Over the course of 8 years, the company worked galas, product launches, charity events, bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and weddings. Corporate clients included The Flight Centre, Sleeman's, Pravda Vodka Bar, CC Lounge, Uniun Nightclub, &Co Restaurant, Millstreet Brewery, The Broadview Hotel, The Joint, and The Friendly Stranger.
DivaGirl Entertainment
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High Society Cabaret in its earliest years was part of DivaGirl Entertainment. DivaGirl and it’s branches was a company by Laura Furtado that was part of the #GirlBoss movement of the 2010s. At the time, Knox was an established member of DivaGirl, often choreographing and performing on regular bookings for the brand. Depending on the needs of the client, DivaGirl would send High Society Cabaret under the DivaGirl. In the beginning, Anna was the sole representative and choreographer of these bookings, but as Knox became more involved with High Society Cabaret, she too became more involved with those bookings. Eventually High Society Cabaret was seemingly enmeshed with DivaGirl Entertainment. It was agreed that to have the support of DivaGirl, High Society Cabaret had to exclusively work with registered DivaGirls in the network. Bookings were regular on weekends, especially with weddings, product launches, and club/lounge promotional events. Services were primarily choreographed dance routines or gogo sets. Gradually, Laura seemed to lose interest in the entertainment branch and frequently deferred to Knox to manage details after securing a booking. Unfortunately this often meant a breakdown in communication between Laura, Knox, and the client, resulting in on-site issues. Sometimes the dancers were sent into unsafe situations without proper support. In an attempt to solve these problems, Knox offered to take over DivaGirl Entertainment. Laura met Knox’s offer with an unreasonable sum to buy the brand and a shortened client list, with no continuing support even with the Divagirl brand. After consultation with Anna, reviewing previously signed agreements, and a consult with a lawyer and a business advisor, Knox severed High Society Cabaret and its ties with DivaGirl Entertainment and its affiliates.
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Working Independently
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With their previous experiences through DivaGirl Entertainment, Knox and Anna sought to establish themselves as a go-to for vintage-inspired entertainment. Anna would often be front-facing to clients utilizing her experience in wine sales, while Knox took responsibility for logistics and operations.
"I always believe that if you look the part, the client has an easier time relating." - Anna Jaeger A long-time client was Pravda, where they could be seen regularly for large events such as Christmas, New Years Eve, or exciting promotions through the establishment. Knox would also be approached regularly for wedding entertainment and product promotion, usually requesting a Great Gatsby or flapper theme, to which she’d pass the information to Anna to secure the booking. In early 2019, Knox was approached by The Joint, an aspiring Speakeasy-style bar underneath Hogtown Smoke near Church and Front streets for a weekly performance every Friday. Unfortunately due to lack of advertising the weekly events never took off. By that time, Anna had created a relationship with the Broadview Hotel, and High Society Cabaret became a go-to source for dance entertainment, making regular appearances on the hotel’s birthday and New Years Eve. Anna was in talks of creating regular in-house entertainment with the Broadview Hotel before Covid-19 hit.
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The Toronto Burlesque Festival
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Knox ambitiously wanted High Society Cabaret to be more visible in the Toronto burlesque community, so in 2018 she applied the company to the Toronto Burlesque festival with the concept for a group number. Inspired by Portrait of a Scandal and anticipating its remount later that year, Knox choreographed her version of a French Baroque salon specifically for the festival with 7 dancers. The act was met with rave reviews from festival audiences, and High Society Cabaret had successfully made themselves known to the Toronto burlesque scene as a company to watch.
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La Nuit Shanghai
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During the fall of 2019, Knox was approached by Daniel Walsh asking for assistance in creating a weekly cabaret with live musicians and dancers. After initial discussion and the presentation of a working budget, Knox agreed. High Society Cabaret worked with Walsh’s musicians at La Nuit Shanghai, an Asian fusion restaurant in The Village between Church and Yonge streets. Knox and Walsh would regularly collaborate with live music and dancing, creating shows that would run for two Fridays in a row, before creating new sets. While the live entertainment was well received by the patrons and managers of the restaurant, La Nuit Shanghai was struggling to bring in regular patrons to the weekly event. Knox also used the cabaret as a way to create a new choreographic and rehearsal system for future event bookings, while making new dance content. Talks of making the event bi-weekly were starting to swirl, until the Covid-19 pandemic washed over, and the events were cancelled altogether.
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