The Cancan

From last week’s selection of Carnival of the Animals by Ogden Nash, we shortly mentioned the melody in the tortoise section.  The tortoise section slows down a melody from the famous French cancan. The Cancan was originally composed by Jacques Offenbach in Orpheus in the Underworld. Offenbach was German born but considered a French composer. Orpheus in the Underworld was his first full length operetta. Act two of this operetta featured the Cancan.

Jacques Offenbach

The cancan as a dance first appeared in Montparnasse, France (left of the Seine in Paris). It started in working class ballrooms. It was originally a dance for couples that included high kicks in a quick 2/4 time. Quite the opposite of a tortoise.  Chahut is the French term for cancan and it means little-tattle or scandal. This is also ironic because tortoises’ wrinkles often make him appear old and anything but scandalous. The dancers to the cancan became highly paid performers in famous clubs such as the Moulin Rouge.

Many other artists have written music for the cancan dance. One example is Franz Lehar. Cole Porter even wrote a musical play Can-can in 1954.

Today the cancan symbolizes anything but a tortoise. Here is an example of the aerobic, high kicking, and energetic dance toda, click here to see it!