The blades of the Moulin Rouge, Paris's most famous cabaret, are turning again.
Fourteen months after its accidental fall, the blades of the Moulin Rouge will turn again this Thursday night , resuming a tradition of more than 135 years in one of the great tourist symbols of Paris .
With a diameter of more than twelve meters, these purely decorative blades will be put back into motion today at 10:45 p.m. Paris time (5:45 p.m. Argentina time) thanks to a completely new electric motor custom-made for the famous Parisian cabaret.
To mark the occasion, the Moulin Rouge troupe will perform in front of the establishment , with a profusion of fluttering red feathers symbolizing the rebirth of the blades.
The Moulin Rouge troupe on the street during the presentation of the new blades, in July 2024. Photo EFE/EPA/Christophe Petit Tesson
On April 25, 2024, the cabaret immortalized by the painter Toulouse-Lautrec woke up without its blades, which had fallen overnight without causing injuries due to a fault in the central axis, surprising neighborhood residents and tourists.
In their fall they dragged down the first three letters of the name of the place hanging on its facade in the 18th district of Paris, at the foot of the Montmartre hill.
"The Moulin Rouge was deeply moved by all the messages of support received from around the world following the event that occurred that night," said the management of the cabaret, known worldwide and immortalized notably by Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film starring Nicole Kidman.
The cabaret never closed despite the accident.
Venezuelan cyclist Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria passes in front of the Moulin Rouge during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo Mauro Pimentel / AFP.
The Moulin Rouge is particularly famous for its French Cancan , the frenetic traditional dance from Offenbach's operettas of the early 19th century.
On July 5, 2024, a week before the Olympic flame was passed, the Moulin Rouge inaugurated four new blades , a mix of aluminum and steel, but the new motor needed for their rotation was not ready in time.
"The Moulin without its blades was simply sad... We did everything possible to reinstall them. The idea was to be ready in time for the Olympic Games," its general manager, Jean-Victor Clérico, who heads the establishment that attracts 600,000 visitors each year , explained to AFP.
With 90 artists of 18 nationalities, the cabaret offers two shows a day, every night of the year. Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP.
From now on, they will run every day from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Illuminated by hundreds of red and gold bulbs, now energy-saving LEDs, the blades of the Moulin Rouge turned for the first time on October 6, 1889 , at the opening of the cabaret.
With its 90 artists of 18 nationalities, the Feather Cabaret offers two shows a day, 365 nights a year . It is a world-renowned whirlwind of feathers, sequins, and glitter, attracting 1,700 spectators each day, half of whom are foreigners.
Tables are ready. The Moulin Rouge attracts 600,000 visitors each year. Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP.
On stage, the company—including the iconic "Doriss Girls," named after Moulin choreographer Doris Haug—presents the show "Féerie" at 9:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., a tribute to the circus and the City of Light from 1900 to the present day, before the essential French Cancan.
Belonging to the same family for four generations , the Moulin Rouge created last year within its premises a "City of Arts and Crafts" that brings together the last French featherwork and embroidery workshops , classified by the Ministry of Culture as Living Heritage companies.
Jean-François GUYOT / AFP
Clarin
