The lobby of Midtown’s Night Hotel is a triumph in postmodern design. Black marble walls flank ebony leather couches decked in silver stitching set under the watchful gaze of Moroccan artisan ceiling lanterns. The soft lights dim every Monday night at 9 p.m., casting shadows just perfect to foster an air of vice.
A tawdry mix of Baz Luhrmann camp, Ingmar Bergman gothic film noir and Victorian bourgeois, Dances of Vice is a club of performers that double as spectators. Shien Lee, the club’s founder, describes the collective as followers of an “art nightlife lifestyle.” Regular performers in what they describe as the “vintage nightlife” scene, the group inspires a sense of escapism among its members, all of whom participate in the shows merely by being present.
Contrary to the popular perception of the burlesque performances springing up around the city, Dances of Vice is not a group that simply indulges in sensual decadence for the sake of entertainment. The most evidently exploited vice in their glam performances is not sex, but vanity. With their over-the-top, often self-produced costumes and nostalgic song-and- dance numbers, the group seeks to provide a sense of escapism for its members.
“Dances of Vice is about practicing the art of nightlife,” said Lee, who also sings at club events. “It’s about escapism through opulence.”
In order to make the illusion as convincing as possible, performers like Lee Chappell, producer of the Night Hotel’s “Foreign Affairs” variety show, spend dozens of hours perfecting their costumes, adding to the decadent feel of the night.
“I was a couturier for many years before I moved to New York and followed a fashion career when I first got here,” Chappell said. Scouring the city for antique French lace and 19th-century fabrics to work into his collection of frocks and shirts, his costumes are hand-sewn, some taking 15 hours or more to make.
Adding to the opulence, specialty cocktails popular through the 1920s are listed at a discounted price, further immersing the Dances of Vice members into that era. The Antik, for example, mixes whiskey and soda like the popular Prohibition-Era “Lightning” drink, and includes muddled cherries and bitters for a modern twist.
Sara Bender, an active club participant, sips one and recalls how Dances of Vice events allowed her to reinvent herself. “It’s like the Boca Raton for the Gothic community -- many people retired from being Goths and joined this community,” she said.
Peeking out from button-up shirts and low-cut dresses, some members have sleeves or predominant back tattoos from their days as a Goth, a subculture easily identified by their sometimes all-black dress, white face powder and black makeup. Their look and style is a daily fixture, as opposed to members of Dances of Vice who dress up at night, mostly for performances. Bender jokes that the group “saved her” from the daily routine of the Goth lifestyle.
Dances of Vice occasionally draws from the Goth subculture, incorporating makeup and a fearless sense of self into the events. The club, however, also integrates elements from the 1920s, the Victorian Era and glam rock to shake up nights.
Taking an old-fashioned sense of glamour and combining it with music and spectacle from different eras, Lee’s Dances of Vice appeals to people interested in more than just the 1920s. When Lee seeks fashion and style inspiration, she turns to Southeast Asia at the turn of the 20th century, most specifically scenes from Shandong, Shanghai and Hong Kong amid cultural revolutions like the Boxer Rebellion of 1901.
Other events find Lee performing in a mélange of period performances. Recently, Lee designed an event that combined 1970s glam rock with 1920s cabaret. The result: a dandy-inspired performance of David Bowie’s "Under Pressure."
Escapism through Dances of Vice can be experienced by anyone according to Lee. Whether decked in flapper attire reminiscent of Clara Bow or in the familiar Goth black lace and white-powdered faces, members of the group fancy themselves as participants in a grand vision of decadence, art and music that culminate in themed nights of madness and spectacle in which anyone can participate.