The Moulin Rouge

Today a friend of mine invited me to her 21st to be held on 30 June. I'm pretty psyched about it because I haven't seen her in a while. Now, she's always been a little... over the top. But I have to admit, this made me question her sanity. The theme for this little get together? 

Moulin Rouge.

I kid you not. In the middle of flipping winter she wants people to rock corsets and other assorted itsy-bitsies to her party.
So, this got me wondering what the whole history behind the Moulin Rouge is. I honestly thought that it was simply a brothel. Not entirely the case as it turns out. Here's what I found out:

"Moulin Rouge" for those of you who, like me, don't speak a word of French means the "Red Mill" (there's a big red mill on the building). The Moulin Rouge was set up to be a dance hall in 1889, and earned quite a reputation for debauchery. The Can-Can had been popular before the place was established but it was only at the Moulin Rouge where the dance's popularity was fully realised. I imagine that a big reason for this popularity was because the performers, many of whom were courtesans, had dispensed with their knickers.

After a while, management decided that it was time to tone down the club's reputation. From then on the Moulin Rouge became more known for its crazy-cool cabaret shows than for its sexcapades. 

The Moulin Rouge can be found in Paris's red light district and is still open for tourists to come and catch a show but, despite having toned down, these performances are obviously not for children. Still, I'm pretty sure when I get around to travelling the Moulin Rouge will be somewhere near the top of my list of places to go. 

Still don't feel like prancing around in my underwear in the middle of winter though.