We are in Belle Époque, France, a moment of rest between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, where social barriers disappear, where industrial progress gives everyone hope to live better, in a very rich cultural abundance with a lot of fun.
In terms of architecture, Gustave Eiffel, a true iron architectural genius, begins his craziest work: a 300-meter-high tower that can be admired from anywhere in Paris. At the same time, apart from the architectural marvel of the Eiffel, we also have the marvel of cinema.
On December 28, 1895, in the Indian lounge of the Grand Café, the 23 guests of the Lumière Brothers will attend an extraordinary performance. On a small screen, the photo that is just projected suddenly comes to life ... Strollers, horses, passers-by ... the whole life of a street on one screen. Georges Mélies will create more than 500 films full of fantasy and poetry, including the remarkable "Voyage dans la lune" (1902).
At the heart of this bustle, Montmartre is an iconic place. The marginalized, the artists, and the saltimb
anque are frequenting more and more the cabaret and cafes, while the bourgeois, aristocrats, and semi-socialists, who are attracted by the pleasures of the night, are also transferring their habits there. Café-concerts became the true symbol of this social and cultural melting-pot. Workers, artists, middle-classes, and aristocrats gathered at the same table in a joyful atmosphere of feast and frivolity and listen to the anti-conformist songs of Aristide Bruand. The songs of the prostitute, the unemployed, and an entire "little people" who until now were despised by society.
Literary circles such as the Hydropathes or the Incohérents are established there. Painters find their inspiration there. Among them, Toulouse-Latrerek, a cabaret faithful, will immortalize these colourful baroque scenes in works that are acrobatics between frantic entertainment and the tragic lives of poor people.
Popular culture comes to the fore in a joyful turmoil full of joy and vitality. In this context that favours artistic creation, literary circles are formed, while painters and illustrators are particularly inspired by this extravagant and fantasy atmosphere, breaking the classicism that was the status quo until then.
Japonisme is the Eastern-inspired art movement that uses the influences of the Japanese style in French art. At that time this current is at its peak with Toulouse-Lautrec being his most brilliant student. The decor is suitable for the appearance of the first cabaret, including the Moulin Rouge, which first opened its doors in 1889, near Montmartre, Paris, by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler.
On October 6, 1889, at the foot of Butte Montmartre, the atmosphere was festive: the opening of a new Moulin Rouge Music Centre did not go unnoticed. From Place Blanche, the public comes to discover this place with the giant dance floor, mirrors everywhere, a garden decorated with an elephant. A crazy atmosphere where the show takes place both on stage and in the hall: aristocrats and thugs in happy complicity, the nobles of the beautiful neighbourhoods and the "little ones" of Paris have fun together, in utter euphoria, in the "First Palace of Women".
Moulin Rouge dances quickly became very popular, especially in a new dance, Cancan.
Cancan dancers are described as "an army of young girls who are there to dance this divine Parisian hullabaloo the way its fame demands it ...". Among these new leading figures of Parisian life, some, such as the famous La Goulue immortalized by Toulouse-Lautrec, will be passed on to future generations through art.
One of them is Jane Avril (Jeanne la Folle), who was hospitalized for mental illness as a teenager. Avril was ridiculed by some as the crazy dancer, whose legs swirled around the stage, while her face remained a mask of misery. In the portraits and posters of Toulouse-Lautrec, although she is intensely lonely, she mysteriously transforms into a glowing creature. The power of the realist Toulouse-Lautrec is that the more miserable, aching (like himself) and glamorous a place or person is, the sexier they are.
Toulouse-Lautrec was the great witness of this wonderful period. Among his works, seventeen are directly inspired by the Moulin Rouge, and many are famous around the world. Undoubtedly, Toulouse-Lautrec would not have become who he was without Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, and the other girls. On the other hand, what would this music scene be like today without the talented painter?
Cancan was followed by a new dance, the Quadrille: eight breath-taking minutes in perfect harmony with Offenbach as the undisputed master of music.
An intense rhythm, balance, flexibility, on the verge of acrobatics, and the Quadrille girls in their awesome costume turned the heads of the high society of Paris.
After 10 years of frantic cancan, the times changed and the French cancan and Quadrille were no longer in vogue. The Moulin Rouge became a concert theatre under the direction of M. Paul-Louis Flers, a well-known director in Paris who wanted to turn the Moulin Rouge into a more appropriate place. It remained under its management for just… 9 months.
By the beginning of World War I, the Moulin Rouge had become a veritable temple dedicated to operetta.
There, again, Offenbach's music accompanied successive performances with lightness, satisfaction, and joy, the audience was present to dream, to laugh, to cry, and to feel.
After World War I, Francis Salabert and Pierre Fouquet with Jacques-Charles - the No. 1 director of the time - began creating the revue "New York-Montmartre". "Broadway-style" had a big impact when it entered the Parisian scene and made a real revolution.
Meanwhile, the French Cancan, which had regained its prestige, turned the audience's head in the ballroom on the lower ground floor of the Moulin Rouge. Gesmar, just 20 years old, became a master in clothing manufacturing. His designs and costumes remained associated with the image of the Moulin Rouge.
The 7th Art, the Cinema, flooded the "Great Revues" and the ballroom became a state-of-the-art nightclub. However, the Moulin Rouge still had some great moments: the famous Cotton Club, which was a big hit in New York, the nights with Ray Ventura and his "Collégiens". Some memorable moments before the dark years to come. From 1939 to 1945, Paris did not have much fun under the German boot.
The only ray of sunshine, a few days before the Liberation of Paris, was Edith Piaf, whose talent became known on the Moulin Rouge stage.
It was six years after World War II before Moulin Rouge regained its former grandeur.
On the 22nd of June 1951, Georges France, alias Jo France, the founder of Balajo, bought the Bal du Moulin Rouge and set about renovating it in order to allow the famous establishment to hold again the most wonderful nights in Paris, and regain its splendour of long-ago. Dance parties, entertainment, and receptions for charity are back.
People from all over the world came to see the Moulin Rouge, as one of the great monuments of the most beautiful capital in the world.
In 1962, Jacki Clérico, son of Joseph Clercio, took over as head of the world's most famous cabaret. The Moulin Rouge had taken back its legendary position.
The sanctuary of Place Blanche, famous for its long history, came back once again with flair. Two years after his arrival at the Moulin Rouge, Jacki Clérico embarked on a new adventure: the construction of a giant aquarium where nude dancers moved about like delightful mermaids in front of dumfounded spectators.
Crowned heads, international bigwigs, stars of show biz… all of this high society met up on Place Blanche on the 12th February 1988, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this venerable institution dedicated to feast and pleasure.
The Moulin Rouge continues to this day to be a must-visit for Paris tourists.
Imaginarium Magazine Issue 7 June 2021
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