So you want my arts job: Cabaret Artist

Award-winning performer Ali McGregor shares insights from her profession and why a hot glue gun is a cabaret artist’s best friend.
A profile photo of cabaret artist Ali McGregor, wearing a dark green dress with fur shoulder accents and flowy waves in her hair.

Australia hosts a wealth of cabaret festivals and performances, including the world’s biggest cabaret festival, which takes place annually in Adelaide. The art form itself is versatile and diverse, and it can include singing, dancing, comedy, theatre and more. So what does it take to become a cabaret artist?

Ali McGregor started her career as an opera singer, but fell in love with cabaret after experiencing her first show. Since then, she has become an award-winning cabaret performer both in Australia and internationally, and helmed the Adelaide Cabaret Festival from 2016-18.

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Celina Lei is ArtsHub's Content Manager. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_