals, and adult body-painting for nightlife and editorial. Operators book at $75-150/hour for working talent — bridal henna runs separately ($300-1,500+ with 6-12mo lead time at the top NYC studios) — and the regulatory floor is hard: PPD-based black henna is federally illegal under FDA Import Alert #53-19, and only 8 FDA UV-paint colors are approved, none near the eyes.
View briefing →Fire Performer
Fire performers cover poi, staff, fan, fire breathing, fire eating, and acro-fire hybrids for nightclubs, immersive parties, weddings, and brand activations. NYC operators must book talent who hold FDNY E-29 Fire Performer Certification plus on-site F-60 Fire Guard coverage (filed at 9 MetroTech Brooklyn) — that's the binding gate, not COI — and pricing runs $500-$1K per performer with NYC Fire Spinners, Floasis, and Burning Man Conclave the talent pools.
View briefing →Hypnotist
A stage hypnotist is the variety-act performer who runs a 60-90 minute volunteer-hypnosis show at corporate parties, college events, fundraisers, and conference closing nights. NYC operators book at $1.5-3K for indie working talent up through HYPROV/Sailesh/Sylver name tier ($10-75K), and PEEP Insurance's $1-5M ISHA master policy (launched July 2024) is now the industry-standard COI floor venues require before signing.
View briefing →Improv & Sketch Comedy Troupe
An improv or sketch troupe is the 4-8 person performing group you hire for corporate teambuilding, holiday parties, brand events, or as the warm-up/intermission act at a longer program. NYC operators source from Magnet, PIT, Asylum, Reckless, and Nine Lives at $300-1,500 for a 60-90 minute set, with corporate-improv shops (Second City Works, ImprovHQ) the play for trained-facilitator teambuilding workshops.
View briefing →Magician
A magician is the close-up table-magic, parlor-show, or stage performer you book for cocktail hours, corporate dinners, members'-club nights, and kids' events. NYC operators hire them at $250-$800/hour for working close-up talent with the Steve Cohen Chamber Magic / SAM Hall of Fame tier moving five figures, and the strongest cocktail-hour magicians are repeat-bookings at restaurants and hotels — Magic Castle alumni working four nights a week.
View briefing →Tarot & Psychic Performer
Tarot readers, palm readers, mediums, and astrology performers are the divination-as-entertainment category for cocktail hours, brand activations, corporate parties, members'-club nights, and bachelorette events. NYC operators book at $200-$400/hour for working talent up to the Raven (heyraven.com) celebrity tier with Fortune 500 portfolio, and NY Penal Law §165.35 carves out an entertainment exception — the contract must explicitly state it's for entertainment purposes.
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