Art with Eroticism at the Moulin Rouge, Paris

If you’re a traveller at heart then like all fellow travellers you would surely have a check list of all the attractions in the world that you aspire to visit in your lifetime. My travel list had Paris on the top and rightly so, as a trip to the city can leave you yearning for more. The allure of Paris is hard to miss, the colourful graffiti in metro stations, chic shopping arcades, the intriguing cuisine that gradually grows on you, the vibrant corridors of Champs-Elysees, the sea of tourists that throng the city’s streets, the beautifully adorned facades on very old buildings that complement the new modern ones, old historical castles, French wine, gorgeous French women and Moulin Rouge, the famous cabaret in Paris.

Cabaret shows come with a baggage, a certain kind of disdain for the art that is accompanied by hordes of bosom revealing women dancing and prancing around for the pleasure of the guests. But Moulin Rouge is much more than that. Its art in its lucid form with a dash of titillation and loads of mass appeal.

Any apprehension that I initially had about going for the show was put to rest the moment I saw a long serpentine queue in front of the big red windmill at the famous Boulevard de Clichy. 

This famous landmark synonymous with Moulin Rouge beckons visitors from around the world, you can spot it from a distance. Guests, both men and women are expected to arrive dressed in formal attire for the show. No shorts or flip flops for anyone. The queues are long and entry into the main hall can take its fair share of time. So, arriving early to settle down well before the show begins is a good idea. Once inside, your attention will easily be drawn to the décor that has an old-world charm about it. I can see it has been redone from its old 1920 days to accommodate the lighting and all the trappings of this new-age technology that come with it.  

The hall is huge and my eyes inadvertently try to seek out the stage. I am thrilled to see that our seats are well located in the second but front row, so we won’t have to crane our necks over fellow audiences to see the stage. Seating is not theatre like, it is around tables laid out for guests who wish to opt for dinner or champagne alongside the show the cost for which is included in the ticket. As far as we are concerned, dinner can be a distraction and can take away the focus from the show. We restrict ourselves to a glass of champagne that is quickly served the moment we settle into our seats.

And finally, the show begins. Dancers in elaborate costumes with colourful plumes and intriguing head gears start pouring onto the stage. The accompanying music and the dancers grooving to the famous French Can-Can dance is exhilarating. The dance is very high on energy and the lively dancers’ skirts swirl across the stage in sweeping movements that leave the audience in raptures. Their steps are synchronized to the very last detail and make quite an impact. The riot of color, lights, music on stage with almost four dozen beautiful topless women is sure to make your jaw drop!

The performance follows a plot throughout the show which can be difficult to comprehend because of lack of a narrator, so it’s a good idea to just sit back and soak in the exuberance and immense talent of the dancers. In addition to the main dance sequence are the specialty shows that add to the zest of the evening. There are short performance pieces intermittently in the main dance which I found very interesting. There is a circus show with a clown and the usual buffoonery followed by another short comical interlude. There is an acrobat on roller skates where the performer was extremely agile and graceful. The one performance that really stood out for me both in terms of grace and novelty was the ‘Water tank Spectacle’, as I choose to call it here.

Out of nowhere a huge water tank appeared from the middle of the stage. As if this was not enough to perplex the audience, a gigantic snake boa constrictor appeared in it. I was waiting with bated breath as to what was going to come next. A pretty dancer wearing nothing more than a thong jumped into it. The brazen boldness of her jump let out a collective sigh from the audience. I am sure the ones sitting right in front would have winced in their seats. Catching the boa in her hands, the girl started playing with the huge snake, sliding it over her body in a rhythmic motion, whirling around with it in the water and making sensuous movements completely in sync with the music being played in the background. The sheer prowess she displayed in the water is befitting of only one word ‘Spectacular’.

The one thing that that stood out for me in this gala evening of dance and music was the extremely talented troupe of performers and colourful palette of costumes that bring the stage to life.

A visit to the Moulin Rouge can be a journey into the turbulent yet colorful past of erstwhile Paris and vindicate its position as the world’s most romantic destination.