ventriloquist vs performer

ventriloquist and performer both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ventriloquist	Yes	No	No	No
performer	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, performer is a hypernym of ventriloquist; that is, performer is a word with a broader meaning than ventriloquist:

ventriloquist: a performer who projects the voice into a wooden dummy
performer: an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience

Other hypernyms of ventriloquist include performing artist.

ventriloquist (noun)	performer (noun)
a performer who projects the voice into a wooden dummy	an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience