moulin14

Interesting Observation about the Moulin Rouge posters. The poster on the left reads: “femmes, femmes, femmes…” meaning: “women, women, women…”. The poster on the right reads: ”Les 40 Doriss Girls” meaning: “The 40 girls of Doriss”. Quite self-explanatory.

In Europe and Asia, traditionally, historically and pragmatically, CABARET means a place where you can find nude or half naked beautiful women performing various artistic acts of a sensual, sexual or erotic nature, in addition to various short shows or “revues” (in French) ranging from Can Can to belly dancing, and from a free form dance (individual or duo) to a collective presentation of very attractive young girls, heavy on make-up and light on clothes. Also, it is a place, where men can socialize and or meet with Cabaret women “ Fille de Cabaret” (in French, meaning Cabaret Girl), for the sole purpose of fulfilling or hoping to fulfill a sexual desire. As simple as that. The French calls it “Boite de Nuit”, meaning “ A Box of the Night”. If a given Cabaret is not known to be a socio-intellectual-artistic café-cabaret center for artists, poets and alike, then consider it as a “ Box of the Night” where women and girls are beautifully, sensually and commercially packaged and ready to engage themselves in some sort of erotic or sexual activity, exercise, fantasy, presentation, discussion or even arousing company. The French as well as 100% of Cabaret goers all over the world are familiar with the term “Engagee” in French.

The word “ENGAGEE” was specifically created by the French to refer to Cabaret girls and women who accept the invitation of a customer to join him at his table, to have a drink with him or make him buy a bottle of Champagne, a full, or at least a one half bottle of Whiskey to be able to keep a conversation with her, and possibly to be allowed to touch her. It is quite

common to hear a woman in a Cabaret asking a man, any man “Would you buy me a drink?” or “Do you want to have a table”? meaning, hey buddy, do you have enough money to buy me a bottle of Champagne or a bottle of Johnny Walker or Vat 69. It is quite known worldwide (except in the United States) that a gentleman never goes to a Cabaret, and that a Cabaret Woman “Fille de Cabaret” has a bad reputation. She is a woman of the night who is willing to fully satisfy the sexual needs of a customer if the price is right. A Cabaret Woman, whether she performs on stage in any capacity or cruise the “La Salle” (The Room) is there and only there to grab customers and make them drink.

The more the customers drink, the higher is her ”commission” (Earning). In almost 90% of cases, Cabaret owners will never employ a woman to work in their establishments if she cannot drink or make customers drink. Rarely, great stars and famous singers perform in Cabarets, except in the United States. They perform at concert halls, theaters, auditoriums and alike. I have a friend who is one of the best American female Cabaret singers in America. She is of an European ethnic origin. She enjoys a fantastic success in the United States. Wherever she goes in America, she is so proud to be recognized as a Cabaret Star, a Cabaret Singer. But, when she visits her folks and friends in Europe, the only thing she wants to hide from them Is what she does for a living, her profession: A Cabaret Singer. For, she knows what a Cabaret singer means to them and to foreigners.

Almost, 99,99% of all the Cabarets of the world have a striptease act and various nudity displays and shows, except in the United States. Worldwide, the word Cabaret is synonymous with striptease and nude women. Only American Cabarets seem to be different. Only American Cabaret “are something else”. And we are going to find out what this “something else” is.

The best way to find out what Cabaret means to American clientele and to American Cabaret performers (singers) is to listen to American Female Cabaret singers describing what CABARET MEANS.

Photo: Mary Cleere Haran. A highly respected American Cabaret Performer. A world-class act. The refined definition of a classy and a superb performer.

Andrea Marcovicci, the first Lady of America Cabaret wrote: “Cabaret Is an intensely personal evening of songs and stories, delivered in a simple, honest way in an intimate space that shatters the fourth wall. The audience participates in a direct, emotional conversation with the artist and leaves feeling contacted and personality touched.”

This dazzling lady wrote: “If I should say, "cabaret is my life," would that be a terrible cliche? If so, guilty as charged. There is no greater joy than the joy of reaching an audience - by touching them, making them laugh, cry, whatever - it's all a gift. And it's one that I happily acknowledge was passed on to me by my grandfather, Eddie Cantor.

And something else he passed on - the love of your fellow performer. As much as I love being up there myself, I like nothing better than feeling that lump in my throat from the excitement of experiencing new talent. Which brings me to songwriters: It is our honor to uphold the memory of the greats - and it is our duty to bring to the stage the new and exciting composers and lyricists. If these new voices don't get a Broadway show right off the bat, where else will they be heard except through us? I am always so pleased when someone asks me for the sheet music to one of my brother's songs. It means that Brian Gari has reached someone else.

And lastly, cabaret, to me, is all about a piano. I would be nowhere without the special talents of the following amazing fellows: Ron Snyder, Bryan Miller, Houston Allred, Rob Bowers, Tommy Dodson and Bob Ralston.”

“Cabaret, to me, is a way of entertaining an audience in a friendly, caring and honest way. It is the telling of life's passions and loves, interpreting with colors and moods, fortissimos and pianissimos. It is exposing oneself with honesty and vulnerability, risking complete judgment by giving your all in a casual but sophisticated surrounding. My goal is to reach the audience with all my body and soul, to share my feelings, to dramatically intensify a song so that they may live or relive with me a moment in their lives, to shed a tear or break into laughter. Cabaret is a story set to music.

CABARET first appeared in Northern France in 1655. Ca - From the Greek word Kato meaning down or below. Bar - From the French word Barre meaning a vertical separation (in this case a counter) where alcohol beverages are served. Et - From the French meaning small or tiny. "Cabaret" - The dictionary's definition (Fr. Pot House) meaning ale house or tavern.

A CABARET was usually found in France below a building where the less fortunate and the undesirable would frequent and party the night away. There was music, singing and dancing. This is where the famed "Apache Dance" was born. Soon, specialized talents were featured, such as jugglers, raconteurs (story tellers), singers introducing new songs, actors, etc. Later, the cabaret became "friendlier" whereby unknown talents became known and the has-been resurfaced to a new status. It was a place where one would take a mistress, where deals were made and dignitaries would go to be entertained. Emerging as a "boite de nuit" (or night club) with lavish and elegant decor, food and champagne, and orchestras and bands for the enjoyment of dancing, the caliber of talent became essential. The wealthy and the higher society were now being catered to. Monte Carlo and Las Vegas soon took over and...you know the rest of the story. Today, there are rooms all over all over the world for people who enjoy the closeness and intimacy of CABARET.”

“Cabaret is not about perfect singing technique. It is not about holding notes. Cabaret is about relating; about communicating through interpretation. Because I am an actress, I look for songs I can act; songs that have a complexity, or, in the case of simple songs, a subtext of complexity. I feel it is my duty to bring to an audience forgotten songs by great artists. Forgotten songs are good songs that are not that familiar written between 1928 and 1948. When one hears these songs, it resonates in the memory where it can be passed on to others and not be forgotten. In my act, I use this quote by the play and screen writer Ben Hecht: "Songs are not just tunes. They are little houses in which our hearts once lived. We visit them. We walk forgotten streets and we smile at the skies

of our youth."

“Cabaret is an intimate space (or a space one makes intimate!) with an air of confidentiality about it. It is where I may tell my tale through story and song from a deeply personal perspective with the intent of touching an audience. It is a place where my performance is an expression of my most "authentic" self and my shared personal life experience resonates as universal, thereby reminding us of our common as well as extraordinary connection to one another as part of the human family. In short, "Come on into Suze's Corner and let's celebrate being human! L'Chaim!".

I am Veronica Bach, Actor. Born in Oklahoma, raised in The South (mostly Georgia), trained and froze in New York, moved to Los Angeles seeking warmth and acting work. I've done some TV ("Roseanne," "Beyond Belief," "One Life to Live"), theatre, and serve on the Board of Directors at AFTRA. Tired of my fate being in the hands of others and waiting for the phone to ring for acting work, I developed the character "Lotte Trouble" a couple of years ago. It became a mission. I am Lotte Trouble, Alter Ego. Born in Bogaslovia, imprisoned and exiled following a brief stint as chaperone of the National Bogaslovian Boy's Choir. "I was sent to prison, but the population swelled, so I was exiled; sentenced to America to corrupt your Republican Party."

I had a costume I wore for holiday parties and corporate events as one of my part-time jobs. I worked with a lot of look-a-likes at these parties and people always came up and asked me who I was supposed to look like. I decided to create a character I could have fun with, but I had no idea where to begin.

The next day I was listening to a Monty Python tune called "Sit On My Face." I remember thinking: "Somebody ought to slow that down to a very sincere torch song - now that would be funny! And somebody ought to add a German accent to it and do it Dietrich-style." I was trying to figure out which of my friends I should suggest it to who could pull it off, when this realization came up from my gut that the Somebody was me! I also realized I had found the character I wanted to work on. Of course, my fear immediately kicked in: "You're an actor. You can't sing." I talked to my boyfriend at the time, an operatic tenor. He said, "Dietrich couldn't sing either." I said, "I have about a six-note range." He said, "So did Dietrich!" I talked to my Dad. He named several successful singers who only had a six-note range.

“There is something that happens to a soul when it finds the one thing that makes it fly. For me, it's cabaret. Cabaret is truly the most intimate form of entertainment. With it, you can reach out and touch people. The music I choose to perform in cabaret comes from the golden age of popular songwriting. The more I sing these songs, the more I realize how precious they are and how much they mean to my audience--no matter what their age. I, myself, can still recall the magical effect of the singing and storytelling of an artist I saw over 30 years ago.

I hope as I continue to perform this music that I, too, will create for others the same lasting magical memories as I experienced.”