KitKatClub
Encyclopedia
The KitKatClub is a night club in Berlin
, opened in March 1994 by Austrian pornographic
film maker Simon Thaur and his life partner Kirsten Krüger.
The Kit Kat Club is said to attract patrons from all over Europe
and other parts of the world because of its music selection (techno
and trance music
) and its sexually uninhibited parties. The motto of the club is "Do what you want but stay in communication".
Guests are allowed to engage in sexual intercourse
openly at the venue. A strict dress code needs to be respected in order to get into the KitKatClub door, most of the time being held by Kirsten herself, her door policy being very strict. The dress code allows fetish, latex, leather, kinky, high style, glamor. The venue consists of three dance floors and an outdoor area with a pool. It is decorated with ultra-violet light and fluorescent color paintings done by the Berlin based painter Der Träumer.
In recent years, the KitKatClub tends to be less unruly. Enjoying music and dancing are now more important to the guests than coitus with their fellow patrons.
The guests of the "Kitty" (as most of the Berliners like to name the club) are not only heterosexual, a large number of homosexual men also spend their weekends in the club, allowing a high level of diversity amongst the clubbers.
Through the years the KitKatClub became a notorious Berlin
institution. While Berlin
was under a conservative regime in 2001, the club was harassed by the police and was charged with "invitation to public intercourse," a crime since pre-World War II
.
The club moved four times since its opening in 1994. It opened in Glogauerstrasse in the Kreuzberg
district in the former Turbine. In 1999 the KitKat was then located in one of the biggest nightlife regions of Berlin
, Neues Schauspielhaus
at Nollendorfplatz. In 2001, it moved to another lot in the gay
district Schöneberg
in Bessemer Straße, the club stayed there for seven years. At the beginning of July 2007 it moved then to the Sage
Club in the Mitte
district (Brückenstraße 1), very close to the techno club Tresor
. It could be considered a noteworthy change in Berlin's clubbing landscape as Berghain
, Tresor
and KitKatClub were now located very close to each other.
Through the years a musical style has developed that some guests refer to as the "KittySound". To give this style a platform a KitKat record label was founded in 2005 and two CDs were released. "Hedonistic Nightlife in Berlin" and "The Piep Show Compilation #0". When the KitKat opened its doors in 1994 the musical profile of the club was mainly classical trance
mixed with goa trance
, but through the years the owners have opened the club to a much larger choice of electronic music
.
. Harold Prince’s "Cabaret" was set in Berlin in the early 1930s, against the backdrop of the uprising of the Nazi party, at a burlesque theater called the "Kit Kat Club". The name originated from the Kit-Cat Club
, an 18th Century English liberal political society.
(taz), 28. Feb. 2004 „Erlaubt ist, was gefällt“ – by Elmar Schütze, Berliner Zeitung
vom 3. Mai 2001 "Locker trotz SM" – S&M view about the KitKatClub KitKatClub @ Alter Wartesaal (Köln)
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, opened in March 1994 by Austrian pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
film maker Simon Thaur and his life partner Kirsten Krüger.
Overview
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and other parts of the world because of its music selection (techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and trance music
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
) and its sexually uninhibited parties. The motto of the club is "Do what you want but stay in communication".
Guests are allowed to engage in sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
openly at the venue. A strict dress code needs to be respected in order to get into the KitKatClub door, most of the time being held by Kirsten herself, her door policy being very strict. The dress code allows fetish, latex, leather, kinky, high style, glamor. The venue consists of three dance floors and an outdoor area with a pool. It is decorated with ultra-violet light and fluorescent color paintings done by the Berlin based painter Der Träumer.
In recent years, the KitKatClub tends to be less unruly. Enjoying music and dancing are now more important to the guests than coitus with their fellow patrons.
The guests of the "Kitty" (as most of the Berliners like to name the club) are not only heterosexual, a large number of homosexual men also spend their weekends in the club, allowing a high level of diversity amongst the clubbers.
Through the years the KitKatClub became a notorious Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
institution. While Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
was under a conservative regime in 2001, the club was harassed by the police and was charged with "invitation to public intercourse," a crime since pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
district in the former Turbine. In 1999 the KitKat was then located in one of the biggest nightlife regions of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Neues Schauspielhaus
Neues Schauspielhaus
The Neues Schauspielhaus on Nollendorfplatz in the Schöneberg district of Berlin was built in 1905 as a theatre and concert hall in the then-fashionable Art Nouveau style...
at Nollendorfplatz. In 2001, it moved to another lot in the gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
district Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
in Bessemer Straße, the club stayed there for seven years. At the beginning of July 2007 it moved then to the Sage
4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
Club in the Mitte
Mitte
Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
district (Brückenstraße 1), very close to the techno club Tresor
Tresor
Tresor is an underground techno nightclub and record label. The club was founded in March 1991 in the vaults of the former old Wertheim department store in Mitte, the central part of the former East Berlin, next to the famous Potsdamer Platz, however the history of the club goes back to 1988 when...
. It could be considered a noteworthy change in Berlin's clubbing landscape as Berghain
Berghain
Berghain is a Berlin nightclub, named after its location on the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Philip Sherburne described it in 2007 as "quite possibly the current world capital of techno, much as E-Werk or Tresor were in their respective heydays." -Overview:The club is located in a...
, Tresor
Tresor
Tresor is an underground techno nightclub and record label. The club was founded in March 1991 in the vaults of the former old Wertheim department store in Mitte, the central part of the former East Berlin, next to the famous Potsdamer Platz, however the history of the club goes back to 1988 when...
and KitKatClub were now located very close to each other.
Through the years a musical style has developed that some guests refer to as the "KittySound". To give this style a platform a KitKat record label was founded in 2005 and two CDs were released. "Hedonistic Nightlife in Berlin" and "The Piep Show Compilation #0". When the KitKat opened its doors in 1994 the musical profile of the club was mainly classical trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
mixed with goa trance
Goa trance
Goa trance is a form of electronic music that originated during the late 1980s in Goa, India.-History:The music has its roots in the popularity of Goa in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a hippie capital, and although musical developments were incorporating elements of industrial music and EBM...
, but through the years the owners have opened the club to a much larger choice of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
Name origin
The name KitKatClub is inspired by the frivolous Berliner night club featured in the American musical CabaretCabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
. Harold Prince’s "Cabaret" was set in Berlin in the early 1930s, against the backdrop of the uprising of the Nazi party, at a burlesque theater called the "Kit Kat Club". The name originated from the Kit-Cat Club
Kit-Cat Club
The Kit-Cat Club was an early 18th century English club in London with strong political and literary associations, committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives, meeting at the Trumpet tavern in London, and at Water Oakley in the Berkshire countryside.The first meetings were held at a tavern in...
, an 18th Century English liberal political society.
External links
KitKatClub's official website KitKatClub DVD booklet (English/Deutsch – PDF) 1994–2005 – History of the KitKatClub by Kirsten. KitKatClub@Myspace Piep Show KitKat-photo gallery – Opening @ sageclub July 2007 Read KitKatClub's reviews on Berlin-Life.com „Die Bühne ist der Star“ – about the KitKatClub, by Henning Kober, die tageszeitungDie tageszeitung
die tageszeitung , was founded in 1978 in Berlin. It is a cooperative-owned German daily newspaper which is administrated by a workers' self-management...
(taz), 28. Feb. 2004 „Erlaubt ist, was gefällt“ – by Elmar Schütze, Berliner Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
vom 3. Mai 2001 "Locker trotz SM" – S&M view about the KitKatClub KitKatClub @ Alter Wartesaal (Köln)