Vedette (cabaret) facts for kids
A vedette is the main female artist of a show derived from cabaret and its subcategories of revue, vaudeville, music hall or burlesque. The purpose of the vedette is to entertain and captivate the public. Vedettes are expected to sing, dance and act on stage. Particularly accomplished artistes are considered super vedettes or first vedettes. Vedettes often appear alongside groups of dancers, flashy costumes, magicians, comedians, jugglers, or even performing animals.
In the 20th century, vedette shows were successful in the cabarets, theaters and nightclubs of countries such as Spain, France, Argentina and Mexico. Paris and Las Vegas were considered the main cradle of the vedettes.
Etymology
Vedette is a French word originally used to designate an artist of great fame and notoriety. The meaning of the term has changed over the years. From the early twentieth century, it began to be used for the main female artists in cabaret shows such as burlesque, vaudeville, music hall or revue. The height of fame and popularity of these performers was in the 1920s, 1940s and 1970s.
The popularity of vedettes in France began to increase at the beginning of the 20th century. Thereafter they achieved greater popularity in Latin countries. At different times they became an exotic feature of the nightlife of Spain, Argentina and Mexico. The term vedette is little used in English-speaking countries. In the United States there are popular cabaret and burlesque shows in Las Vegas, where the term used for the performers is showgirl. Venues such as Le Lido, the Moulin Rouge, and the Crazy Horse in France, the Teatro Maipo and the Teatro El Nacional in Argentina, and the Teatro de la Ciudad "Esperanza Iris" in Mexico are or were famous for their vedette shows.
Fiction
Film
- Lola-Lola in the film The Blue Angel (1930)
- Gypsy Rose Lee in the film Gypsy (1962)
- Sally Bowles in several works, notably the musical Cabaret (1966)
- Miss Piggy in The Muppet Show (1976)
- Jessica Rabbit in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
- Satine in the film Moulin Rouge! (2001)
- Roxie Hart in the film Chicago (2002)
See also
- Geisha
- Nightclub act
