Le Moulin Rouge!!!
May 8th 2006 23:00
Bonjour Tout le monde!
(Hello everyone!)
“The French…are glad to….die…for love.” (Cue the trombones…)
Well, I don’t actually know how true that is, but that is the first line uttered by Satine (aka ‘our’ Nicole Kidman) in the musical spectacular Moulin Rouge!, released in 2001.
Being a dancer and a true musical lover at heart (I probably shouldn’t have admitted that…oh well. Too late now!), I love this film. The dance scenes are fantastic and the story gets you so involved that I bawl my eyes out every time.
Today’s post though, is about the real life Red Windmill or as it is more famously known Le Moulin Rouge. Built in 1888, it was one of the first cabarets developed in this era. In 1889, France was in a period of transition: they were between two wars, about to enter the 1900s and the atmosphere favoured artistic creativity and broke away from the strict classicism of the era.
The Cancan was actually inspired by a dance called the Quadrille, invented by Céleste Mogador in 1850. The French Cancan was ironically enough invented in London by Charles Morton. The word “Cancan” was used to refer to the noisy characteristic of the dance. While the British were disgusted by the dance, the French loved it!!
There is so much history surrounding Le Moulin Rouge, it would be impossible to write it all here. If you’re interested in the history including lewd stories about the sordid life of early music hall, you can go to: www.moulinrouge.fr/home-flash-gb.html then click on the history link.
Now, back to the modern day…When in Paris, I suggest you go to a cabaret show. It is a veritable French tradition. There are heaps of websites out there that can tell you about prices and other useful tips on the Moulin Rouge. There are also heaps of sites which offer to book tickets for you. I went www.frenchtravel.com.au which had general information about shows to go to. There is another place called Lido de Paris, whose cabaret shows are cheaper than Le Moulin Rouge, but it depends on your budget and your desire to see a show at the Moulin Rouge. There are 3 different packages to choose from when buying tickets. The prices below are in Australian dollars (AUD). [Prices are for one person and apparently includes half a bottle of champagne.]
The dinner dance show starts at 7pm and costs $286
The First show only starts at 9pm and costs $210
The Second show starts at 11pm and costs $170.
These prices were found at www.frenchtravel.com.au. For other information go to the Official Moulin Rouge website (the first link in the post).
The show on at the moment is called “Féerie” and apparently has lots of sequins, glamour and the return of a giant aquarium…(do I want to know what that means???)
Le Moulin Rouge (from frenchtravel.com.au)
Ok. Have a great day guys.
Any comments feel free to post something = )
A demain (see you tomorrow!!)
Melinda
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by liz
dances are sparkly. girls are topless. acrobatics are impressive.
songs are lipsync-ed.
about that aquarium - it's a huge tank, on stage ( 200 cool points!), with 2 MASSIVE pythons (?) swimming inside. a barely clothed girl dives in and dances around in there. i think the tank was even covered so she couldn't get back out till the end. very, very cool.
Comment by Melinda
Travel France
Hey all!!!
Sorry that those links aren't working!! I'm not great with computers. I'm pretty sure I've done everything right. Try copying the links into your navigational bar. I'll try better next time
Hey liz. Thanks for the comment. It's great to have someone who has been there, post a comment. That's incredibly freaky with the two pythons. I'd never do that in a million years!!!
I agree with you though. Once is enough, but once is a must!
See you
Melinda
Comment by Anonymous