7 Things you didn’t know about the Moulin Rouge Paris Dancers

Feather and rhinestone costumes of the French Cancan dancers

The French cabaret’s famous cancan dancers for its high-kicking cancan dancers and flesh-exposing ostrich feather costumes mark 130 years since it first opened its doors to audiences. Each show requires a thousand outfits, all crafted in the workshops that have been supplying the Moulin Rouge for decades. Each dancer has to make between 10 and 15 costume changes per show, with about 90 seconds to complete each one before they have to be back out on stage. Pink and black leather high boots with sequin decorations and elaborate constructions over the dancer’s shoulder create an illusion of sparkling butterfly wings and ostrich feathers sprouting from their backs. They are 800 pairs of shoes from size 35 to 47 for all the dancers.

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