In the past Dubai's bars anci restaurants often turned into nightclubs, until a whole spate of purpose-driven spaces started to appear, including Dubai's first superelub, Mix. Dance events have taken off, with exists by everyone from influential club culture king Norman (ay to Cafe del Mar's Jose Cassias; and hotels such as Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort host regular Moon Par-ties and fly in Ibiza DJs. At these wild, heaving events you can expect to see tire-eaters, jugglers, trapeze artists, stilt walkers, bongo players and podium dancers. Dubai's club scene is not as segregated as it once was, although there are still Arabic, Filipino and Indian clubs, with their own types of music and atmosphere. These days the crowds are much more mixed and the fun can happen anywhere, anytime. Motion Beach, with its Cafe del Mar ambience, happens every Friday afternoon at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, although Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights are the big ones. Most people don't go out until midnight and dance floors don't heat up until 2am or 3am. Like any city in the world, you'll find that established clubs may be physically or spir­itually transformed for a particular night of the week or month. Global Funk takes over Tangerine , Fluid Productions turns Tangerine into Peppermint Lounge and Dl Dany brings Beirut's megaclub Crystal to Tangerine. With the help of DJ Stephane Pompougnac from Paris, Boudoir becomes Hotel Costes, Lady DJ Fizzi turns Planetarium into Club Persia  and Ohm Records turns Mix into DV8. One of the hottest places at the moment is Terminal, recently opened at the Millennium Airport Hotel by the 9714 guys. Formerly known as MIS, this creative bunch is behind the success of Issimo Cocktail Bar's   Jazz Clinic, Secret Garden, various one-off events and the funky lifestyle store Five Green  .

BOUDOIR Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa, Jumeirah Beach Rd; 7.30pm-4.30am

An opulent Parisian-style restaurant-cum-cocktail bar-cum-night club draped with rich red velvet booths, hanging glass beads, gilt-edged frames and crystal chandeliers - think Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge - tres chic. This is the place where international supermodels come when they're in town.

KASBAR One&Only Royal Mirage, Al-Sufouh Rd 9.30pm-3am Mon-Sat

The admission fee to this Moroccan-themed nightclub, set in a lavish hotel complex, en­titles you to one free drink. The decor alone is worth the fee. The club is built on three levels overlooking the dance floor; the uppermost is the most exclusive. The music is a mix of popular dance hits and techno-Arabic. If you want to meet a wealthy young sheikh, this would be the place.

MAHARLIKAM
President Hotel, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Rd, Karama; admission Dh25; -v 6pm-3am

The main attractions of this popular Filipino nightclub are the vibrant changing floorshow and live bands, which have included Hot City, Hot Stuff and Elvis Presley Asia. Filipinos get in for free. Everyone else pays Dh25 but that gets you one free drink.

DJ Sticky fingers’ Top Five Nights Former Londoner Noel miller, AKA DJ Sticky fingers, is still one of the hottest DJs in Dubai after seven years in the city. Noel was on a Dubai stopover when he decided to stay. A short time later he was manning the decks at Carter – after telling management the music sucked. These days you can listen to him on Arabian Radio Network hear him at one of his many DJ residences. Here are some of his favorite Dubai nights- Boudoir on Tuesday Issimo Cocktail Bar on Wednesday Mix on Thursday Sho Cho’s on Wednesday Tangerine on Wednesday