Presented by
Crazy Horse Paris
Canberra
Theatre Centre until 7th October, 2017.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
If you stay
in Canberra long enough, everything will come to you. And so it is with Crazy
Horse Paris.
Since it was
established by Alain Bernadin in 1951, the tiny Crazy Horse Paris cabaret has established
itself as a ‘must see’ attraction for tourists visiting Paris.
Along with
The Moulin Rouge and The Lido, The Crazy Horse Paris became famous for its revues
glorifying the female form, but unlike those latter two establishments, instead
of costuming their dancers in spectacular feathers and sequin creations, those
at The Crazy Horse wear very little except artful lighting. As well as its
innovative use of lighting, The Crazy Horse also developed a very specific
choreographic style in which every move is designed to display the feminine
form to perfection, requiring all its dancers to have classical dance training
and meet stringent physical criteria.
 |
| "God Save Our Bareskin" |
Many of
these routines have become classics. Some have remained in the repertoire since
the Crazy Horse was established, and are included in this “best of” production,
which is making its first tour of Australia. Among them,
the opening routine, “God Save Our Bareskin” which was choreographed by a British
Army lieutenant and has opened every single Crazy Horse Paris show since 1989.
This iconic routine has the dancers, barely clad in saucy parodies of the
Grenadier Guard’s uniforms, complete with bear-skin hats and sporrans. “Upside Down”, uses legs, mirrors, and red
Christian Louboutin shoes to create sensuous kaleidoscopic images which confuse
and delight the eye. “Glamazones”, has the
dancers wearing swishing horse tails and little else, to pay homage to its
namesake.
Among the
solos, “Good Girl”, featuring energetic high-kicks executed by a dancer wearing
little more than beads, and the erotic “Rugir De Desur”, performed mostly in silhouette,
were particularly memorable for the originality of their presentation.
 |
| "Forever Crazy" ensemble. |
Group
routines and solos follow each other quick succession, all performed on a tiny
stage, the exact proportions of that at the Crazy Horse Paris. This allows the
routines to be presented exactly as conceived. On each side of this stage, two
huge led screens show close-ups of the routines being performed. First impression
is that the dance is being filmed in real time, however when the image of a
different performer is shown simultaneously, the accuracy with which the live
performer is executing the choreography is revealed. While this effect is both
intriguing and distracting, it certainly adds to the overall spectacle.
Yes, there
is a male performer included, dancer, Robert Muraine billed as Mr Fantastic, whose
contribution is truly original and amazing. But the focus of “Forever Crazy” is
the female form and the artistry with which it is displayed in this production
reveals why, for 65 years, tourists have travelled around the world to
experience the shows at the tiny Parisian establishment devoted entirely to
perfecting this art form. You can save yourself a fortune by grabbing the
opportunity to see it at the Canberra Theatre.
This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 05.10.17.
