The Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge is certainly the most well known cabaret house in the world. Founded in 1889 and immortalized by Toulouse Lautrec’s paintings of its cancan dancers, the Moulin Rouge pioneered that unique brand of seedy chic which other establishments emulate from Vegas to Berlin.
We attended their latest show Féerie with a wild group of twenty (friends and family) all celebrating the nuptials of my step-sister Joely and her fiancé Mark. The raucous production was a mad splash of sequins, feathers, heels and headdresses which gives over-the-top a whole new meaning. The tongue-in-cheek humor and unapologetic cheese factor are essential parts of the show.
Acts ranged from high-kicking pirates raiding an Indonesian temple full of dancing girls to a Medusa-like priestess doing an aqua-ballet with live pythons to Siamese twins singing a duet about how they are inseparable. Two from our group even ended up on a stage in a hilarious juggling act. And of course, every Moulin Rouge show features the traditional cancan performance with the cheeky squeaks, squeals, and shrieks which made the original dancers so famous. This is history, people!
And since we’re on the topic of history, some might initially dismiss Moulin Rouge productions as just another Vegas-style show, but that would be a seriously flawed act of revisionism. Vegas is imitating the Moulin Rouge, not the other way around. This stage has hosted some serious legends, including: Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald, Maurice Chevalier, Liza Minnelli, Yves Montand, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John. The stage itself and the surrounding theater should be added to that list of legends.
Yes, the Moulin Rouge represents the best of the best in the cabaret world. (Remember we lived in Berlin, the cabaret capital, for years, so we know what we’re talking about.) The dancers, singers, and acrobats are the crème de la crème. Food and drinks by Maison Dalloyau, costumes and shoes by Maison Clairvoy – only the finest at the Moulin Rouge. And remember this is France not Vegas, those crystal encrusted boobs are all real.
More Info
For the latest info on Moulin Rouge productions or to book tickets for a show, check out the Moulin Rouge official website.
Fun! Just curious – are those your photos? Hard to shoot moving dancers, I should say ….
No. Actually, I’m glad you asked that because I should have mentioned that in the text. Photography is not allowed during the show because they don’t want flashes going off in the dancers’ and acrobats’ eyes. I wrote to the Moulin Rouge and asked for promotional images to use on the blog. They sent me a PR package.