Spiegeltent
Encyclopedia
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
, constructed in wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
and canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
and decorated with mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
s and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, intended as an entertainment venue. Originally built in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, only a handful of these Spiegeltents remain in existence today, and these survivors continue to travel around Europe and beyond, often as a feature attraction at various international arts festivals, including the Cork Midsummer Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square, in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital...
, the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
, the Melbourne International Arts Festival
Melbourne International Arts Festival
Melbourne Festival is a celebration of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia, outdoor and free events held for 17 days each October in a number of venues across Melbourne, Australia.-History:...
, the Adelaide Festival of Arts
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
, Brisbane Festival
Brisbane Festival
Brisbane Festival is an annual arts festival held in Brisbane, Australia.-History:Brisbane Festival was developed by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council in 1996 as an initiative to foster the arts....
, the Taranaki International Festival of the Arts, New Plymouth, New Zealand, the Brighton Festival Fringe
Brighton Festival Fringe
The Brighton Festival Fringe is an open access arts festival held annually in Brighton, England. It is the largest annual arts festival in England.- Introduction :...
, the Belfast Festival at Queen's
Belfast Festival at Queen's
The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's is an annual arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 49th Festival will take place from 14 to 31 October 2011.-History:...
, and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and Harbourfront Centre's World Stage Festival in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Two tents used by Teatro ZinZanni
Teatro ZinZanni
Teatro ZinZanni is a circus dinner theater that began in the neighborhood of Lower Queen Anne in Seattle, Washington. It has since expanded to a site on the waterfront at Pier 29 on the San Francisco, California The Embarcadero....
have been in (more or less) fixed locations in Seattle and San Francisco for several years. On April 1st 2011, Spiegelworld
Spiegelworld
Spiegelworld is a traveling circus. Produced by Ross Mollison, Vallejo Gantner and , Spiegelworld opened in the summer of 2006 with Absinthe, performed inside the Spiegeltent. The 2007 season marked the return of Absinthe and the premiere of La Vie...
opened Absinthe at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in the 26 metre Salon Marlene.
Origins and history
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in the late 19th century as mobile dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
s. They were transported around the country and assembled for town fairs in areas that did not have a proper dance hall.
Nostalgic Spiegeltents still exist today, some original:
- Palais Romantique - an Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Spiegeltent which is 17 metres in diameter and holds 300 people. - Palaise Nostalgique - ° 1920 currently used for a standing show in San Francisco, California. Holds 295 people.
- Le Moulin Rouge - *1910 currently used for a standing show in Seattle, Washington. Holds 295 people.
- La Gayola - an Art Deco Spiegeltent ° 1947 which holds 350 people.
- La Gaieté - an original Klessens tent °1932, 16 diameter, which holds 300 people
- Ideal - an Art Nouveau Spiegeltent, handmade °1948, which holds 320 people.
- The Famous Spiegeltent
and some new;
- Parel van Vuren - holding up to 350 people and 18 metres in diameter.
- Palais des Glaces, 22 diameter, Art Nouveau °1992
- Salon Revue 22 diameter, Art Nouveau °2006
- Bon Vivant - Nostalgic dance hall in Art Nouveau style.
- Kempisch Danspaleis - mirrored dance tent.
- Cristal Palace - 18 metres in diameter for up to 400 people.
- Carrousel - Interior in oak. Capacity : up to 300 people for dinner.
- De Lust - A rectangular mirror tent for up to 500 people.
- Victoria - One of the most luxurious mirror tents. 25 metres in diameter for up to 700 people.
The Famous Spiegeltent
History
The Famous Spiegeltent, perhaps the most lavishly decorated of all, was built in 1920 in Belgium by master craftsmen Oscar Mols Dom and Loius Goor. Over the decades it has hosted some of the world's greatest performing artists, including German singer Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, who famously performed "Falling in Love Again" in it during the 1930s.
Construction
The Famous Spiegeltent is transported from venue to venue in shipping containers, and is constructed on site at each location. It consists of about 3,000 pieces of woodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
s, canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, and is then detailed in velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
and brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
.
Construction takes about ten to twelve hours, and is supervised by two Belgian specialists. In addition, an adjacent bar is constructed, which in addition to the lighting and sound equipment takes another few days.
When constructed, the Famous Spiegeltent can hold an audience of about 300–350 people.
Current use
The Famous Spiegeltent is owned and managed by Australian pianist and theatrical producer David Bates, who first utilised the tent as a venue at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival FringeEdinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
. After a successful visit to Melbourne in 2001, Bates bought the tent from previous owners Scottish & Newcastle
Scottish & Newcastle
Scottish & Newcastle plc was a "long alcoholic drinks" company with positions in 15 countries, including UK, France and Russia. It was headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. In the last 20 years, S&N expanded significantly from its home base to become an international business with beer...
and set it up as a unique travelling venue.
Although its history and decor make it ideal for cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
-style acts, the venue hosts a wide variety of genres including rock music, classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, comedy and circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
acts.
The Famous Spiegeltent currently appears at the following festivals:
- Australia: the Arts Centre (February - April 2011)
- Australia: Sydney FestivalSydney FestivalSydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
(January) - Australia: Adelaide Festival of ArtsAdelaide Festival of ArtsThe Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
(March, in even numbered years) - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
: Auckland FestivalAuckland FestivalThe Auckland Festival is a biennial arts and cultural festival held in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new works and international performing arts events.-History:Auckland was the first...
(March) - New Zealand Taranaki International Festival of The Arts (August 2011)
- EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
: Brighton FestivalBrighton FestivalThe Brighton Festival is an annual arts festival which takes place in the city of Brighton and Hove in England each May. It was founded in 1966, and is the largest multi-art form festival in England...
(May) - England: Norfolk and Norwich FestivalNorfolk and Norwich FestivalNorfolk & Norwich Festival is an arts organisation based in Norwich, England which is primarily responsible for the eponymous international arts festival held in annually every May, with events also held throughout the wider county of Norfolk....
(May 2011) - ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
: Edinburgh FringeEdinburgh FringeThe Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
(July / August)
The Famous Spiegeltent did not operate at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe, due to essential maintenance being carried out.
External links
- The Famous Spiegel Garden 2011
- MAGIQ Spiegeltent Antwerpen
- Cork Midsummer Festival
- Spiegelworld
- Spiegeltent official Belgian web site
- Spiegeltent official Belgian web site
- Magic Mirrors official web site
- The Famous Spiegeltent official web site
- Bard SummerScape 2007
- The Edinburgh Fringe
- The Brighton Festival Fringe
- Dublin Fringe Festival
- Teatro Zinzanni
- Madame Zingara
- Norfolk and Norwich Festival