Mar. 06, 2013 - Issue #907: Garbage Goes Green

Les Coquettes

"We're in an age now where feminism is taking a very different turn, so people who now describe themselves as feminists seem to be embracing a lot of the more typically stereotypical female attributes, like their curvaceousness and their femininity," states Catherine Skinner, co-founder and mistress of ceremonies for Les Coquettes, a Toronto-based cabaret burlesque troupe making its first trip out west.


She's speaking in relation to the resurgence of burlesque in today's culture and the evolving views regarding female sexuality that ostensibly comes with it. For Skinner, who founded Les Coquettes—or "The Flirts" as the name translates into English—along with Kathryn Romanow in 2004, burlesque presents an opportunity to embrace feminine qualities and sensuality in an empowering way. The company is uninhibited in its approach, blending together vintage glamour of Parisian dance halls—think Moulin Rouge—with modern-day culture and music. Les Coquettes are all about the spectacle of theatre, with circus performers adding an unexpected element to the song and dance numbers.

"Our troupe is comprised of entirely professional performers, so everyone in our company has been onstage for most of their adult lives," Skinner adds. "If they're not trained dancers, they're triple-threat performers where they're singers, actors and dancers."

Les Coquettes makes no apologies for the sexual nature of its show, with a tongue-in-cheek approach to its provocative numbers, which Skinner says are complimented by the theatrical elements of the show, making it about much more than just showing skin. Each production has its own theme, with Les Coquettes rolling out some of its classic numbers at Festival Place to introduce audiences to the troupe's style and welcome the start of spring.

"We thought since spring is right around the corner and winter is so very long in Canada, the heat generated from the numbers themselves would be a good way to get through the late winter blahs," she says, noting there's no separation between performers and audience in a Les Coquettes shows, and she often takes her hostess duties off the stage and into the audience, which can range in age from twentysomethings to senior citizens. "We try to bring the audience into our party, so we're all in it together having a grand old time."

Fri, Mar 8 (7:30 pm)
Festival Place, Sherwood Park, $36 – $40, 18+ vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus