So today I decided to dig into the history of can-can dancing after seeing this wild video from some French cabaret. Where did this crazy leg-kicking dance even come from? Just grabbed my laptop and started searching stuff.
First Steps Figuring Things Out
Started typing random questions like “can can dance why” and “who invented kicking dance.” Found out this thing started in Paris dance halls around 1830s. Workers and poor folks were doing it first – rich people actually banned it early on cause they thought those high kicks showing petticoats were too nasty!
Went down this rabbit hole reading old newspaper scans. The dancing got so popular police kept shutting down places. Found this hilarious quote from 1840s: “These females exhibit disgusting movements that should be confined to brothels.” Made me snort my coffee – people were totally freaking out about ankles showing.
Key Moments That Stuck Out
- The Moulin Rouge explosion – When that place opened in 1889, can-can became HUGE overnight. Posters everywhere with dancers flipping skirts
- La Goulue’s legs – This dancer became famous for kicking hats off dudes’ heads mid-performance. Legend says she once kicked three hats in one jump!
- Music connection – Never realized those fast violin tunes were made FOR can-can. Composers like Offenbach wrote songs specifically so dancers could do those crazy moves.
Spent like two hours watching grainy vintage footage from 1900s. These women were athletes for real – doing splits mid-air and bouncing off walls. Totally different from the costume shows today.
Weird Stuff Learned Along the Way
Kept stumbling on random facts: Original dancers wore way less frills. The fluffy underwear came later for theater effect. Also found court records where like 50 dancers got arrested together after one rowdy show. Judge called it “public indecency” but newspapers sold out reporting it!
My favorite find? That French novelist guy Toulouse-Lautrec painted dancers constantly cause he thought their energy captured the dirty truth of Paris nightlife. And now those paintings sell for millions! Funny how stuff works.
Honestly thought this would be quick research but fell deep into it. Kept clicking “one more article” until my phone died. Wild to think this dance started as rebellion and ended up in Disney movies. History’s weird like that.
