USA: Water-pipe lounges and belly dancing are a prominent trend in New York nightlife

Record ID: 186914

  • Title: USA: Water-pipe lounges and belly dancing are a prominent trend in New York nightlife
  • Date: 14th May 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) BELLY DANCER LAYLA ISIS SAYING: "There's been a big boom in hookah lounges, especially in this neighbourhood, the East Village. They've popped up all over the place in the last five years.... I was working before 9/11 and there was a dip right afterwards, and about a year later we started seeing a lot of interest pop up again."
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA6YJ78TSOHIGXIXDHD5CVIDM5R
  • Story Text: In recent years, New York City's East Village neighbourhood has become a hipster hangout and brought the hookah lounge into the mainstream of night life.
    Manhattan's East Village neighbourhood is considered home to the hipsters and a trendy bar scene. In recent years, a slew of Middle Eastern "shisha" water-pipe lounges and belly dance cafes have dotted the centre of this cultural landscape, filling the air with fragrant fruity tobacco and the echoing sounds of zills (finger cymbals).
    At Le Souk, one of the first purveyors of the Middle Eastern night life trend in New York, customers enjoy a little smoke with their conversation.
    The club's manager Lamia Liussi says that there are always new ideas cropping up in New York nightlife, but she thinks that the Middle East-themed one will last.

    "It is absolutely a cultural experience. Especially here from the beginning to the end of the night you feel like you're in another place, like you're in Morocco. The whole decor, the food, the way we treat people it's so different, the whole experience is unique I would say," Liussi said.
    Liussi says she thinks bars and clubs like Le Souk have enabled Americans to get a flavour for what Middle Eastern culture is all about. At her club, the cultural experience for customers includes watching belly dancer Layla Isis and maybe even giving the art a whirl.
    Layla Isis dances regularly at Le Souk and at other shisha lounges in the neighbourhood. She says business is great - in fact she has been busier than ever in the last year.

    "There's been a big boom in hookah lounges, especially in this neighbourhood, the East Village. They've popped up all over the place in the last five years," Isis tells Reuters.
    Isis explains that after the 9/11 attacks, work slowed down, but "a little later we started seeing a lot of interest pop up."
    While some like Isis and Liussi think shisha lounges are a great way for people to experience a little bit of Middle Eastern culture, not everyone agrees.
    Sarah Malaika is the managing editor of Elan, a magazine about contemporary Muslim culture.
    Malaika says, "Going to see a belly dancing show or going to a hookah bar isn't necessarily having a deep understanding about Arab culture.
    So while it's a great way to maybe bridge into learning more about the culture, partaking in those activities which can be pleasurable and fun isn't necessarily having a really great understanding of the culture - it's kind of superficial."
    People who come to the bar enjoy the experience and say they hope the trend will pervade night clubs in other parts of the U.S.
    Joe Howell, who brought his date to Le Souk, said he's had a great night, filled with dinner and dancing.
    Howell moved to New York from Chicago, and says
    "It seems like everybody goes to a hookah lounge because it's a nice relaxed atmosphere to hang out in. You don't have to be having drinks or having dinner or whatever, they just let you hang out. So I hope it catches on, but it seems like it's very popular around here - especially in the lower part of Manhattan."
    Patron Jordan Hunter agrees with Howell, and says; "It's just like all the rage to go to the hookah (shisha) bars."
    Martina Schappert says the hookah lounge is a great alternative to standard night clubs.

    "It's like a social thing I guess, as opposed to a club where you don't really talk to people."
    In a city like New York where night-club trends come and go, the echo of the zills may fade, but for now, it's keeping the East Village smokin'.
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