{"id":2491,"date":"2011-03-25T16:31:55","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T23:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=2491"},"modified":"2011-03-26T22:42:16","modified_gmt":"2011-03-27T05:42:16","slug":"leyla-lanty-term-cabaret-nightclub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2011\/03\/25\/leyla-lanty-term-cabaret-nightclub\/","title":{"rendered":"Is \u201cCabaret\u201d a Dirty Word?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Map<\/p>\n

Using the Terms Cabaret vs Nightclub<\/h2>\n

by Leyla Lanty<\/a>
\nposted March 25, 2011<\/span><\/h3>\n

Heard in a conversation among aspiring dancers in the US:\u201cCairo cabaret or Cairo nightclub \u2013 what\u2019s the difference?!\u00a0 I thought all nightclubs were cabarets and vice-versa, but the experts are telling me they\u2019re not!\u00a0 What gives?\u00a0 Is \u2018Cabaret\u2019 a dirty word?\u00a0 Why shouldn\u2019t I tell an Arab that I\u2019m a cabaret dancer?\u00a0 And by the way, if I go to Cairo, where can I find nightclubs, restaurants, cruises, and yes, cabarets that feature dancers?\u201d \u00a0In my visits to Cairo, I\u2019ve spent many wonderful, fun-filled evenings at almost all kinds of entertainment venues that feature Oriental dancers, singers, and other acts and have found there are definitely differences.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Confusion of terms:<\/strong>
\nAs I understand it, there are four main types of places in Cairo that feature Oriental dancers and singers:\u00a0 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. theaters and concert halls, <\/li>\n
  2. four-star, and five-star luxury hotels,<\/li>\n
  3. Nile dinner cruises, <\/li>\n
  4. night clubs. and <\/li>\n
  5. cabarets.  \n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, is \u201ccabaret\u201d a dirty word?\u00a0 It depends on whose definition you want to use!\u00a0 In Arabic, the name \u201ccabaret\u201d is interpreted differently from what it is in English, leading to the confusion about nightclubs and cabarets.\u00a0 Here in the U.S., we think of a cabaret as a synonym for nightclub.  <\/p>\n

    In Egypt, the tiers of respectability are this: theater and concert hall shows are most respectable. They are orderly, usually involve no alcohol, and attract a well-mannered middle to upper class clientele. On the other hand, nightclubs are considered relatively less respectable than theaters, while cabarets are on the bottom of the respectability scale.\u00a0 (See the table of terms at the end of this article for a summary of the definitions.)<\/em> <\/p>\n

    Because they use their bodies to make money, the general public regards dancers in the same way as prostitutes. <\/p>\n

    For the most part, their level of respectability is linked to the respectability of the venues in which they perform, particularly the social class of the clientele, orderliness (How likely is it that a fight will break out in an evening?), cleanliness of the establishment, and the recognized, but tolerated, presence of full-time prostitutes in the audience who are there specifically for the convenience of hooking up with moneyed male customers.<\/p>\n

    Although I\u2019ve never seen identifiable prostitutes in concert halls, theaters, and four and five star nightclubs, I\u2019ve seen a number of them looking for business in the Haram (pyramid<\/em>) district’s nightclubs, located on Haram Street between downtown Cairo and the pyramids of Giza.\u00a0 The presence of prostitutes seems to be tolerated as a service for male customers–as long as they don\u2019t do anything to annoy the rest of the clientele or disrupt the show.\u00a0 How do I know they\u2019re prostitutes?\u00a0 If a foreign visitor (like me) is not aware that respectable Egyptian women do not go to nightclubs without male escorts, the visitor would think these women were just having a \u201cgirls\u2019 night out\u201d with their friends.  To a certain extent that can be true, but they really have their business goal in mind \u2013 a wealthy hookup while they\u2019re enjoying the entertainment.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

    Another indication that they are probably prostitutes is that they often engaged in short conversations with male customers with gestures and actions that looked like exchanges of phone numbers.\u00a0 The same holds true for the cabarets, but the interactions of the prostitutes with male customers is often far less subtle and dancers in those establishments may also be looking for after-hours hookups, too.<\/p>\n

    \"Dowtown<\/h6>\n
    "Downtown Cairo Cabaret"<\/strong>
    Still fairly early in the evening (close to midnight) in the 1990s, an hour or so later
    many of those empty chairs were filled and a fight broke out.\u00a0 We left as quickly as possible.<\/h6>\n

    Conversing with Arabs about your being a dancer:<\/strong>
    \nBy now, I think you, dear reader, understand why, when talking with an Arab, if you say you’re a dancer, that is not generally an appropriate thing to say. Unless you know the person, male or female, pretty well, you shouldn’t say you dance in a cabaret or that you are a cabaret dancer because it means that you might well be both a "working dancer" and "a workin’ girl,\u201d –namely, a prostitute.<\/p>\n

    Where are these places?\u00a0 <\/strong>
    \nTheaters and concert venues, along with hotel nightclubs and restaurants are scattered throughout the city from near Cairo International Airport\u00a0 to the pyramids of Giza, but the non-hotel nightclubs are mostly along El Haram Street in the "Haram District" in the suburb of Giza, between the middle of Cairo and the pyramids. (Pronounced har<\/strong>am, El Haram means \u201cthe pyramid\u201d.)<\/em>\u00a0 <\/p>\n

    Famous nightclub names include El Leil<\/strong>, Parisianna<\/strong> (Lucy\u2019s club), Al Manar<\/strong>, Al Andalous<\/strong>, Ramses<\/strong>, and Sunset<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

    <\/a>The Nile dinner cruises originate at several locations along the Nile between downtown Cairo and its southern suburb Maadi. The cabarets that I know about are located downtown in the neighborhood bordering on Tahrir Square <\/strong>(wust el balad<\/em> \u2013 middle of the city) or in districts situated very close to wust el balad<\/em>, such as Bulaq<\/strong>.\u00a0
    \n(For detailed information about locations of many Cairo venues, see the     Gilded Serpent Cairo Clubs page<\/a> describing them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Table of Terms <\/strong>\u2013 as you can see, confusion arises from different definitions between Arab and western culture.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Arabic speaker
    \nwould say and think:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    American English speaker
    would say and think:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Theater and Concert hall<\/strong>,

    \ncustomers well off (not necessarily wealthy), respectable venue.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Theater and Concert hall<\/strong>,
    \ncustomers well off (not necessarily wealthy), respectable venue.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Restaurant in hotel<\/strong> or independent of hotel with Oriental floor show*, wealthy customers, respectable entertainers.
    \nNiledinner cruises are generally considered in this category.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Restaurant in hotel<\/strong> or independent of hotel with floor show, wealthy
    \ncustomers, respectable entertainers. (Many examples in Hollywood, New York and other large American cities.)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Nightclub<\/strong> (nadi al layl <\/em>in Arabic),
    \nwealthy customers,
    \nrespectable entertainers (but not as respectable as those in the above group).\u00a0 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Nightclub<\/strong>, supper club, cabaret (synonym for nightclub in English),
    \nwealthy customers,
    \nrespectable entertainers but not as respectable as those in the above group.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    \u201cCabaret<\/strong>\u201d (they use our word), synonym for \u201cdive\u201d or very low class place, customers well off, not necessarily wealthy, women on stage often are \u201cworkin\u2019 gals\u201d, available for after-hours gigs in private places.\u00a0
    \nLess orderly,
    \na fight could break out among
    \ncustomers at any time.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    \u201cDive<\/strong>\u201d or very low class place, not a nightclub or cabaret in English.  customers well off, not necessarily wealthy, women on stage often are \u201cworkin\u2019 gals\u201d, available for after-hours gigs in private places.\u00a0
    \nLess orderly,
    \na fight could break out among
    \ncustomers at any time.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

    Disclaimer:\u00a0 I don’t know how British and other dialects of English use these terms.<\/em>
    \n*\u201cOriental floor show\u201d means a floor show featuring mostly Arabic style entertainment.\u00a0
    \nThis term is used in Cairo\u2019s English language newspapers in their entertainment listings.<\/p>\n


    \nThis photo is from 2008 taken at El Leil nightclub.  The dancer is Kholoud.<\/h6>\n

    \nDina at 5-star Haroun Al Rashid nightclub at the Semiramis, 2005<\/h6>\n
     <\/h6>\n
    <\/h6>\n
    "Hisham Leyla Nile Hilton"<\/strong>
    \nSinger Hisham Abbas<\/strong> show at the Nile Hilton Hotel nightclub in the 1990s.\u00a0
    \nLeyla got up to dance, and he invited her to stay and dance to another song!<\/h6>\n
    <\/h6>\n
    "Outi on Pharaon"<\/strong>
    \nFinnish dancer Outi<\/a> <\/strong>performing on the Pharaon Boat<\/strong>, a nightly
    \nNile Dinner Cruise in 2008.<\/h6>\n
    <\/h6>\n
    "Samir Sabri Linda Grondahl"<\/strong>
    \n Hugely popular singer and entertainer Samir Sabri <\/strong>show at the Marriott Hotel’s Empress<\/strong> nightclub
    in the 1990s called for audience participation and     Linda Grondahl<\/a> of San Francisco answered.<\/h6>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"use<\/p>\n

    \n

    Have a comment? Use or comment section at the bottom of this page or Send us a letter!<\/a>
    \nCheck the "    Letters to the Editor<\/a>" for other possible viewpoints!<\/p>\n

    Ready for more?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    \t\t\t<\/p>\n

    \n