Cancan

The cancan is a fast dance in French 2/4-cycle which was derived around the year 1830 in Paris from the popular quadrille.

Origins and history

The origin of the name is disputed. The most common and most plausible explanation is the derivation of " cancan ", the child's adjustment of the French word " canard " ( duck) - an allusion to the distinctive hip movement of the Can-Can dancers. According to another version, he is derived from the Old French word " caquehan " (Uproar ).

The cancan was initially a popular, " eccentric and sensational " ballroom dancing, which was danced mainly in the so-called café concerts. In the mid-19th century it was transformed into a stage show dance, which was only shown in variety shows, cabarets, music halls and revue theaters.

Because you could look under the skirts of the dancers in the typical high leg throws and Spagatsprüngen, the cancan was soon banned by the police, which in popularity but did no damage.

When they had dancers La Goulue addition also Grille d' egout and Nini Patte en l' air with its known partners Valentin le Désossé, Fil de Fer or Pomme d' Amour, the queens of the Cancan and Chahut. La Goulue was able to maintain for five years as a crowd favorite at the Moulin Rouge until she separated as an independent predator - lion tamer from the Moulin Rouge and Jane Avril became the new star of the cancan.

At the Moulin Rouge, designed posters for the Toulouse- Lautrec, a part of the Cancan still one of the attractions.

Jacques Offenbach and Hervé composed and used Cancans in their operettas.