| CIVILIZATION, HISTORY, ART By Maximillien de Lafayette |
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Like
today's film stars and super-models, they were also coltishly observed by
press and public. But if the Moulin Rouge quickly established its reputation
as the most exotic sex market in Paris, it also represented a kind of
cultural and social revolution. Think of it as a can-can-besotted version of
Steve Rubell's disco-crazed Studio 54 crossed with Bangkok's sex market
meets Mardi Gras' carnival. The Bohemian's anti-establishment mores thrived
in Montmartre, whose Butte district was honeycombed with the studios of
struggling, long-haired poets, painters, sculptors, musicians and
students.
Photo,
below: The famous and delightfully infamous, Mome Fromage.
Shunning
the bourgeois world of their parents generation, the Bohemians plunged into
cafe society, leftist ideologies and a drug and alcohol culture that many -
notably the legendary poet Rimbaud and his lover Verlaine - saw as the
gateway to artistic inspiration and transcendence. With characteristically
anarchistic verve, Bohemian artists broke with the ultra conservative
Academies and took art to the streets with their posters, overnight
magazines, satiric cabarets, costume balls and the democratized theatre of
the cafe-concerts. Painters began to observe the demimonde - the
streetwalkers, beggars, drunks and petty crimps they cohabited amongst -
with a frankness and an observational wit that challenged establishment
mores.
Artist
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, reluctant scion of one of France's oldest
aristocratic houses, became one of the most notorious Bohemians of fin de
siecle Montmartre.
Le Petomane...
At
4'11" - a genetic bone condition had
stunted
his growth, Lautrec immortalized the inhabitants of bar, brothel and dance
hall in his paintings, prints and posters with a stylishly simplified
perspective that is now credited as one of the earliest forms of visual
Modernism. Lautrec, whom a contemporary described as 'a queer top-heavy
little man, swaying on his stunted legs like a ship at sea,' was a favorite
at the Moulin Rouge with management and dancers alike. Armed with his
legendary wit and drafting skills, and a fashionably fatal alcoholic habit,
the diminutive Frenchman partied and observed the world from his regular
table, often till dawn.
THE NEW LOOKS OF FRENCH CABARETS…
THE CHARM AND THE CACHE ARE
GONE. OF COURSE, THEY BLAME THE AMERICANS FOR IT!!
Photo: Le Moulin Rouge today’s Dancing Girl. She can be a Can Can dancer or any kind of dancer. Time has changed, so did the old and traditional image and role of the first Moulin Rouge’s Can Can Dancer like La Goulue and Jeanne Avril.
Photo,
left: The interiors and décor of a contemporary French Cabaret. The new look
(s) of the majority of today’s French Cabarets in France. Nothing like the
good old times of “Vieux Paris” and Montmartre. They look like a fancy
boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California or any Gucci, Cartier
or Versace store in a cosmopolitan city across the world. And of course,
they blame the Americans for it. Yah Right! Photos are courtesy of “Les
Folies de Paris” a state of the art ultra modern French Cabaret.
Photo,
right/below: Modern Cabaret Dancer at the ultra modern “Les Folies Bergeres”,
Paris, France
Almost
every aspect of the old and traditional Parisian Cabarets has changed. The
narrative style of their attractions has changed…the menu of food and drinks
had changed…the faces of the waiters, managers and personnel have
changed…the looks of the dancing girls have changed…the role of the dancing
girls and actresses has changed…the make-up of the performers and singers
has changed…the style and character of the dancing girls, acrobats and
magicians have changed…even the outfits, skirts and jupons of the dancing
girls have changed…even what you hear in those places have changed;
before, it was the poetry and prose of Parisian poets and artists, now you
hear: “Yes, Yes, we take Dollars.”, or “But of course, sir, you can pay in
Dollars…we love the United States”. Give me a break!
Zut alors! Sacre Bleu !!
Nowadays,
it is glamour, flashy lights, neon, electronic boom boom and laser beams
spotting the performers, and nothing anymore chocks
the
Parisian society, except good American folks and young adults at those fancy
Parisian cabarets, wearing blue jeans, T shirts and asking the waiter to
bring them ketch up for their $50.00 Filet Mignon or Steak Tartare! But,
they are not chocked to take their Dollars!!
Photo: The
ultra modern and chic Cabaret “Les Folies de Paris”
The New Looks and Decor of The Modern Parisian Cabarets
This
is how approximately, the current Le Moulin Rouge management describes its
programs and depicts its dancers. “In the flashing mass of petticoats that
hail the approach of ‘Zidler’s Diamond Dogs’, the Moulin Rouge can-can
dancers, four of the wildest and funkiest always high kick to the front. The
multi-talented, taunting and seductive Four Whores of The Apocalypse can
always be relied upon to have the audience crazy with lust, quivering with
delight, doubled over with laughter and, most importantly, spending up big
at the Moulin Rouge.”
Nini-Legs-in-the-Air
(Caroline O’Connor)
Mome
Fromage (Lara Mulcahy)
China
Doll (Natalie Mendoza)
Arabia
(Christine Anu)
Photo: China
Doll, Nini and Mome
ARABIA AND CHINA
DOLL ARABIA, NINI, ZILDER, CHINA AND MOME
The New Looks and Decor of Modern Parisian Cabarets
The
Performers
They
sing, they dance, they juggle, they conjure, contort and clown. They are the
performers of the Moulin Rouge. Outlandish, outrageous and completely out of
control, the Moulin’s troupe of dazzling performers kept audiences gasping
and reeling. From the gravity defying circus acrobatics of the Tabasco
Brothers to the incredible Le Petomane, a man who could ‘sing’ tunes through
his rear end! So amazing was Le Petomane that he became the highest paid
performer at the Moulin Rouge. Along with the Can-Can dancers the
entertainers of the Moulin Rouge made it undoubtedly the wildest nightclub
of the century.
LA KO KACHAU
Let’s go
now to the magnificent « Les Folies Bergeres » in Paris…
Next…Au suivant!
The Lobby of "Les Folies Bergere" in Paris, France
THE ESSENCE OF THE MODERN PARISIAN CABARET
Style...Class... Refinement...Magic...Glamour
THE FIRST « FOLLIES » AND PERFORMANCES HALL OF THE CABARET
Photo,
let: Poster of Josephine Baker, an
American Cabaret singer-dancer originally from Mississippi. She was the
super star of "Les Follies Bergere" and later on, the "Casino de Paris".
The
new Parisian Cabaret sensational creation was « Les Nouvelles Follies »
inaugurated on September 13, 1872, in Paris, France. Many thought this
innovation was an innovative replica of the Alhambra of London. In fact, the
French did surpass the English in the imposing variety and quality of their
dance spectacle. The French incorporated for the first time in the
entertainment and showbiz history, an astonishing number of operettas, “intermèdes”,
acrobatics, pantomimes, chansons recitals, ballet and free form figures
under the vigilant control of Olivier Métra. In addition, the French allowed
the public to mingle with the artists, performers, dancers and singers, thus
creating a very welcoming and warm rapport with the stars. The impressive
French gathering of artists and display of their talents took place in a
fantastic hall decorated with plants, trees, fountains, cascades and
waterfalls. The hall was transformed into Babylonian hanging gardens. A pure
magic.
The
English lacked this “humanistic” touch
and natural warmth. By the way, “Les Nouvelles Folies” mean the new follies,
more correctly the new delightful madness. In reality, they were not follies
or madness at all, on the contrary, the décor which was influenced by mother
nature adhered to the French show a “down to earth” feeling and atmosphere.
The French are sentimental and nostalgic. Their intention and desire were to
revive the memory, the charm, the mystic, the romance and the flair of “Les
Annees Folles” (Mad Years) of yesteryears, the early years of French Can Can
and the erotic charm of the cozy Cabarets of Montmartre. This is exactly,
why they used the term “Folies”.
They
had something to build upon, a past tradition and a nostalgia. And they used
it par excellence. The English did not. For, they had no track record
in this “sort of things” to build upon. Thus, décor inspired by nature,
French chansons at their best, stunning French women dancers, opulent hall,
fountains, enchanted and mesmerized public and “easy women” referred to in
French as “ Dames de petite vertu” created a hallucinating and metaphoric
ambiance.
The
celebrated author Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote in his “Croquis Parisiens” in
1880:"Le jardin, avec ses galeries du
haut, ses arcades découpées en de grossières guipures de bois, avec ses
losanges pleins, ses trèfles évidés, teints d'ocre rouge et or, son plafond
d'étoffe à pompons et à glands, rayé de grenat et de bis, ses fausses
fontaines Louvois, avec trois femmes adossées entre deux énormes soucoupes
de simili bronze plantées au milieu de touffes vertes, ses allées tapissées
de tables, de divans de jonc, de chaises et de comptoirs tenus par des
femmes amplement grimées, ressemble tout à la fois au bouillon de la rue
Montesquieu et à un bazar Algérien ou turc Alhambra-Poret, Duval-Mauresque,
avec une vague senteur en plus de ces estaminets-salons ouverts dans
l'ancienne banlieue et ornés d'orientales colonnades et de glaces, ce
théâtre, avec sa salle de spectacle dont le rouge flétri et l'or crasse
jurent auprès du luxe tout battant neuf du faux jardin, est le seul endroit
de Paris qui pue aussi délicieusement le maquillage des tendresses payées et
les abois des corruptions qui se lassent."
A
SELECTION OF FOLIES BERGERES EARLY POSTERS (AFFICHES)
From the Archives of the Cabaret
Around
1880, Sari, the genius behind the decor, the set and the concept of « Les
Follies » decided to transform the Cabaret into a grandiose Concert Hall.
The new program was given a new name “Le Concert de Paris” (The Concert of
Paris) and placed under the patronage of illustrious personalities such as
Massenet, Gounot, Saint-Saèns, Joncherais, Delibes and Guiraud. The grand
opening was scheduled for April 28, 1881.
It
did not work! It was an absolute fiasco!
A catastrophe. The public did not like
the new concept. A grand concert did not
appeal to them. The public preferred the sensual and erotic
dancing-singing-mambo-jumbo formula. One month later, “Les Follies” returned
to the original formula, to the classic formula: Plain Cabaret! But, it was
too late, the Cabaret went bankrupt! The décor and the concert expenses
ruined the owners of the Cabaret.
“Les
Follies” was auctioned on August 31, 1886 and was sold for almost nothing:
$252.000 francs!
The
old saying of the French intellectuals “Le Peuple C’est La Voix de L’ane”
(The public or people is the voice of the donkey) meaning: “the populace,
the public, the people is stupid and idiot.” seems to resonate in the social
and bourgeois circles of the Parisian society. Mr. And Mrs. Allemand who
were in the orange juice business bought the place. They knew nothing about
Cabaret. Some shrewd restauranteurs believed that the Allemands bought “Les
Follies” as an investment. Cynics and competitors claim that the Allemands
bought the Cabaret just to show off. In my opinion, both claims are correct.
Photo:
Poster of “Les Folies Bergere” with a very particular announcement “New Show
Every Night”.
Those Allemands
were lucky despite their lack of experience in the Cabaret business, for a
gentleman by the name of Edouard Marchand came to the rescue. Marchand had
an extensive experience in Cabaret, shows, music and attractions. The
Allemands asked him to take care of the business. First, he married their
niece to make sure that they will not kick him out, once the business is
rolling. Secondly, he began on developing a new concept. A new version of
the old French Cabaret. He was an alert visionary and could predict what the
future of Cabaret was going to be. And this is what he did. He invented and
produced new shows and attractions never seen before in Paris. Marchand
created and offered a show with an original tribal Zulu dancing troop from
Africa, a woman snakes charmer dancer called Nala Damajenti, an Australian
“Kangouru boxer”, heavy weight Turkish wrestlers from Istanbul, Tom Cannon
the American giant wrestler and necks breaker, the American gun shooter Ira
Paine, Mr. Hercules, known also as the Iron man and Jack the Iron (Jack de
Fer), Samson, the breaker of chains, the brothers Isola, famous
illusionists, Captain Costenténus, another character who had 320 tattoos and
animal figures all over his body, the acrobats Scheffers, Cinquévalli, the
king of the jugglers, the dwarf Little Titch from somewhere in England,
Griffiths the clowns, etc…you name it.
Marchand went on
and on with his creative thinking. In 1890, he brought to France, the
stunning Barrison Sisters who took Paris by storm, and the future super
stars of the Follies and the toast of Paris: Cavaliéri, Tortojada, Liane de
Pougy, Caroline Otéro and Emilienne d'Alençon.
Among the great stars and celebrities who performed at “Les Follies” were: Yvonne Printemps, Jacques Charles, Mistinguett, Maurice Chevalier, Claudius, Louis Maurel, Raimu, Dorville, Yves Montand, Valerie Lemercier, Jean Gabin, Tramel, Morton, Fernandel, Charles Aumont, Dalida, Loie Fuller, Reine Paulet, Viviane Gosset, Claudette Fleuriot, Liane de Pougy, Charles Trenet, Reine Paulet, Josephine Baker, Dalida, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Zizi Jeanmaire, Nadine Tallier and Benny Hill.
POSTERS OF
STARS WHO PERFORMED AT “LES FOLLIES”
Emilienne d’Alencon Costentenus Loie Fuller
The American Influence On Modern French Cabarets
Photo: Facade of the building housing the « Crazy Horse Saloon », in Paris, France.
To talk of Alain Bernardin’s ART OF THE NUDE is to speak of a radical innovation in artistic expression. The Crazy Horse style was not born in one day, but is the result of a growth and development which can be broken down into three phases.
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Photos,
above: Show slides from the nudity show “L’Art Du Nu” at the “Crazy Horse
Saloon” in Paris, France.
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