by Suanda

ORIGINS
With its origin in France shortly before the turn of the century, the term 'cabaret' referred to any establishment that served liquor. From that period, and its beginning at Le Chat Noir in Monmartre, to 1930's Weimar Germany, to Bob Fosse's acclaimed 1972 musical, 'Cabaret', the performance has undergone several transformations from academic saloon gatherings of the past to current Broadway-style productions. Now, the cabaret nightlife tradition is also alive and kicking at Musro (Music Room) on Jl.Kartika Plaza, in Kuta.

THE BOWL
Musro Bali is actually a three-part complex housed in a large facility directly adjacent to Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel and Shopping Mall in Kuta's tourist center. The main music venue contains a 250-person capacity room with large stage as well as several separate Karaoke rooms spread out on the upper floor. For dinner before the show, The Bowl restaurant located in a neighboring out-door patio area, serves up an excellent steamboat and BBQ for an 'all-you-can-eat' price of Rp 100k. From 6 pm – 3 am, The Bowl offers a selection of seafood, meat, and vegetables for diners to cook communally (via hot coals or hot broth) at their tables. An à la carte menu is also offered within the cabaret theatre that includes a variety of grilled seafood and meat, congèe, and Asian stir fries.

CURTAIN'S UP
In existence for over 5 years, Musro holds claim to the only cabaret performance in Bali with dancers trained by choreographer, Raphael Gomez of Spain. It is a thematic daily event (Rp 100k – 200k) that is difficult to beat in terms of unique nightlife entertainment. The evenings begin at 10 pm with one of three bands opening the night with a few cover versions mixed with original numbers. After 45 minutes, DJ Filler fills the floor with his selection of R&B, rock, and club hits. Then at 11 pm, the cabaret performance begins with a classic voiceover dramatically announcing the start of the show. The spotlights shine on the stage as the lights dim, the velveteen curtains are drawn, and the torch songs begin….

COSTUMES
G-L-A-M-O-U-R is spelt out in a large blinking backdrop as the dancers, 3 women and 4 men, emerge to the beat. Their costumes are extravagant and risqué with the female dancers sporting gigantic red feather headdresses (à la Havana's famous 'Tropicana' show), red feather boas, silver dancing heels and sheer-stocking top and bottoms that reveal all except the most intimate areas which are obscured by fabric and pastilles. The male dancers appear similarly dressed to the famous American Chippendale dancers with bare tops exposing muscular mid-riffs, silver lame pants, and matching red bowties with collars (sans shirt) and red cuffs. Together, they perform the first routine that is quite flashy in nature with several spins and lifts that highlight the synchronized abilities of the dancers. After a brief transition, the music changes pace, the dancers disappear and then reappear with matching emerald green outfits. The men in their glitter skivvies and cuffs and women in flowing dresses with headpieces perform a series of acrobatic cartwheels and drop splits.

VOGUE & WAYANG
After this segment, the curtains drop shortly and a painted view of a Bukit sunset is dropped into place with the performers materializing in Las Vegas-style black and gold lame hot pants and suspenders except for one female dancer who is bedecked in a modified Balinese dancing costume. She performs the lead in homage to the Balinese Legong Dance with its recognizable robotic twitches – all done to Madonna's hit, 'Vogue'. The latter part of this act also includes another modernized reference to Indonesian culture, this time in the way of a traditional 'Wayang' - shadow puppet play (see Behind the Mask, this issue)- in which the dancers perform a ballet-like 'butterfly' number behind a back-lit white screen. The dancers then change costume for another 3 separate performances that feature a variety of styles from Cossack-like dances to a Nutcracker Suite rendition to a swashbuckler scenario, and then finally, a return to a Vegas-style showgirl bonanza, complete with fuchsia hot-suits and feather boas; all choreographed tight as a whip within 45 extravaganza-filled minutes. If staying at the Kartika Plaza Hotel, admission to the event, including the live bands, DJ, and cabaret performance, is complimentary.

KARAOKE
For patrons wishing to be the stars of their own show, the upper floors of Musro contain 11 private Karaoke Dewata rooms that are often always full. Room capacities range from the standard 5 people to the deluxe version (including a bar) which seats up to 30, perfect for a raucous night of crooning to multi-language numbers from local 'Dangdut' hits to American Country & Western ballads. Room rental rates range from Rp 150k – 300k/per hour plus tax with a minimum of 3 hours.

For a night out on the town with dinner and a show, in the classic sense, a one-stop at Musro Bali will get you the whole 'kit and caboodle' - dining, dancing, singing - evening of spectacular cabaret performance.

Musro Bali
Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel
Jl. Kartika Plaza Kuta-Bali 80361
TEL: 0361-764-582
www.musro.com