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In Berlin, those dancing days are back
2008-01-30
Seamed stockings and the swing have returned to Berlin as the city harks back to its glamorously decadent heyday of the 1920s, before Hitler and before the Wall. On weekends and weekdays alike, women dressed like extras from the period-defining 1930 film "The Blue Angel" can be seen taking the subway or the bus to nightclubs where their great-grandmothers may have danced to big bands. A few, like Claerchens Ballhaus which opened in 1913, remained standing through World War II and the Cold War and have returned to their original incarnation -- dance halls where you forget your troubles. The manager of Claerchens, Barbara Krijanovsky, believes that the nostalgia for the swinging 20s and 30s when Berlin was known for the naughty nightlife immortalised in Bob Fosse's Oscar-winning film "Cabaret", is partly a backlash against the hardcore techno trend that has endured here. "People have rediscovered the joy of dancing together as couples to cheerful tunes that are a world away from techno with its individualism," she told AFP. The Admiralspalast, an Art Deco temple of hedonism in the 20s, reopened its doors two years ago after a major facelift and recently started offering electro-swing evenings. When the Berghain, one of the capital's internationally known techno haunts, began doing the same a new trend was confirmed. But unlike techno, swing requires you to know a step or two and so dance classes have become a common pastime for young Berliners. "The steps are quite easy and there are no fixed rules. It is very sweet, the couples come all dressed up in period gear," Krijanovsky said. The period dress code is a challenge but getting to wear suspender belts and sequined dresses a la Marlene Dietrich seems to be an integral part of the fun of swing nights. "It is a style that plays up your femininity. It's sexy, elegant and it also a little bit eccentric," said 23-year-old swing enthusiast Sophie. It might require finding a top-hat or wasp-waisted outfit of the kind Dietrich wore as the nightclub vamp Lola Lola in "The Blue Angel", directed by Josef von Sternberg. The Internet website www.triplestep.de serves as a guide to swinging Berlin and suggests boutiques where wearable originals from decades ago or copies can be found. "There is whole new market out there thanks to the increase in the number of period-themed evenings," said Julie, a saleswoman at a vintage store. Another standard accompaniment to old world decadence, absinthe, has made a comeback as Berlin's clubs try to recall a bygone era. It is drunk the traditional way, with water poured over sugar, at the Gruener Salon and others. If the original swing movement was a way of forgetting World War I and fighting the forebodings that marked the Weimar era with hedonism, some think the current revival is also born out of a need for escapism. "Back then, we were dancing on the edge of the abyss," said Wolfgang Sinhart, who organises swing evenings in Berlin's clubs. "But today it is not that different because there are a lot of problems, from terrorism to climate change, and people want to forget and have fun." This is the mood White Trash, a laid-back club that regularly hosts foreign celebrities visiting Berlin, captures with its Sunday swing evenings. "It is what swing is all about, you forget your worries, your work and live a little," said Sophie. Triplestep.de - a guide to swinging Berlin (in German)
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