Badia Masabni: The Lady and Her Clubs

[shiradotnet]

In the past, there was very little accurate information available in English about Badia Masabni and her clubs. The bits we had were misleading. For example, many think she opened the Casino Opera in 1926, but actually Casino Opera didn't open until 1940. Her first club, opened in 1926, was called Sala Badia, and was NOT located on Opera Square.

Priscilla Adum has written a fabulous article about Badia Masabni and her clubs. She traces Badia's career as a club owner from 1926 when she started Sala Badia up through 1950 when she sold Casino Opera and moved to Lebanon, using scans of newspaper ads promoting shows at Badia's clubs (and translating them from Arabic to English for us) to help tell the story.

The article is now available on Shira.net. Here's the link: Badia Masabni: The Lady and Her Clubs, by Priscilla Adum

 

[Duvet]

Thank you Shira. A fascinating piece of biography by Priscilla Adum. Badia seems to have been remarkably unlucky, or a poor judge of character, througout her business career. Maybe she was too trusting in an environment where what she did made her a legitimate target for being ripped-off?

I especially like the translations of the original show adverts. One advertises "the Most Famous Singers and the Slimmest Dancers" where the audience can recieve "clean refreshments"(?). Another advertises among the entertainers the "rubber dancer" and "the temptress". Others reference special matinee performances given for women only audiences.

One thing I'd like to know more about; Badia travelled to Europe shortly after WWII, looking for dancers. Where did she go, who did she pick, and what did they dance once taken to Egypt?

 

[Safran]

I finally had the time to read through the article - it was great, thank you Shira and Priscilla! I loved the translation of adverts, it gives a good idea of the feeling of that era. And I really appreciated the photos of where the clubs used to be - so many times I've walked through the Opera Square without having any clue!

 

[LaurenRaqs]

LOVE it, Shira, thank you!