The Jigglewatts Shimmy and Shake Through 20 Years of Tease

There have been many memorable and important moments for founding member Ruby Joule in the 20-year history of the Jigglewatts Burlesque Revue. There’s that first show at the Velvet Spade in 2006, when a quartet of performers on the set of Austin indie comedy horror Z: A Zombie Musical decided to show a live audience what they’d got; when she realized she was turning down acting gigs because the burlesque bookings were growing; when fellow co-founder Coco Lectric formed an LLC to make this dance extravaganza into a real business; and her first international show in Toronto, which led to multiple tours with the troupe in Europe and Australia. All those moments lead to now – their porcelain anniversary. 

“You see that number, 2026,” Joule said, “and you think, ‘Well, that is significant because this means an anniversary of some magnitude.” Sounds like that 20-year mark snuck up on them. She laughed: “It’s showgirl years, so it really doesn’t feel like human years.”

To celebrate that longevity, the Jigglewatts step out from their 29th Street Ballroom residency on July 25 for one night of shimmy and shake at the State Theatre with their 20 Years of Tease show.

Yet the celebration is about more than a single anniversary. Their old friend and performer Tito Bonito (aka the Cuban Missile Crisis of Burlesque) was the one who first realized the importance of that date in the modern burlesque revival, recalled Joule. “He was the one that was actually like, ‘Y’all are the longest-running troupe in America, aren’t you?’” Joule initially demurred on this honor, saying there were American troupes founded before them. But for Bonito, the difference was their continuous calendar. “He said, ‘Most of the shows that are still around today are doing shows twice a year or quarterly, and y’all do shows every couple of months if not every month, and in-between, and private gigs, and special events,’” she recounted.

With a serene humility, Joule noted that both Canada’s Cheesecake Burlesque Revue and Japan’s Murasaki Babydoll have been performing as long if not even longer, but the Jigglewatts are proud to be the American representative in “this very small club of troupes around the world that have been going this long.”

Across the years, the modern burlesque scene has changed dramatically. Two decades ago, the only men onstage were the emcees; now, boylesque is common and the once all-female ‘Watts feature Alexander the Great in their cast, with openly queer performers and routines being common. When the Jigglewatts were founded, the only real way to get into burlesque was as a troupe, but now there are far more opportunities for solo performers. “I think that’s good,” Joule said, “because it gives people a little more freedom.”

It also means a cavalcade of touring solo stars have shared the Jigglewatts’ bills as special guests. This Saturday’s anniversary show is no exception, featuring a special appearance from multi-time Burlesque Hall of Fame award winner Frankie Fictitious. Yet Joule still adores the collaborative community that is the Jigglewatts: “Being a part of a troupe really helps you have some agency over what you’re doing and not just be at the whim of others.”

Having such a sense of identity has kept the Jigglewatts as the Jigglewatts through all the lineup changes and shifting trends. For Joule, it’s a magical cocktail of live musical backing, an appreciation of burlesque history, a certain classic glamour, and most of all, that audience connection that defines the respectfully raucous tone that is the Jigglewatts experience. “It’s about permission and consent,” Joule said. “I’m up here, seeing you see me, and that’s OK.”

This article appears in July 24 • 2026.