Cancan Diaries

Cancan Diaries

For 125 years, the Moulin Rouge in Paris has been a glittering mirage of erotic dance and vaudeville acts. This doc takes the viewer behind the scenes into a magical alternate universe of avant-garde, burlesque decadence.

In the face of all social opprobrium, the life of a dancer at the world-famous Moulin Rouge was a road to freedom which only few women dared take. Worshipped and wanted, revered and reviled, without any social security or support, but full of passion and dedication. A lot has changed in the 125 years the Moulin Rouge has been around. The dancers today have retirement health insurance, and maternity leave, and it's not such a scandal to prance around on stage barely clothed anymore. Personal interviews give insights into the world of vaudeville never seen before, marked by excess and the game of seduction - a game as old as mankind, which can fascinate men and drive them crazy. But what is it that fascinates women about it? What makes it the greatest thing in the world for a woman to stand on stage buck naked night after night, skirt hiked up, swinging your legs in time?

Also available as 90 min version