A Jigglewatts Jubilee
Produced by Jigglewatts
Burlesque Co.
29th St. Ballroom,
Austin
February 24, 2012
I have been wanting to write
this blog for a long time. I have
been a fan of members of the Jigglewatts burlesque troupe since before they
were Jigglewatts. They tour
nationally now, and occasionally overseas, So tonight’s show (actually two
performances--at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.) was somewhat of a rarefying opportunity
to see them in Austin. So I
reserved a VIP table and showed up at the venue with time to spare.
OK, stop You. I didn’t go to a strip show or to a
“gentlemen’s club.” The
Jigglewatts perform a new and rising form of alternative performance that I
call New Burlesque. It
borrows from your grandmother’s vaudeville burlesque, yes, but it also adds to
that certain new forms such as rock music, an emphasis on costuming, acting,
dance and social networking. The short intro is that in New Burlesque
they never fall out of their pasties and G-strings, although there have been
legendary accidents. More on New
Burlesque later. You’ll have to
dig up the legendary accidents for yourself.
Looking around the 29th
St. Ballroom I saw an alternative crowd of hipsters, street people, artists,
retired go-go- girls, industrial workers, a few Goths (getting old and gray
now), the leather crowd, in short, the demimonde. Jigglewatts aficionados all. The acreage of tattooed flesh was so great that it truly became
urban camouflage. This is not
mine, OK, I’ve heard it before, but it is certainly true. These are the people who have
unfettered imaginations and are ruled by their dreams, not the boss’s
punch-clock. They pay for having
minds and talents by working behind retail counters and in repair shops their
entire lives. Management does not
like or promote them, and they scrape together a living in one postindustrial
slough or another. Altogether they form a vast underground tribe
The Jigglewatts speak
eloquently to them in their performances, and tonight was no exception. Emcee Jade Esteban Estrada held the
crowd from first to last dressed all in black with black platform sneakers with
polished steel toe shields. His
pink feather boa accented everything and signaled his preferences—about which
he was vocal throughout in a series of hilarious standup routines between the
dancers’ performances. He also
wisely pushed the Jigglewatts’ marketing strategy of advertising their shows by
way of social media.
The Jigglewatts, with their
guest Ruby Lamb, were polished and spectacular. They truly turn up the erotic heat in their dances. They chew off their gloves and
stockings with expertness and seeming ease. They and all New Burlesque troupes place great emphasis on
costume. The Jigglewatts
invariably began their solo dances in floor-length gowns covered in brocades,
feathers and lace and, I kid you not, precisely matching spike heels. All the gowns have strategically placed
snaps and Velcro for timed-release exposure. But the gowns also have one emergency costume ejection
zipper. One zip and the whole gown
falls to the floor! How do they do
it? Now we are at the lingerie
layer, and it just goes on and on.
The Jigglewatts reputation is
growing, and they have high rankings in the burlesque world to show for
it. Coco Lectric is ranked seventh
in the world currently, and Ruby Joule follows her at No. 27. The ranking organization is based in
Britain and has a great time compiling its statistics. Pearl Luxe is an accomplished tap
dancer and has choreographed a lengthy performance number complete with
sequined top hat, cane and “Puttn’ on the Ritz.” Jolie Ampere Goodnight and Ruby Joule each sing melodic
torch songs in their numbers. Ruby
wrote hers, Jolie perhaps so, I am not sure. They each have beautiful, clear voices. Ruby, in particular, sings every phrase
in her song of attraction and rejection as a line in a story, and keeps the
audience in the palm of her hand.
Her style reminds me of David Bowie, the Thin White Duke, and his
performance style of living every line of his songs through his dance and
gestures.
Goldie Candela and Ruby Lamb
have erotic bodies and expert timing of every wink and wiggle. Ruby Lamb has a fascination with skin
art and a certain almost-vulpine look that makes one want to submit to her bite.
The New Burlesque and its
adherents in the underground are part of a social trend in my belief, but one
far less overtly political than the Occupy movement. The Jigglewatts and New Burlesque make a multitude of
symbolic displays to the diverse elements of the tribe. The eroticism is the carrier wave of
the symbolic tide and serves to provide some unity within the group. This world of symbolic display is
greatly akin to Victor Turner’s concept and book title The Forest of Symbols.
Semiotics, verbal communication and visual communication fill up our
everyday perceptions and minds in a sometimes-literal rainforest of
symbols. Deep, deep within that
forest the tribe gathers. There,
the Jigglewatts are the silhouetted figures dancing around a great
bonfire. The fire can be nothing
more or less than desire, and with the dancers’ every gesture and glance the
flames vault higher. Sparks drift from the fire and light upon the tribe’s
fever dreams, hallucinations and unfulfilled longings. This is the Jigglewatts’ blessing on
the tribe, that everyone’s imagination is unsullied by the gritty world in
which they find themselves, that there is more. Go forward.
2 comments:
Glad to see a theatre reviewer at work! Planning to excerpt first paragraphs and then link, all at AustinLiveTheatre.com, tomorrow, Monday. regards,
Michael Meigs
Wonderful recap of your experience at our show!!! Thank you so much for being there and letting us entertain you ;-). A quick note- although I'd love to take credit for my vocal piece, it is actually by the late, great, Eartha Kitt. xoxo
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