The Moulin Rouge
On October 5, 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened as the "rendez-vous du high life" at the foot of Montmartre. At once its illuminated windmill vanes became a landmark, rotating above rooftops on the boulevard de Clichy.
The Moulin RougeOn October 5, 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened as the "rendez-vous du high life" at the foot of Montmartre. At once its illuminated windmill vanes became a landmark, rotating above rooftops on the boulevard de Clichy. |
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| A combined dance hall and cabaret, it housed a big dance floor, mirrored walls, and a fashionable gallery lit by round glass globes of gas lamps mounted throughout the interior. In the garden were an outdoor stage and an enormous wooden elephant, with interior stairs leading to a glass-enclosed howdah, tame monkeys, and donkeys that ladies would ride after removing their stockings. As Lautrec's poster proclaims, masked balls were featured on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The music was a brassy accompaniment to various new forms of the risqué can can which shocked some visitors. Professional dancers appeared on the floor, described in the 1898 Guide des Plaisirs à Paris as "a host of young girls who are there to demonstrate the heavenly Parisian Chahut dance as its traditional reputation demands...with a physical elasticity as they do the splits, which promises just as much flexibility in their morals." Now and then, a representative from the police morals squad had to be on the watch to be sure the chahuteuses (can can dancers) were wearing underwear. The most famous of the nightclub's dancers were Jane Avril and La Goulue. |
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