Why The Moulin Rouge Spent $4 Billion In Costumes | Still Standing | Insider Business

[Music] for over 130 years dancers have strived to perform in the most famous Cabaret in the world the Moulin Rouge in Paris [Music] [Applause] Roma balongier auditioned three times before landing a spot her biggest challenge was the can campaign today she's one of 85 people who kick and twirl every night in one of the most expensive stage shows in Paris it took 8 million euros to

bring it to life half of that went into costumes alone that's at least a thousand outfits adorned with feathers rhinestones and sequins the can-kins revealing costumes and acrobatic movements were once considered rebellious and scandalous today Roma feels proud to perform the dance twice a night six days a week [Music] but many cabarets struggled in the second half of the 20th century as newer forms of entertainment

became popular so how did the Moulin Rouge survive and even Thrive through so many decades we went to Paris to see how the Cabaret is still standing [Music] the can-can was first performed in the early 1800s by working class men and women in France's public ballrooms and these girls after a hard day working washing sewing I wanted to let off steam and so they started kick

their legs shaking their skirt but it became such a phenomena especially at that time showing their ankles oh daring but it was the Moulin Rouge that made the dance famous towards the end of the 19th century The Cabaret opened in 1889 the same year the Eiffel Tower made its debut it quickly became a cultural Melting Pot where people from all walks of life mingled and enjoyed

music dance shows and comedy its Garden featured an elephant statue with a hidden stage inside where many artists performed including a comedian known as lupitoman or fartomaniac he had the ability to play melodies and blow out candles with flatulence The Cabaret also featured one of the most famous Can-Can dancers of all time lagulu she became the Muse for the French painter Henri de toulouse-lotrek who was

a regular at the Moulin Rouge dancers today are still inspired by early Can-Can performers like her [Music] Roman started dancing at age four and has trained in classical contemporary and modern dance still she says the cancan is one of the hardest acts she's ever performed while it might seem like a chaotic party on stage the actual steps are meticulously choreographed conference [Music] Roman joined the cast

five years ago after finally passing an audition in Paris experience the current cast represents 18 different nationalities but most answers are from Australia and the United Kingdom push that me over especially on the last one so you can open it [Music] today four new dancers are joining the show new spots rarely open and up to 80 dancers can compete in a single audition they need to

be tall at least five eight if you're a woman or six three if you're a man costumes are constantly breaking so a team of 15 seamstresses repairs them every day in a workshop right above the women's dressing room this makes it easier to fix them if something breaks between shows foreign each dancer wears about 12 costumes during the show foreign costume one dress can have over

230 meters of frills um about one-third of all the costumes have real feathers and the Moulin Rouge runs its own feather shop inside the building [Music] you can take 280 hours to finish some of the most complex feathered looks like this 13 pound costume which costs about 12 000 Euros wow okay the current show Fairy or Fairyland debuted in 1999 but it came with a hefty

price tag the company has spent an additional 8 million euros just to maintain the costumes since the show premiered if you want a lot of dances and artists on stage if you want them in fabulous costumes and you want original music it costs money Janet Farrow started as a Moulin Rouge dancer in the 80s and now is the associate artistic director overseeing the performances the costume

department and the auditions I think some places didn't survive maybe because what they were offering wasn't enough [Music] but the Moulin Rouge also faced challenges in the 20th century a fire destroyed the building in 1915 forcing it to close for six years when it reopened it faced new competition from a new form of entertainment film The Cabaret converted its theater into a cinema with a nightclub

but it always maintained live shows on stage it also survived the German military administration of France during World War II over the years many legendary singers perform there including Edith Piaf Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli in 1955 the venue launched the dinner show format it still follows today the style of choreography but changes but you know essentially things stay the same and it's still about the

public coming and having a great evening done there watching a fabulous show every evening the restaurant staff prepares a 7 PM dinner about six hundred thousand people attend the show every year well the sounds of champagne pops and conversation fill up the room the dancers get ready for the show backstage um [Music] dancers do their own makeup to suit their skin tone and features but two

elements are mandatory red lipstick and false eyelashes foreign all the female dancers tie their hair in ultra high buns foreign [Music] and her fellow dancers stretch before changing into their opening look [Music] um nearly every number requires heels the costumes are so elaborate that a team of dressers has to help the dancers get ready and every detail matters foreign act one is set in The Gardens

of the Moulin Rouge paying homage to the venues past dancers quickly get ready for Act 2 which is set on a pirate ship sometimes the window to change between numbers is just two minutes and Roman actually prefers that um [Music] the can-can comes in the fourth and Final Act Roman and each dancer takes a few minutes to stretch again dancers have to be physically and mentally

ready for the intense cardio to avoid any injuries [Music] after two shows and four hours of dancing Roman exits the stage at 1am still full of energy [Music] uman hopes to one day be lead dancer at the Moulin Rouge foreign but for now this stage is like her home and she doesn't plan on leaving it anytime soon [Music] thank you foreign [Music]