Generously dressed in lights and special effects but not much else, the girls from Crazy Horse cabaret seduced, provoked and excited.
One of the world’s most famous French cabarets gave multiple performances in Kyiv last week, telling many stories of women through their show that has no feathers or can-can, often associated with cabaret.
Their stories are based on real life: in one of them, an office girl is stressed by the economic crisis.
But all ends well, with the girl stripping off her fears as well as her formal clothes to turn into a goddess of seduction.
The show is a complex mix of music, bodies, moves and lights.
Andree Deissenberg, the managing director, says the light is in fact the most important technical effect of the show, as it represents costumes of the girls.
“The Crazy Horse is about well-shaped beautiful girls, with red lips, often with a mole and bangs that tell stories of different girls, and all these girls are dressed in the light,” she says.
A Crazy Horse dancer finds relief from the stress of financial crisis by stripping off her office clothes. (Antoine Poupel)
Yasna, one of around 10 dancers in the troupe that visited Kyiv, is Ukrainian.
She is easy to spot in the crowd, given away by her expressive puffy lips and big eyes.
Like all the other women, she fits the body standard established for the dancers by Alain Bernardin, the founder of the cabaret, in 1951.
The standard prescribes that the distance between the ladies’ nipples has to be exactly 27 centimeters, while the distance between the belly button and pubis is 13 centimeters.
Yasna, of course, is not her real name.
Ukrainian dancer Yasna was happy to join the Crazy Horse troupe after her dance education at cultural college in Kyiv. (Antoine Poupel).
The ‘upside down’ show. (Ukrinform)
All 50 dancers of the Parisian cabaret go by stage names by a tradition that preserves the women’s anonymity as well as their enigmatic aura.
The 25-year-old Ukrainian received her professional dance training at cultural college in Kyiv.
She did not even dream of becoming part of Crazy Horse when she was offered her first job as a dancer in Split club in Kyiv.
From there, she was recruited to another cabaret, this time in France.
And four years on, in 2009, – voila! — she was picked during casting for Crazy Horse.
Frank Paquet, the cabaret’s tour director, says that charisma (besides physical parameters) is the winning feature.
“The difficult part the casting directors are looking for is the little extra,” Paquet says.
”You need to have something special that fits well with the culture of the Crazy Horse.”
Even when a woman has made it into Crazy Horse, staying a part of the group is tough, too.
The contract is demanding and states that even things like weight and hairstyles for each woman are decided and enforced by the troupe director.
A dancer performs ’Leçon d’érotisme’ on a famous lips-shaped sofa, an inspiration of the late Salvador Dali. (UNIAN)
Crazy Horse has a busy schedule. In Kyiv, for example, they did 10 shows over five days.
The shows effectively sold out, even with tickets ranging from Hr 300 to Hr 1,200.
The performers cannot fraternize with visitors and are taken home in special taxis.
“Due to the nature of the show, a lot of girls are approached by other people and they need to keep a certain distance,” Paquet explains.
The ‘legmania’ show. (UNIAN)
Yasna is happy to give up part of her freedom for the honor of performing in one of Paris’ most famous shows.
She says that her mother, a choreographer in Kyiv, is also delighted with her career.
When Yasna talks about the show, she shines.
While other artists stand out for their flexibility and acting, she relies on her natural femininity and enthusiasm to entertain the audience.
Like the rest, Yasna trains many hours daily to stay in shape. And fans appreciate that.
A musical number featuring an army of bare-skin women has traditionally opened the show since 1989. (UNIAN)
Ninel Kopotun, who went to the Feb. 11 show, came away impressed.
“Beautiful bodies, decorations and an unbelievable aroma that was coming from the stage,” Kopotun said. “I still recall that wonderful smell.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Maryna Irkliyenko can be reached at [email protected].
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