Red Light District (French Passion and Night Culture)

Author: Xie Qiang, Li Ping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Although (can-can dance) and the Moulin Rouge are not as prestigious as musicals and Broadway, their popularity is no less remarkable. Originating in France, the can-can dance was originally an entertainment form for working-class women such as laundresses and seamstresses, who danced while singing. In the 1830s, the can-can dance began to gain popularity at various balls in the Montmartre district, and by the 1950s, it had spread to cabarets. The can-can dance is characterized by its "skirt-flipping and leg-kicking," embodying a lively and exuberant spirit. The rise of the can-can dance is closely tied to the famous cabaret, the Moulin Rouge. This place not only gave birth to generations of burlesque stars but also nurtured renowned painters such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, talented stage designers like Joseph Grimaldi, and inspired Colette, a legendary figure who rose from a dance star to become an outstanding writer and the president of the French Goncourt Academy. From the silent film "From Woman to Woman" made in the early 20th century to the 2001 Hollywood film "Moulin Rouge!," the screen charisma of the can-can dance and the Moulin Rouge has endured for a century. The can-can dance and the Moulin Rouge not only represent a form of (song and dance culture) and an (visual culture) but also embody a way of life. As the saying goes, "The grand cabaret of the Moulin Rouge is always wonderful, and the life of Paris is always joyful." If someone were to write a history of the world's entertainment culture, the Moulin Rouge and the can-can dance in Paris would certainly be immortalized. The Moulin Rouge is not only a symbol of Parisian nightlife and cabarets but has also always been a venue for cultural exchanges between nations, as well as a trendsetter for the global entertainment industry.
——Book authors
French can-can dance has arrived! Life is so beautiful!
——Renowned painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
The can-can dance is the embodiment of Parisian fantasy. It defies all rules. The soul of a can-can dancer should be as extraordinary as her legs—she must be both joyful and melancholic, both indifferent and passionate. In short, she must (dance the can-can wildly)—that is, the madness of the legs.
——Famous can-can dancer Rigolboche