Singapore Crazy Horse says topless show not sleazy
Fri Dec 2, 2005
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Singapore Crazy Horse, which will bring the famous French topless dance act to the city-state, is not just another nude show, but a classy act, its owner said.
Cinema and property group Eng Wah said the show could not be compared to sleazy sex shows in other Asian cities.
"It's not one of those Patpong shows with ping pong balls popping out from all over the place," Eng Wah's chief executive Goh Min Yen told Reuters in an interview, referring to explicit sex shows in Bangkok's entertainment strip.
"Crazy Horse is a world-class brand from Paris and we're bringing the exact replica to Singapore," said the 45-year-old mother of three, who has a business degree from a U.S. university.
Goh said she was inspired to bring Crazy Horse home after watching the show a few times in Paris.
Singapore has been trying to spice up its prudish image to woo tourists and approved casino gambling earlier this year. But it still bans "Playboy" magazine and censors racy scenes from movies.
Officials from various government ministries and agencies watched the show on Thursday night "to better understand" the cabaret, Goh said.
Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang will attend the Crazy Horse's first public performance on Monday.
The show runs in a downtown riverside venue decked out with crystal chandeliers, marble floors and red velvet-lined walls to closely resemble the Paris cabaret.
"It's like bringing Louis Vuitton to Shanghai. You get the same thing, but it's now closer to us in Asia," said Goh.
Crazy Horse has been in Paris since 1951 and opened a second show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2001.
Goh said the lighting, choreography and discipline that go into the show make it an art, adding that all the Crazy Horse dancers are ballet-trained.
Goh said that she saw that in Paris the audience is mostly made up of professionals and at least half of them are women.
With tickets for the show in Singapore ranging from S$85 to S$250, Goh is confident that the audience demographics in the city-state will be similar.
"The people watching the show are usually professionals, not sleaze bags," she said.
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