In 1889, Parisian entertainment entrepreneurs Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller opened the Moulin Rouge in the Paris district of Pigalle, on Boulevard de Clichy. Set in a run-down dance hall, the theatre was to become the world’s most famous cabaret destination, where girls of little virtue entertained the masses and mixed with the aristocrats of Paris. Established at the height of the Belle Époque, it is the spiritual birthplace of the can-can dance; the inspiration for many of Toulouse-Lautrec’s greatest paintings; and where many a stage star was born.

The bright red windmill atop the Moulin Rouge theatre is hard to miss and, even without the relatively modern addition of neon lights, the theatre stood out like a sore thumb in 1880s Paris. The aim was to allow the very rich to come and slum it in the fashionable Montmartre district, which offered everything from whorehouses and music halls to artists painting at local cafés.

The extravagant setting of the Moulin Rouge, which featured a garden adorned with a gigantic elephant (surreptitiously acquired after the World’s Fair in 1900), allowed people from all walks of life to mix. Workers, artists, the middle class, businessmen, elegant women and foreigners passing through Paris rubbed shoulders in what would be nicknamed ‘The First Palace of Women’. And on a stage housed in the elephant’s stomach, dancers would perform sensual belly dances for a male-only audience smoking opium. With all the opulence and scandal surrounding what at the time was a glorified house of striptease, the cabaret quickly became a great success.

Birth of the can-can
Oller and Zidler took a gamble in buying the old ‘La Reine Blanche’ dance hall with its crumbling façade and seedy reputation. Their new venture rivalled Paris’ then leading dance hall, the Élysée Montmartre, which had cornered the market with wild and risqué dances that drew the crowds. Naturally, the Moulin Rouge founders poached the top dancer from the Élysée Montmartre.

Louise Weber, known as ‘La Goulue’ (The Glutton) due to her love of alcohol, was the wildest, most outrageous and daring dancer in Paris, and a huge favourite with crowds despite her fiercely provocative dancing style. She would swirl past tables, snatching patrons’ drinks and knocking their hats off with her high-kicks. She quickly became the main attraction at the Moulin Rouge, developing the can-can moves out of wild quadrilles of women, whirling their skirts around in a dizzying high-energy dance display. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans working at the theatre, the can-can revue evolved into its own form of entertainment and was introduced to cabarets across Europe. Toulouse-Lautrec was a nightly visitor to the venue and many of his most famous images of Parisian nightlife were drawn on nights out at the Moulin Rouge. Louise Weber, her very limber dance partner Valentin and their successor, Jane Avril, all feature in his paintings and posters from this time.

Vices and controversies
However, despite approval from major artists and the intrigued male crowds that gathered in the Moulin Rouge every night, the venue also continued to provoke and challenge the social standards present in the late 1800s. The semi-nude dancing performed in the can-can revues sometimes gave way to other provocative shows, such as the Dream of Egypt, put on by the writer Colette and her girlfriend, Duchess Mathilde de Morny (or ‘Missy’, as she was known).

Colette dressed herself as an Egyptian mummy and had Missy, dressed as a male archaeologist, unwrap her. Their final scene ended with a kiss – which did not go unnoticed. The audience – made up mostly of Mathilde’s aristocratic brother and a mob of his friends – were so outraged by the spectacle that they rushed the stage, forcing the performers to lock themselves in the box office until the police arrived.

The use of opium and absinthe by the red-lit theatre’s celebrity patrons also contributed to its popularity, and, at the same time, unpopularity with large parts of the Parisian public. Rumours of the Moulin Rouge being nothing but a glorified brothel only made the controversy worse.

Despite what Hollywood depictions of the Moulin Rouge might claim, the female performers did not have to sell their bodies to make a living. The courtesans, as women purchased to accommodate aristocratic males of the time often were called, simply had to make conversation, entertain men, and be the life and soul of the party. They were very skilled at the art of seduction, could hold lengthy intelligent conversations and often formed long-lasting relationships with the European elite. Many of the female dancers were considered celebrities and were hounded by the press.

Celebrity performers
The stage of the Moulin Rouge offered an opportunity to the most talented dancers in Paris and immortalised dancers such as ‘Jeanne la Folle’, ‘La Môme Fromage’, ‘Grille d’Egout’, ‘Nini Pattes-en-l’Air’ and ‘La Cascadeuse’. Amid these women, only one man – ‘Le Désossé’ – danced on stage and only one woman would become synonymous with the hugely popular revues given at the theatre.

‘Mistinguett’, an incredibly talented young beginner, took to the stage in 1907 with some of the most elaborate can-can demonstrations ever seen. Known for her cheeky demeanour and engagement with the crowds, Mistinguett put on revues, operetta shows and Parisian cabarets, quickly becoming the queen of music halls – a title she would have to relinquish for a short period of time, when the theatre almost burnt to the ground in February 1915.

After World War I, Francis Salabert took over control of the old theatre and rebuilt the grand ballroom and original revue scene. More of a businessman than a showman, Salabert looked to overhaul the Parisian revue and set up a show with American dancing girls. After much discussion, he succeeded in convincing Gertrude Hoffmann, then-director of the Hoffmann ballet, to join him, and together they created the revue New York – Montmartre.

What became known as the ‘Broadway style’ revolutionised the Parisian dancing scene and was the beginning of a stormy, yet profitable relationship between Mistinguett and revue-director Jacques-Charles. Their passionate relations off- and on-stage gave birth to legendary cabarets such as the Revue Mistinguett in 1925 and the famous Ça c’est Paris in 1926, until both retired in 1929.

Losing and regaining grandeur
After the departure of Mistinguett and Jacques-Charles, the revues and grandeur of the Moulin Rouge were greatly overshadowed by cinema, which was drawing crowds away from the classic music halls. The grand old ballroom was closed and an ultra-modern nightclub opened to somewhat mixed reviews.

The main stage at the theatre did, however, experience highlights both before and after World War II, including performances by Edith Piaf and a run of the hugely popular American jazz-concept and underground dance house, the Cotton Club.

In the 1950s, the theatre was made over once again as a kitchen was fitted in the grand old lady of Montmartre. The so-called ‘dinner-show’ of the Moulin Rouge became the most sought-after Parisian attractions and drew in tourists and celebrities from around the world. Among them was Elvis Presley, who never came to Paris without visiting the Moulin Rouge – reportedly because he had a crush on a French can-can dancer. The famous quadrille was still as popular as ever, almost 80 years after La Goulue immortalised its high-kicking moves.

In 1962, Jacki Clérico, took over as head of the cabaret and returned it to its original flair. He constructed a giant aquarium in the old theatre in which nude dancers contorted themselves like beautiful mermaids in front of a room of captivated spectators. His first revue, Frou Frou, was so successful that every show put on since has had a name beginning with an F in order to keep with Clérico’s superstition that this would bring luck. Frisson, Fascination, Fantastic and Frénésie succeeded until the unforgettable Formidable was put on to mark the theatre’s centenary. Royals, pop stars and international bigwigs gathered on Place Blanche in 1988, to celebrate the anniversary.

The Moulin Rouge’s popularity has since declined and it experienced periods of severe financial downturn as visitor numbers and interest in the old Parisian institution waned. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction marketed for the entire family, but still offers musical dance entertainment by scantily clad women. The can-can features as one of the main parts of the Feerie show, which has been running since 1999 and includes scenes in the aquarium and a huge mystical garden. Surprisingly, modern-day glitz and glamour hasn’t taken away from the club’s history, with much of the indoor decor having kept its original state and style, although the furnishings and stage outfits are considerably more modern.

It is clear that the days of scandal, drugs and debauchery at the Moulin Rouge are over. A premier tourist attraction, the theatre is a Parisian staple in a somewhat rejuvenated Montmartre. It has left much of its artistic and raunchy history behind for a more high-end and modern clientele. All that really remains of the original Moulin Rouge is the red windmill on top of the theatre and the classic can-can moves unleashed on stage every night.