This joyous and spirited dance, immortalised in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec and in films from France or Hollywood, is an integral part of the legends of Parisian cabarets and nightlife. Nearly 150 years on, with its profusion of frilly petticoats, its famous high kicks and rousing music, the infectious gaiety of the French cancan continues to delight audiences from all over the world.
From Toulouse-Lautrec to Hollywood
The artist that best and most realistically grasped the universe of Parisian dances and cabarets had to be Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). During the 1890s he threw himself with a passion into the intoxicating maelstrom of these nocturnal haunts, even designing posters for them. Lautrec’s paintings, sketches and lithographs tell of Montmartre, Pigalle, the brothels and the cancan girls, capturing gestures, expressions, colours and light. Thanks to him, the French cancan can now be seen in major museums and visitors all over the world can admire these famed dancers, La Goulue or Jane Avril, who were not only his models and his muses, but also... his mistresses. The film industry jumped on the bandwagon by turning its projectors onto the mad world of cancan and cabarets. A memorable example is Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1954), with the great Jean Gabin, where Nini, a laundress in 1900s Montmartre, becomes a star of the French cancan. More recently, the US box office smash, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001) puts the spotlight on Montmartre and its dancers once again. A star-studded cast led by Nicole Kidman, extravagant sets and costumes and a stunning soundtrack all make this love story between a poet and a cabaret star an international hit, which glorifies even further the Parisian legend.
This joyous and spirited dance, immortalised in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec and in films from France or Hollywood, is an integral part of the legends of Parisian cabarets and nightlife. Nearly 150 years on, with its profusion of frilly petticoats, its famous high kicks and rousing music, the infectious gaiety of the French cancan continues to delight audiences from all over the world.
The artist that best and most realistically grasped the universe of Parisian dances and cabarets had to be Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). During the 1890s he threw himself with a passion into the intoxicating maelstrom of these nocturnal haunts, even designing posters for them. Lautrec’s paintings, sketches and lithographs tell of Montmartre, Pigalle, the brothels and the cancan girls, capturing gestures, expressions, colours and light. Thanks to him, the French cancan can now be seen in major museums and visitors all over the world can admire these famed dancers, La Goulue or Jane Avril, who were not only his models and his muses, but also... his mistresses. The film industry jumped on the bandwagon by turning its projectors onto the mad world of cancan and cabarets. A memorable example is Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1954), with the great Jean Gabin, where Nini, a laundress in 1900s Montmartre, becomes a star of the French cancan. More recently, the US box office smash, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001) puts the spotlight on Montmartre and its dancers once again. A star-studded cast led by Nicole Kidman, extravagant sets and costumes and a stunning soundtrack all make this love story between a poet and a cabaret star an international hit, which glorifies even further the Parisian legend.