Moulin rouge ballet by Vince Pahkala/Wikimedia Commons

10 Things you didn’t know about the Moulin Rouge Paris Dancers


 

Moulin Rouge the most famous Cabaret in the world, located at the foot of Montmartre was established in 1889, the same year the Eiffel tower construction started. This remarkable Cabaret is one of Paris’s famous symbols many people from around the world gather here to watch the exquisite performance of the dancers. One of the most famous photographed icons is the red mill, the Rouge is extravagant with stunning decoration and a gigantic door. Today it remains to be one of the finest cabarets in Paris and a marvelous place to see great performances and outstanding French cancan dance. The Moulin Rouge was founded in 1889 by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler.

At the creation of this extraordinary cabaret, people would throw champagne-filled parties during which famous dancers performed. Ten years after a disastrous fire in 1915 that would destroy the Moulin Rouge, the theatre was rebuilt. At the time, the actress-dancer-singer Mistinguet became Co-director of the cabaret, thus leaving her mark on its history. Today, one hundred performers, including the legendary Doriss Dancing Girls resplendent in feathers, sequins, and rhinestone costumes take to the stage for an evening of dazzling entertainment. The Moulin Rouge shows are usually sold out and it’s best you order your ticket online, it’s recommended to get your ticket one month before.

The official name of the show is called Feerie with more than eighty performances including acrobats, jugglers, and acrobats. Moulin Rouge, Paris runs two shows every day of the year at 9 pm and 11 pm. They are three ticket options you can either combine with dinner or dinner and cruise. Incredibly, since 2010, the Moulin Rouge troupe has held seven world records in the Guinness Book of Records. All Moulin Rouge tickets come with champagne by default, you can always change to two soft drinks in case you are not a champagne lover, when visiting Paris this show is a must-see, do not miss this.

practical information
book with us: MOULINE ROUGE SHOW
address: 82 bd de clichy, 75018, paris, france
call: + 33 1 53 09 82 82
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Here are 10 things you do not know about Moulin Rouge Dancers.

1. Moulin dancers come from all over the world

Cabaret dancers by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

It takes a lot of skill and talent to be a Moulin Rouge dancer, dancers are selected from all over the world. The Moulin Rouge’s troupe has eighty artists of fourteen nationalities, of which around twenty artists are men. The majority of the artists are Australians, and Australians also make up more than a third of the Doris Girls. The performances at the Moulin Rouge still hold to the traditions established at the cabaret’s founding on Oct. 6, 1889, when women who made a living washing linen by day transformed themselves into dancers at night. Moulin Rouge still gives tourists and Parisians a taste of the demi-monde, it is also the place where many dancers from the UK go to find work providing, and they cut the majority of its performers are British.

2. History of Moulin dancers

Cabaret dancer by Dirandold/Wikimedia Commons

Throughout history, many dancers have contributed to making the Moulin Rouge a worldwide known legend. Founders wanted to create a place dedicated to entertainment for a diverse public and the fact that it was located in Paris’s 18th district. The cabaret quickly became known for the lively routines of its dancers namely, the Can-can, a high-energy dance that called for a chorus line of dancers performing famously revealing high kicks. The Moulin Rouge became a concert theatre under the guidance of Paul-Louis Flers who was already a well-known revue director, and the idea to was bring this cabaret venue in Paris back up to a more respectable and prestigious place.

The French Cancan the new dancers’ name was created in the 19th Century, and many dancers such as La Goulue, Miss Jenny, and Nini Pattes-en-l’air became symbols of Parisian cabaret, enticing customers in search of frills and thrills. Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois was the highest-paid entertainer after World war I with her captivating performance.

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3. The dress code of Moulin Rouge Dancers

Dancing girls at the Paris Cabaret by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

The Cancan derived from a dance called the Galop and was popular in Parisian common dance halls. Initially, it was a dance for both sexes, but as it grew into a French cultural phenomenon, it became traditional for the Cancan to be performed by a chorus line of female dancers. The women used to wear costumes of long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings and the dance primarily consisted of skirt waving, high kicks, cartwheeling, and grand ecarts. Cancan costumes help bring the historical French cancan dance to life with color, vibrancy, and sexiness, red and black are popular colors for cancan apparel. Modern cancan costumes are made out of various materials and styles, but attempt to stay true to the original costume. Cancan costumes are over-the-top and make women look and feel gorgeous. The outfits are revealing, flirty, and perfect for a costume party or free cancan dancing. Some of the skirts are much shorter than they used to be, revealing the tops of thigh-high stockings and suspenders.

4. Requirement to be a Moulin Rouge Dancer

Dancing girls at the Paris Cabaret by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

The Moulin Rouge is a magical spectacular that’s full of surprises. The show is high energy and a sensory delight from start to finish. Not just anyone can be a Cancan dancer you must be 5’9 tall and be able to kick your leg behind your head. Men should be 6’1, they should have a great presence on stage and a bright personality. Female dancers should be tall, they should look appealing in the Moulin Rouge costume, and have a lot of personality. Male dancers need to be strong all-around they should also be able to do high kicks and the splits, with their athletic masculine build. Dancers should make sure their kicks are up to scratch to the shoulder, and fast, not only on the going up but the coming down as well. They’re also expected to do many rehearsals a day to be perfectly on point when it is shown time. The Moulin Rouge performance is universal and for everyone, even children six years and above. Each year they are three casting sessions, in which around 600 dancers participate each time for sometimes only two vacancies.

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5. How many dancers are in the Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge, by Juandec/Wikimedia Commons

Every evening a whirlwind of feathers, sequins, and rhinestones blows through the Moulin Rouge, the emblematic Parisian cabaret, as the great revue show Feerie takes the stage in four spectacular acts. All dancers are trained in classical dance and every week they are classes, the Moulin Rouge team consists of 400 people 100 artists 18 dressers, and 60 dancers both female and male. The show consists of 60 performers from fourteen different countries twirling, kicking, and dancing through the evening. To this day the Moulin dancers continue to impress at amazing dinner shows, and the cancan dancers are always wearing fabulous feather- and rhinestone-covered costumes.

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6. Feather and rhinestone costumes of the French Cancan dancers

Dancing girls at the Paris Cabaret Show by Unknown Arthur/ Wikimedia Commons

The French cabaret’s famous cancan dancers for its high-kicking cancan dancers and flesh-exposing ostrich feather costumes mark 130 years since it first opened its doors to audiences. Each show requires a thousand outfits, all crafted in the workshops that have been supplying the Moulin Rouge for decades. Each dancer has to make between 10 and 15 costume changes per show, with about 90 seconds to complete each one before they have to be back out on stage. Pink and black leather high boots with sequin decorations and elaborate constructions over the dancer’s shoulder create an illusion of sparkling butterfly wings and ostrich feathers sprouting from their backs. They are 800 pairs of shoes from size 35 to 47 for all the dancers.

7. French Cancan dancers

Dancing girls at the Paris Cabaret by unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

In the history of the French Cancan dancers, Cancan in French slang at the turn of the 19th century meant malicious gossip or scandal. Who invented the cancan dance, Charles Mazurier, well known for his acrobatics, including the grand ecart or jump splits both popular features of the can-can. At that time, people loved to go to balls and the last dance of the night was usually with couples, called the quadrille. The cancan originated out of this last dance, with higher kicks and more energy.

The Cancan originated from the last figure of the popular quadrille around the year the 1820s in Paris. In the 1820s, the quadrille was the dance performed at the public balls in the capital. To the rhythm of original compositions drawn from operas and ballets, the couples indulge in this dance made up of five figures. Traditionally, the cancan is performed by a chorus line of female dancers, The most associated music with the cancan is the Infernal Galop from Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Orpheus in the Underworld.

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8. High leg Kick choreography

The famous cabaret is known for its high kicks cancan dancers and flesh-exposing ostrich feather costumes. Moulin Rouge receives 600,00 visitors yearly, dancing for the Moulin Rouge is a professional job that pays just as working as a teller in a bank. With the frenetic music, twirling petticoats, and surprising acrobatics the dancers of the Moulin Rouge know the art of the cancan. Which is a true phenomenon. It was a famous dancer known as La Goulue who established the definitive rules, which were then passed on orally until Nini Pattes En L’air decided to start a specialist school teaching the explosive quadrille. Cabaret dancers must have balance, flexibility, acrobatic ability, and rhythm. They have to be able to do the splits and perform impressive moves like the port d’armes, the cathedral, and the military salute. Do you want to become a cancan dancer well make sure to challenge yourself, cancan dancers have achieved the most-high kicks and spinning splits in thirty seconds, 720 high kicks and 62 spinning splits.

9. Cancan dance scandal

Dancing women and male singers Paris Cabaret by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

Down history lane women wore crotch-less panties under their ruffled skirts, making the kicks incredibly revealing, from all this cancan got its reputation for being salacious and scandalous. The name of the dance translates as scandal, in its original form, the cancan could be described as a fast gallop. It was first danced by couples in working-class ballrooms. The cancan dance was first danced by couples in working-class ballrooms, in the 20th century cancan dance underwent another change, becoming a highly choreographed number for a chorus line.

This style of cancan arose overseas, in Great Britain and the United States, but French dancers were soon performing it for tourists. The Cancan dance is a very physically demanding dance and very enjoyable to watch. Lautrec a French painter in 1891 painted an advertisement for the Moulin Rouge it was considered scandalous because the woman at the center of the poster is Louise Webber, the most famous cancan dancer and the highest paid in Paris at the time.

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10. The famous Louise Webber the highest-paid Cancan dancer

Dancing girls and a male singer at the Paris Cabaret by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

The Moulin rouge is the best-known Parisian tourist attraction, Louise started her career in Cancan the frenetic dance also known as le Grande Quadrille. It’s la Goulue who transformed this dance into the racy spectacle recognized today. Louise Weber met her future dance partner Jules Renaudin. Weber became known as La Goulue in her adolescent years, she was known for guzzling cabaret patrons’ drinks while dancing. She also was referred to as the Queen of Montmartre. Dancing at small clubs around Paris, Weber quickly became a popular personality, liked for both her dancing skills and her charming, audacious behavior. Louise Weber’s career declined, she lost her dear son at the age of 27 she become ill, obese, and an alcoholic. Nevertheless, she maintained some very honorable qualities.

Practical Information

Address: 82, Boulevard De Clichy 75018 Paris

Phone number: +33 (0)1 53 09 82 82

Opening Hours: 1st show 9pm and 2nd show 11pm

How to get there: Train: H, L Metro: 2 Bus: 30,54,60,80

While the Moulin Rouge is undoubtedly one of the most sensational cabarets, Paris is home to quite a number of these and more thrilling experiences! Check out our available specialty tours in Paris for a wholesome package of such delights in the city, and happy travel!