The Roaring Twenties (1920s), the Prohibition Era (1920-1933) and the Jazz Age (1920s & 1930s) in America, has been widely popularized in literature and film. At one point the number prohibition speakeasies in New York reached as many as 32,000 underground drinking and entertainment holes. A period of opulence and extravagance, the roaring twenties was renowned for boisterous parties, inebriation, energetic dancing and risqué entertainment. Appropriately it was during the 1920s that American Burlesque made a transition from its original format as a mostly family friendly, comedic variety show to include striptease. Cabaret that had been more recently imported from France (1911) was commonly found in New York Speakeasies along with Jazz ensembles.

In Europe, burlesque style cabaret shows emerged decades earlier in the music halls of Paris during the Belle Époque. The most famous of all music halls still today, is the Moulin Rouge renowned worldwide for their seductive Can-Can dance. The Belle Époque, interrupted by World War I was followed by a period of modernity and vibrancy and fashion freedom particularly for women who started to wear short dresses and sport bob cuts.

The early 20^th century nightlife scene in Italy rarely gets a mention but it doesn’t mean that it didn’t exist. Starting will illustrious parties hosted by the Roman aristocracy in cafes and dining halls of the city’s best hotels, the futurists then took the lead creating cabaret clubs in underground spaces filled with artwork and entertainment. The entertainment included everything from jazz bands to internationally acclaimed burlesque variety performers. It was a short-lived period of fun, shut down by the fascist movement in Italy who considered these bars to be too deviant.