Lancing Girls of a Happy World

by Adeline Foo

"Dancing was fun; it didn't seem like a job but a party every day.”

“They practised dancing seriously; it was their life!”

“It is an ugly profession; to prostitute oneself... is a commonly accepted practice.”

Glitz, glamour, and sleaze is what people may remember of the cabaret girls of yesteryear. With curiosity and an open mind, Adeline Foo sets out to uncover the lives of these women and how, even with few dreams and hopes to strive for, these women lived with much heart and courage despite society's disapproving eye. The music of the dance hall may have faded away, but this book carries the echoes of their dance steps, connecting us with a forgotten past that was inspired by faith, hope and charity.

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Adeline, a Singaporean, is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. She is also a mother of three.

Adeline’s The Diary of Amos Lee, published in 2009, ranks as her best-selling series. All seven titles in the series have made the Straits Times’ National Best Sellers’ List for more than 84 weeks. The first book, I Sit, I Write, I Flush! has also won the inaugural Red Dot award given by the International Schools Libraries Network, a children’s choice award.

Adeline first ventured into writing in 2006 when she received the inaugural First Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative Award given by the Media Development Authority of Singapore and the National Book Development Council of Singapore. Identified by the media authorities as one of Singapore’s forerunners in children’s book writing, she has received support to publish 13 picture books for early readers. Since then, Adeline has not stopped writing. Three of her books have been adapted into animation shorts, with a fourth new series turned into a TV show on the MediaCorp kids' channel, okto.

Reviews

[nonfirqtion · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Let this book be remembered as the first publication attempting to recover the lives of these women, they who had been cast to the sidelines of society, they who had also lived lives on their own terms."
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Lancing girls of a Happy World by Adeline Foo is the first publication (that I know of) of "lancing" girls, they are cabaret girls who would service and entertain local or white men who were from the British navy or army. It is a simple book that documents the lives of 'lancing girls'. The cabaret girls documented and researched by Adeline were mainly from the Chinese community. She briefly mentions "Bunga Tanjong", a cabaret dance hall with girls who ronggeng-ed or joget. I thought this was a research gap, that someone should explore. Because I've seen this mentioned in Malay novels and my parents.
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What I found trailblazing was that they started their own union! After having to have to suffer poor hygiene at their workplace, lack of medical insurance and coverage by their dance halls/employers and even be subjected to prostitution these women took it upon themselves to organize. Under their union, they fought for a $125 tax deduction (thus kindaaa making their work recognised - although not officially), raised $13000 for Nanyang University, raised $15000 to buy a shophouse where their union will be headquartered and even set up a free Chinese-medium school for children after WW2! How inspirational!
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[Dhanashri Matondkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing glimpse into a world I was unfamiliar with
At the end, I discovered a newfound respect and admiration for these women who chose to live life with courage
I wish there were more details from the daily life of those times ...felt the book too short

[Wen-yi Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it for what it was, but wished it was significantly longer and more in depth

[Kelsey Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but wish the book went more in depth into the world of cabaret in SG