I didn’t expect to find myself on the Zouk dancefloor this soon — not while we’re still waiting for Phase 3 to happen, and nightspots in Singapore are still shut. Sure, there’s the soon-to-launch pilot programme for a small number of nightlife businesses to reopen, subject to restrictions. At press time, there’s still no word on whether Zouk will be part of this scheme.

In the meantime, I'm scouring for the next best alternative to partying during these pandemic times. I make my way to the mega-club in Clarke Quay for two days in a row, and for two very different reasons, too — a spin class on day one, and a movie night the next day.

Yup, Zouk has been leading a double life since last month. The club transforms into a spin studio by day and a cinema by night. Its daytime activity is a collab between Zouk and rhythm cycling studio chain Absolute Cycle, where pop-up spin classes for up to 50 people happen every day. But in the evenings on Wednesdays to Saturdays, Zouk Cinema Club takes over.

It all sounds rather exciting, but is there any point going to Zouk if you can't dance the night away? The short answer: yes. And as it turns out, one of these two experiences is a pretty good substitute for clubbing.

I’m at Zouk at 10am on a weekday. This does not feel like old times. At all. Well, unless you count the fact that there’s a line of people at the club’s foyer waiting to get in. For once, it’s not because the club is brimming with party-goers. These are law-abiding folks queuing up to check in via SafeEntry.

After checking in, I head in to pick up spin shoes from the counter where once upon a (pre-Covid-19) time I would check in bags. No need to deposit any bags this time — unlike Absolute's usual studios where you’d put your bags in a locker, riders at Zouk are meant to leave their belongings next to their bike during class.

Things feel a little more familiar when I’m finally in Zouk’s cavernous main arena. There’s EDM blasting (not at full volume... yet) and laser lights flashing. Everything’s beckoning you to the dancefloor where there are 50 spin bikes scattered over the two levels, each one a safe distance from the next.

Instead of a DJ spinning tunes on the platform, there’s a spin instructor welcoming us to the venue. It starts to feel like the old days… where you unwittingly step into a club too early and the party’s not quite started. Never mind. This gives me time to set up the bike and check that I’ve got my hand weights and towel (both are provided) and water. Water’s not provided but you can buy some from the bar. And nope, no alcohol is available in the daytime, especially not right before a high intensity spin workout.

Then the music’s turned up, the lights are dimmed for a few seconds before they’re now programmed into what we like to call Serious Dancing Mode. This is when you know you’re about to get a good workout for the next 45 minutes.

To my surprise, cycling my heart out on a stationary bike at Zouk isn’t quite like attending a spin class at one of Absolute Cycle’s three regular studios. Sure, the routines and instructors are familiar, and all spin classes boast pulsating music and disco lights. But there’s just something about being here at Zouk with a larger group in the massive space that makes a difference. Something about Zouk’s impressive sound system and fancier lighting, usually reserved for epic parties, helps to elevate the experience.

Somewhere between peddling furiously to catch the beat, and waiting for the beat to drop, I actually feel like I’ve been teleported back to a pre-Covid-19 Zouk. Never mind that I’m decked out in workout gear and perched on a stationary bike, or that there’s no booze involved and I’m not getting shoved by strangers on a crowded dancefloor (not that I'm complaining).

Is it a novelty or a new normal? Either way, the Absolute Cycle classes at Zouk are as close to clubbing as you'll get during these times, except the high you get is from endorphins rather than sour plum shots.

If spin classes at Zouk would delight hardcore revellers, then Zouk Cinema Club is the VIP lounge experience where it's all a little more placid, a spot where folks come to see (a movie) and to be seen.

After all, regular cover charge won’t get you in — only table bookings are allowed for Zouk Cinema Club.

Prices for tables at the pop-up cinema start at $75++ for up to two pax on Wednesdays and you get a jug of housepours and long island tea. It goes all the way up to $350++ for a group of three to five people on Thursdays to Saturdays, and that gets you a bottle of Moet and Chandon champagne and a bottle of Belvedere vodka. In case you haven’t realised, all signs point to a not-so-regular cinema experience.

All the bikes from the day have been replaced by VIP tables and pods scattered around Zouk’s main dancefloor.

I take my seat in the front row. While I’d normally eschew front row seats in a regular cinema, it’s a little different in Zouk Cinema Club. Each session, which lasts from 6pm to 10.30pm, only accommodates up to 50 pax, or 14 tables. Despite the intimate setting, there’s still some distance between screen and front row. In fact, tables were so far apart, if I’d spotted a friend at the next table, I’d have to shout to say hi. But people all around me are settling in to their seats at this cinema-club hybrid. No one's really mingling across tables (you're not meant to).

Without warning (or pre-movie ads), the movie begins. Each night, two films are screened — it’s Into the Woods and Moulin Rouge tonight, in line with November’s musical films theme. There’s a 10-minute intermission between movies, so you know when to time your toilet break.

Throughout the night, servers are pottering around to refill our drink glasses and serve up snacks such as cheese nachos, fried chicken and Garrett popcorn. Around us, some people are quietly watching the movie, others are chatting throughout, albeit in hushed tones. At key junctures during the film, the lights on the dancefloor flicker according to the mood of the scene. Maybe it’s a slight nudge to remind cinema/club-goers to focus on the movie for now (gossip can wait). Who knows? But one thing’s for sure. This is not the place for cinephiles to scrutinise films. Think of Zouk Cinema Club as going to a very wealthy friend’s house for a movie night.

Absolute Cycle classes at Zouk runs daily. Prices range from $49 for a single drop-in class to $570 for a 20-class pack; available at www.zoukclub.com/fitness. More info and packages at https://www.absolutecyclesingapore.com/. Zouk Cinema Club runs from Wed to Sat, 6pm to 10.30pm. More info at https://zoukclub.com/cinemaclub/,
Photos: Zouk Singapore