Day 9 - Coco Lectric

Today will be a bit of a twofer as I reflect on one of the best singular performances I've seen on a burlesque stage and the performer who brought it, and also how the act in question is different than most other performances I've enjoyed. If you stop reading at this paragraph, let this be your takeaway: Coco Lectric and a boa are a winning combination.

Admittedly, I'm a bit more of a neo-burlesque fan than a classic burlesque fan. I tend to enjoy character creation, storytelling, humor, or acts making some sort of statement, not just someone getting on stage in a glamorous costume and showing out. But every time I think I'm bored of that classic ethos, I remember how singularly perfect it can be in the hands of a master.

There's a festival I no longer attend, and I won't mention it by name because reasons, but Coco was crowned festival Queen in 2010. I spoke to her afterwards, wondering how she had worked out her choreography and how long she had rehearsed her winning act, and the answer was: she really didn't. She asked the band to play (all the performances were to a live band, btw) and she just went up there and gave everything she had with that red boa, trusting her instincts as a dancer and a performer and the hundreds of hours spent in general rehearsal and on dozens of stages to JUST MURDER THE CROWD. It was so 'Lectric (ha ha) that the crowd didn't need defibrillators to be brought back to life. The performance was a constant circuit of kill/revive, kill/revive, kill/revive. She probably didn't even need the boa, but it was the exclamation point that drove the act home.

I tend to prefer to be prepared, myself. I like to know what I'm getting into and what expectations for me might be. That may well be why I prefer acts that have that same wavelength, that structured polish. But I also know that the unexpected, the accidental, the impulsive, and the improvisational can achieve an alchemy unlike anything else on earth. The risk is high, but if you're as amazing a performer as Coco Lectric, the reward is great.

Coco is a founding member of Austin, Texas' Jigglewatts burlesque troupe, though she has stepped away from active membership in the group (I suspect you'll be reading more about them in the coming days). She also co-produces the Texas Burlesque Festival and produces shows with her company Mistress of Musicality Productions. She currently serves as board President for BurlyCon, the burlesque education convention for performers and producers. If she were my champion in a duel, I'd choose a red boa as her weapon.

I found a photo I believe is from that 2010 performance, and that's what I'm sharing to illustrate the essay. Credit goes to Derek Jackson, an amazing photographer who has stepped back from the burlesque scene and is very much missed.