The true identities of these burlesque dancers are not what you would expect (Photos)

With a little makeup someone can become an entirely different person.

If you were to guess what a prudish-looking lady with neatly cropped hair and a grey pullover cardigan got up to at night, I doubt you would imagine her whipping her top off, decorating her nipples with feathered tassels, and dancing under the neon lights in a bright pink wig.

Yet most people live divided lives—veiling their eccentricities from day-to-day life. Photographer Sean Scheidt decided to create a project that shows the contrast between ordinary people and their larger than life stage personas. For him, these transformations are not merely a change of clothes, but rather an outward representation of that quirky hidden aspect of one’s personality that we can all admit to concealing.

Kiki Allure

Petula Ceasar

Dolly Longlegs

Fox Martin

Short Staxx

Ruby Rockafella

Marla Meringue

Mourna Handful

Kay Sera

Valeria Voxx