Video footage from Dances of Vice: Scenes of Dynasty at The Montauk Club on November 22, 2008 by Elliot Fu.
time travel, the castrati, german expressionism, weimar germany, dadaism, old shanghai, bauhaus, art deco, super 8 film, absurdism, slapstick comedy, the jazz age, chinese opera, vintage jazz, blues, swing, tango, antique collecting, flappers, art nouveau, dark cabaret, victorian era, ballets russes, steampunk, circus acts, art nouveau, looney tunes, ragtime, dixieland, karneval, old shanghai, puppet theatre, russian folk music, big band, surrealism, silent film, vintage fashion, opera...
Music
cab calloway, max raabe, ruth etting, tom waits, zhou xuan, danny elfman and the mystic knights of the oingo boingo, ondrej havelka and his melodymakers, irving berlin, helen kane, yma sumac, lillian harvey, paul whiteman, moreschi, bessie smith, kurt weill, bix biederbecke, josephine baker, memphis minnie, benny goodman, billy cotton, the deadfly ensemble, django reinhardt, clara rockmore, comedian harmonists, edith piaf, adam ant, elsie carlisle, mae west, the tiger lillies, andi sex gang, ondrej havelka, klaus nomi, sophie tucker, astor piazzolla...
Television
Heroes
anita berber, fritz lang, adam ant, joseph von sternberg, rosa von praunheim, ernst lubitsch, georg wilhem pabst, tom waits, robert weine, conrad veidt, richard oswald, brothers quay, klaus nomi, friedrich wilhelm murnau, buster keaton, hal roach, zarah leander, laurel and hardy, ernst ludwig kirchner, marlene dietrich, egon schiele, kurt weill, mackie messer, bugs bunny, ruan lingyu, pan jinlian, ostap bender...
Femmes and brutes, villains and visionaries, sinners and saints all - are invited to Shien Lee's Dances of Vice, New York's "most sordidly splendid menagerie" - held in the spirit of the 18th to early 20th century days of forgotten elegance, decadence, and vice.
Named after the expressionist Rosa von Praunheim film "Anita: Tänze des Lasters" about Anita Berber, the legendary nude dancer of Weimar Berlin, Dances of Vice carries the theme of rebellion, creative expression, and the triumph of madness and pleasure over societal restraints.
Dances of Vice began in August 2007 as a dance & cabaret club night featuring music & performances from or inspired by the 1920-30s. Since its debut in Manhattan, Dances of Vice has established a dedicated following & community of elegant flappers, dandies, time travelers, artists & ne'er-do-wells who gather at Dances of Vice in shared enthusiasm for the music, fashion, culture, & beauty of times forgotten.
Photo by Adrian Buckmaster
In addition to offering unique entertainment, Dances of Vice aims to promote communitas and creative self-expression through costuming & events that combine art, music, spectacle & dance. We are not historical reconstructionists; Dances of Vice seeks to revive the music and performance culture of the past in a modern context, encouraging originality and creativity.
Who I'd like to meet: Modern day flappers, vamps, madmen, dandies, aesthetes, decadents, artists, thinkers, dreamers, performers, time travelers, ninjas, criminal geniuses...
hello. looks like some splendid events you're hosting in the big city. would love to make it up there one day. maybe you could let in a greasy-haired hillbilly beatnik punk rocker. keep up the great work!
I love dances of vice, the spring ball was my first time ever going. If there is another fashion show at the next event, I would love to try out as a model. Peace and love~
Thy soul shall find itself alone 'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone; Not one, of all the crowd, to pry Into thine hour of secrecy.
Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness- for then The spirits of the dead, who stood In life before thee, are again In death around thee, and their will Shall overshadow thee; be still.
The night, though clear, shall frown, And the stars shall not look down From their high thrones in the Heaven With light like hope to mortals given, But their red orbs, without beam, To thy weariness shall seem As a burning and a fever Which would cling to thee for ever.
Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish, Now are visions ne'er to vanish; From thy spirit shall they pass No more, like dew-drop from the grass.
The breeze, the breath of God, is still, And the mist upon the hill Shadowy, shadowy, yet unbroken, Is a symbol and a token. How it hangs upon the trees, A mystery of mysteries!
