The Moulin Rouge
As the famous Moulin Rouge gave the audience a cancan and Stripping?
In Paris in Montmartre, near the place Pigalle, where the night winking invitingly passers-by the red lanterns, is one of the attractions of the French capital – the famous Moulin Rouge (Red mill). The creators of the Moulin Rouge deliberately placed his stuff in the Red light district, but close. They wisely calculated: lovers of nightlife from the quarter with the merry maidens is not difficult to pass a few tens of meters, but and respectable gentlemen can visit the cabaret without fear of being compromised. And to emphasize that echoes the Red light district will
highlight and they have erected over his cabaret decorative windmill, painting it red.
It is the mill as a symbol of his establishment, opened on 6 October 1889, Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller was not chosen accidentally. Nearby there are genuine windmill Moulin de La Galette, attached to which were long were collected at night visitors a trendy restaurant with a dance hall. Here and the new institution under the mill was going to attract the audience dancing and good booze, combining a restaurant and musical theatre. But the dancing was going to put these to playing pranks gentlemen could hardly breathe and had the desire to go on the block next door, where customers cheerful girl.
The dance highlight of the Moulin Rouge became the original (natural) quadrille, which was quickly labelled “French cancan”. Apparently, the creators of cabaret were not without talent, as they were able to intuitively find a path to the hearts and wallets of the new warehouse of the public. In the short term cabaret became extremely popular, it used to come and habitues of Paris, and representatives of the artistic Bohemia, and wealthy bourgeoisie, and even the luminaries of high society.
The creators of cabaret picked a good troupe of dancers who, contrary to prevailing opinion subsequently, danced dressed, although relatively frivolously. Soon, all the best dancers have received from visitors nicknames that many girls went down in history. For example, Nini-Pat-EN-l er (Nini – the presser Foot up), Jane avril (Dynamite), Rayon d’or (Golden ray). The most famous dancer of that period was Louise Weber, known as La goulue (the Glutton). She actually liked to eat well and drink at the expense of the visitors, who willingly sat down at the tables. Fortunately, Kankan – not the ballet, because excess weight partner will not toil, and the public more like a sturdy girl, in which panty and stockings not hang on the mops. Yes and to be spicy, but at the same time vulgar and sensual, without bursting blouse of her firm Breasts – difficult.
The life story of La goulue characteristic of many dancers and cabaret singers. Her mother owned a small Laundry room, and a future in which a dancer since childhood have joined the labour. Then briefly worked as a saleswoman colors, tried other jobs, until I opted for the dancing. Initially worked in a dance class in the suburbs of Paris, and then began to dance in small establishments in Montmartre. Here she was noticed by Charles Zidler and invited in the year of opening of the Moulin Rouge to dance on the stage of the new cabaret.
At the Moulin Rouge La goulue came to fame, here it was called not only a “Glutton”, but ‘the Star of Montmartre” here she met Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir, and many other famous Parisians. Tell that La goulue managed “spin” on champagne, even the Prince of Wales (future king Edward VII of England), looked at the Moulin Rouge to see the cancan, which for the channel told so unusual. Apparently, the cancan performed by La goulue, the heir to the throne did not disappoint.
At the Moulin Rouge La goulue dancing before 1895, her fees here rapidly flew up, allowing a few years to amass a respectable fortune and to finally open his own business. Even after it ceased to dance, La goulue has not lost popularity. In the sunset of her life she sometimes used to go to the Moulin Rouge, to the appreciative applause of the audience to come up and send the public kisses. However, from the proposals sit down at the table usually refused, La goulue slowly resorted to alcoholism, but didn’t want the audience loved it knew about it. Died Star of Paris in 1929.
At the end of the last century La goulue returned to Montmartre: in 1990, her remains were solemnly reburied in a local cemetery. In this time there was a new surge in the popularity of the legendary dancer, came dedicated La goulue Roman Many Ansky, and then “memoirs”, written on behalf of the dancer by her great-grandson, writer and singer Michel Suva.
Regulars at the Moulin Rouge were many famous artists, writers, actors. And Henri Toulouse-Lautrec literally lived here, appearing almost every night. Almost a dwarf with a disproportionately large head, Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed universal love, dancer and singer adored Henri, thanks to which they appeared not only on posters and billboards, but on these paintings, exhibited in the Salon.
Visitors were attracted to the Moulin Rouge mainly rousing cancan, and then the booze and the opportunity to meet a dancer from the corps de ballet, who will not refuse to continue the fun, in the morning when the school closes. How many epithets invented the cancan newspapermen, hard to say – it is the dance of debauchery and crazy quadrille. Actually, to invent this dance various epithets were not difficult, in fact the name “can can” translated from French as noise or DIN. Externally, the dance seems not complicated – start with the skirt, squirt taller feet, run around in a frantic pace. Those who danced the cancan treat him differently.
That’s what he thought of the dance of his youth Margarita, Rigolos:
«to dance the cancan, ought to have a very special temperament, exceptional spirit, it’s not limited to the reproduction constituted by the rules of the figure. There ought to invent, to create. Kankan – this is crazy legs. When I dance, I was seized with a kind of insanity: I forget everything… the Music is compressed in my chest, rushes to the head, as a pair of champagne. When the last note of ritornelli I’m drunk. Then the frenzy is becoming unprecedented. My hands are in a frenzy, my legs, too. I need motion, noise, Sodom; it is a sort of a concussion, flowing from the feet to the head. All nervous around me – the scenery, furniture, candles. We can say that all of this conspired to give me music. At this moment, if the wall was in front of me, I would, I think, and passed through it. I love applause. I’d like, when you dance to the thunder roared, lamented house! I would like this blether, and the bravest horrifies: incessant blows big bell of Notre Dame, earthquakes, the last judgment.”.
First Moulin Rouge lasted until 1915 and closed in the First world war. Once again cabaret opened its doors to the public in 1921. Long ago the Moulin Rouge, the symbol of Paris as the Eiffel tower. Come to Paris tourists tend to visit the Moulin Rouge to enjoy good French cuisine, to see the enchanting dance show, and if you’re lucky, you may hear someone from celebrities. The stage of the Moulin Rouge has long been considered one of the most prestigious venues in Paris, because it was considered an honor to perform Edith Piaf and Yves Montand.
And in conclusion, let’s dispel one myth. The strip never dance and don’t dance on the stage of the Moulin Rouge, although it is believed that he was born here. But it was, as they say, art for the masses. Midsummer night’s 1893 at the Moulin Rouge something celebrated young artists, led with him and Nudes. Two hot champagne sitter, Sarah brown and Manon Lavil, decided to make a “master class” right on the table, and began to undress to the music, until he was left naked. Some of those present in the creative impulse of the girls didn’t understand and called the police. As a result the case went to trial, but all were limited to fines. A Striptease from this time conquering the planet and has long been more popular than the cancan.
