Paris (AFP)
The rhinestones are getting ready to shine again with a thousand lights, the feathers of the "birds of paradise" have been re-inflated one by one with steam, the large gaps of the French cancan are again mastered after three months of intensive rehearsals to derail joints.
Closed for a year and a half due to the pandemic, the Moulin Rouge and Le Lido, emblems of crazy Parisian nights since 1889, are finally reopening.
The Lido is giving itself a few more days "to get the machine going": the feathered cabaret on the Champs-Elysées will reopen on September 16, two days before its 75th anniversary celebrated with a retrospective of emblematic paintings from its past great ballets.
For their part, Le Paradis Latin, a landmark on the left bank, and Michou, the iconic transformist cabaret in Montmartre which lost its founder in January 2020, reopened their doors on September 3.
The Crazy Horse, temple of the nude chic which celebrates its 70th anniversary, will reopen at the end of September, the time to finalize "a new surprise painting", according to its manager, Philippe Lhomme.
At the forced stop since March 12, 2020, the Moulin Rouge troupe (80 artists of 14 nationalities) will return to the stage on Friday, after two last rehearsals in costumes on Wednesday and Thursday sold out.
- "We are pawing with impatience" -
If the sanitary conditions made it possible to abandon the gauges, the tables were spaced out, "for more comfort and also to reassure customers", underlines Le Moulin Rouge.
In all cabarets, the sanitary pass will be required at the entrance.
The mask will only be compulsory during travel, but not once the spectators are seated at the table.
The room staff, like the technicians behind the scenes, will be masked, but not the artists.
Lido dancers in Paris, September 10, 2019. Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP / Archives
"We are all very happy and excited. We are impatiently pawing in the boxes! Now we have a specific date. Everything is real! We found our marks easily, as if the body were a robot sometimes", confides in the 'AFP Mathilde Tutiaux, 32, one of the 14 dancers of French cancan, the star number of the Moulin which also mobilizes 8 dancers.
"From September 10, we will offer two shows per evening, from Thursday to Sunday at first, then also on Wednesday from October", underlines the management of the Moulin Rouge which will only reopen all week from here. the end of year celebrations.
The dinner-show formula will only be offered from the end of October.
The Lido and the Paradis Latin, too, have chosen a gradual reopening, from 3 to 5 evenings per week.
"The reservations give us for the moment a visibility of fifteen days, instead of the usual two months. Most often, these are reservations at the last minute", indicates the management of the Paradis Latin, a phenomenon observed also by the Parisian theaters.
- "Not at full throttle" -
With "L'Oiseau paradis", a show by Kamel Ouali, on the bill, the cabaret has chosen to welcome only 450 guests against the usual 600.
At the Lido, which employs 250 people including 60 artists, "the reservation trend is good, but not at full capacity".
Since September 3, the "Michettes", transformist artists from Michou, have rekindled the pursuits of new colorful characters imitating in particular Johnny Hallyday and the singer Hoshi.
"Getting back to the boards, it's wonderful because all our audience is waiting for us. As soon as we were told + you can go, it's back to school +, we put our energy to the bottom, everyone left and everyone already had their ideas in their heads, "says" Marie-Pierre "to the artistic direction.
"We have a lot of regulars who wanted to come back," adds Catherine Jacquart, Michou's niece who now manages the smallest cabaret in Paris.
An artist from the "Michou" cabaret, in Paris on January 20, 2020. Lucas BARIOULET AFP / Archives
"We also have new customers who have heard about us thanks to our streaming shows during the lockdowns, which allowed us to develop our customer base a little."
© 2021 AFP