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Singapore. Turning 20 in the nightlife scene is the equivalent of a grand old age of 100 in clubbing years.

So it is for Zouk, Singapore's oldest dance club, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. But the grand dame has plenty of hip still left in her.

Today, the dance club still ranks among the top in the league of global clubs. Just last month, the Jiak Kim Street nightspot earned the ninth spot in respected British electronic dance magazine DJ Mag's annual Top 100 Clubs In The World list.

The ranking is determined by the number of votes by clubbers and DJs from around the world.

That makes the home-grown brand the best club in the Australasia region, with Tokyo's Womb dance club trailing a distant second at the 43rd spot, and Zouk (Kuala Lumpur) picking up the slack at 65th.

DJ Mag's editor Ben Murphy has only praise for the nightspot that put Singapore on the world party map: "Zouk is a venue that is not only the pride of Asia but also one of the best clubs in the world, from the extraordinary decor to the stunning sound system to the quality of its guest and resident DJs."

Zouk opened six months before London's famous Ministry Of Sound club in March 1991. It was inspired by architect-turned-club owner Lincoln Cheng's summer trips to Ibiza in Spain, a famous party and clubbing destination.

Zouk was the first dance club in Singapore to play house music, then unheard of in the early 1990s.

Although the venue struggled to fill its dance floor in the first three years, it cultivated a significant market that would soon breathe life into the Mohamed Sultan Road area as other nightspots and bars sprang up around it in the late 1990s.

Veteran DJ Brendon Perera, 45, who was a resident DJ at the former Nox club in Mohamed Sultan Road, remembers: "Zouk created a new bunch of music fans who were curious to find out more about the other variants of dance music. Nox, for example, featured the more experimental and deeper territories of techno and house music."

Perera was also Zouk's former resident DJ.

But while its neighbors have come and gone, Zouk has survived and thrived. It outlived competition from other big local nightclubs such as Khameleon, Sparks and Centro. And it has also outlasted global brands such as Supperclub and Ministry Of Sound (Singapore), which found Singapore a tough place to party.

Its longevity is due to a combination of canny programming and constant attention to detail. The club was the first nightspot here to feature superstar DJs regularly.

Home Club's operator, Kelvin Tan, 35, says: "Zouk created a dance music scene in our nightlife industry. It is the pioneer of the industry that has inspired many people, including my early dance music parties. That has also evolved into opportunities for what I do for Home Club."

Besides music, Addie Low, who runs Taboo club in Tanjong Pagar, points out: "Zouk pays a lot of attention to its service to make sure people have a good time. I am always looking up to Zouk as a motivation when running my own club."

People evidently agree with Low as Zouk bagged its third consecutive Best Nightspot Experience award at the Singapore Experience Awards last year.

Tonight is Day 4 of Zouk's four-day celebration, which kicked off on Wednesday. The bash costs S$450,000 and involves 100 local and foreign talent, including famous New York-based house music jock Danny Tenaglia, 50, said: "There is a lot to be said about any club that can stick around for so many years. The people behind Zouk care about those who step into the club and that is a recipe for success in any business."

Zouk's recipe for success is simple, says its owner Cheng, 63: "We never lose the passion and we are always coming up with new nights and experiences for clubbers. The crowded clubbing scene keeps us on our toes. It is better to have competition, otherwise, there will be no challenge for us."

To keep things fresh, Zouk spent S$20 million on five revamps in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2005, upgrading its interior design, lighting and sound systems.

But it has not all been plain sailing for the cutting-edge nightspot. In 1995, officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau arrested 32 people, including senior managers, staff and patrons, after a raid.

Zouk's license was restricted with the operating hours curtailed till 10pm. The club made a decision to close its doors to the public. It reopened eight months later, in November 1995, after receiving a new license.

In 2000, Zouk's first outdoor music festival, ZoukOut, was marred by a drowning, which prompted organizers to beef up on the safety measures for subsequent installments.

The club, too, has its fair share of detractors who feel that the dance institution has become more mainstream nowadays. They point to its sister outlet Phuture, which plays mainly R&B tunes, a more commercial bet than edgier genres such as drum 'n' bass and breaks.

But that is not all a bad thing, says DJ Dean Chew, 35.

He observes: "The club continues to walk the fine line between cutting-edge music and commercial viability. While many have given in to the pressure of hosting more accessible acts to ensure longevity, Zouk continues to showcase more left-field and forward-thinking acts."

Foreign acts still regard Zouk as a premier venue. DJ David Fouquaert of Belgium's dance duo, The Glimmers, who performed here in May last year, says: "We heard from many people in the music industry that Zouk is the place to be in Asia if you wanted to spin in a real club. We were honored to join the list of great artists who had rocked the place."

Cheng says local talent play an equally important part in Zouk's programming. Over the years, the club has launched the careers of many Singaporean musicians and DJs by giving them a platform.

One of them is musician-DJ Kevin Guoh, who held his first solo show performing original music in Zouk 10 years ago.

The 33-year-old says: "Zouk gave me and my then producer a chance and the gigs kickstarted my career. I can't imagine what Singapore's music scene would be like without Zouk. It was the first establishment to bring all forms of music acts, from DJs, live electronic performers to experimental sound artists and jazz musicians."

He adds, matter-of-factly: "I would imagine we would be less musically exposed."

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055