"An elegant, sexy and theatrical treat for the audience..."

Cabaret, traditionally, is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue - a restaurant or nightclub. The first cabaret was opened in 1881 in Montmartre, Paris, and was eventually named “Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) - an informal saloon where poets, artists and composers could share creative ideas and compositions and test their material in front of an audience. People felt comfortable at the cabaret: they did not have to take off their hats, could talk, eat, and smoke; they did not have to stick to the usual rules of society. It made them felt free socially and artistically.

At the start of the 20th century the cabaret became a place for the rich, with higher prices and new venues opening all around Europe. Dancing (its key attraction) allowed for easy public mixing of sexes, social classes and races, leading to Cabarets being proclaimed as controversial. At the same time, Speakeasies in America were gaining popularity: Cabaret Mobster-Style, cabarets mostly controlled by gangsters, featuring women torch singers and piano players, creating the popular gangster nightclub scenes made famous by Hollywood films. Eventually cabarets in the United States diverged into several different and distinct styles of performance mostly due to the influence of Jazz music.

The cabaret scene is very much alive today, with its direction and style limited only by the performer’s creativity – that is the true magic of Cabaret.

Jazz is a term that covers several related dance styles, all connected via common roots (tap, Ballet, Jazz music and African-American rhythms and dance). Originated from the African American vernacular dance of early 1900s, featuring a loose-limbed grounded style, Jazz has gone through transformations from tap dancing to smooth Broadway style known as Modern Jazz. Today, with the use of Ballet techniques, Jazz continues to thrive in many different forms.

At Sambeleza…
…we use the discipline and fiery enthusiasm of Jazz dancing to give our Latin Cabaret performances a finishing of style, precision and elegance, making it an all-round visual treat. We use elements of Cha Cha Cha shines, Salsa shines, and Samba no pe to put together Latin Cabaret shows of elegance, class and vivacity, all with a bit of audacious humour.