Drag performer Izzy Uncut brings more than just a killer backflip to the stage

Izzy Uncut (@izzyuncut) is an NYC-based drag queen and an all-around fun-time girl whose background in cheerleading fuels her passion for drag performance. A dynamic performer, Izzy’s lifelong love of entertaining is the cornerstone of her drag career.

Despite her wide range of talents, drag is where Izzy feels truly at home. “I never knew what I wanted to do with my life,” Izzy tells In The Know. “Nothing felt like a passion for me until I found drag.”

Before doing back flips in heels across New York City stages, Kyle, AKA Izzy Uncut, spent his childhood in Toms River, New Jersey. “Growing up, I always loved performing,” shares Izzy. “I thought I was into musical theater until I realized I couldn’t sing, dance, or act.”

While this discovery put a pin in her musical theater career, Izzy found tremendous success as an All-Star Cheerleader, starting as an athlete before becoming a coach and choreographer. “Performance was always a huge part of it,” Izzy says, explaining her interest in cheerleading. “I loved having attention on me.”

Despite her achievements in the cheerleading world, Izzy realized that the sport ultimately wasn’t her passion. “Around that time is when I met my current boyfriend,” Izzy mentions. “He was living in New York, and we had the opportunity to get a place together. And I’m like, this is kind of the moment to take a leap.”

Upon arriving in New York City, where there was “no market for cheerleading,” Izzy sought an alternative avenue where she could use her skills and passion for performing, which is how drag entered the picture.

To carve out her own space in NYC’s drag scene, Izzy hit the ground running. “I was going to shows night after night, week after week, watching a bunch of entertainers here in the city that I looked up to, and I was like, ‘I can do that,’” recalls Izzy. “I can hold a microphone and be funny too, and I can do backflips, like what more can you ask for?”

Izzy’s talent and enthusiasm were noticeable from the start, but she admits that adjusting to the business took time.

“Starting off, I got a lot of traction really quickly for my unique style of performance. Being able to flip, being able to jump, dive, twist, turn, etc.,” Izzy mentions. “The biggest challenge was just proving that I was worth the hype. And now I think [that] my peers and other people in the industry have realized [that] I’m not just a girl [who] can do a backhand spring. I can also host a show. I can create a really funny comedy mix. I can entertain an audience in multiple capacities.”

Some of Izzy’s favorite accomplishments to date include performing in London and at her hometown’s Pride festival. “It’s really great to like, go back and see all the queer kids in my hometown,” Izzy proudly notes. “Being able to be that drag queen from New York that came back to Toms River for them is very cute. It’s lovely. It’s a very nice feeling.”

When it comes to Izzy’s drag persona, she says that “it’s not too much of a transformation,” further specifying that she’s “pretty much the same person in and out [of drag], so when I get all up in the gig I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s a gorgeous woman version of Kyle.’”

As for Izzy’s future goals, she will need some very high heels because the sky’s the limit. “I want to tour the world. I want to meet as many people as possible. I want people to learn more about drag, [and] open their eyes to different environments [and] different communities that they’ve never seen before. I want people to not take life [so seriously],” she passionately shares.

Beyond her own performances, Izzy sees drag as a medium for delivering “messages that are important, but in a fun digestible way.” Above all, she loves the purpose that drag gave her. “I finally found my passion. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life until I found drag, and now there is no confusion, no uncertainty. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

The post Drag performer Izzy Uncut brings more than just a killer backflip to the stage appeared first on In The Know.

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