I also visited Paradis Latin, and here are my notes from that show. At the end of the evening I rode a ‘velib’ – a bike you can rent in the street, to my friend’s flat to say goodbye to her before she travelled back to Berlin. Just some context for you!
Paradis A La Folie: Madness in Paradise. Tourist crowd, same one as Nouvelle Eve. No style. Gaggles of women in 20s. Couples in groups in 40s, boring looking. 2 x couples alone in 50s. Blouse and purple knit jerkin. Australian bus load of 20s in semi-smart clothes (but a bit townie too). And audience on holiday, relaxed, drinking, speaking English. Large Indian family. Lower-middle class demographic? Professionals, skilled workers and students? Banquet tables. Large groups of women. Sparkly diamante hair-band. A straight audience? A photographer comes round, I say no. It’s strange how on the metro if I saw these women I see around me, I’d feel an affinity with them, but not now, in this context. The lights dim. Video projected. Roses outfit, 5 girls, 4 nudes, t-bar tan shoes, all short brown hair, 5 boys. Compère lowered on to stage, a pale pink top hat and tails. Rose nude lowered from ceiling long hair and flower thong, ballet flats, nude with leaves. Ballet pas de deux. Female singer enters from back of auditorium. Rose coloured long dress with large rose neckline. Singer with 4 men and then compère. Showboys for moment, lots of jump steps, tapping, cheeky, cheesy choreography, very Constance Grant Dance Centre. Compère speaks to audience in French, then English. Waiters on stage, the male dressed-up host as we came in, now in drag. In ballet class number at the barre, evolves and more sexy leotard girls come out, very Eric Pridz video. Judo boys – manly??? Music, Daft Punk-esque beats. Steam shower with girls, just towels, 4 girls, strip with tease removing towel. Bit more knowing choreography. Bums in showers – men. More comical choreography. Barbie doll bodies – hairdown, swish hair head roll. Rave disco scene – techno. Pop/street dance influences unzipped skeleton wet suits. Goes to black, zip-up full skeleton suit. Oh-la-la song. Girls in Adidas type tracksuit bottoms. Compère back, black suit. Angelou, unicycling bartender. The formula makes me think of the ‘70s. Country fair carousel, rotating with girls on as architecture – blonde pageboys. Opens up into 4 girls in leathers on motorbikes, take off helmets and shake out blonde hair. Strip off to boob harness and thong. Dance on the bike, arched back. Hair swinging. Rope and man in white pants – ‘Christopher’ – sublime smile – Tarzan/Indiana Jones music. Shaved armpits, arm decoration, sequinned shorts. Very flit, flexible, was he an Olympic gymnast 15 years ago? The guy spotting him is a star too. Montagues and Capulets Prokofiev music, period dress. Court dance, with boobs, pas de deux scene from Romeo & Juliet. Strip off to under-net, they marry, sexy ballet?? Hip hop tribute to Romeo & Juliet. 4 girls in waistcoats, jeans and Trilbys, 5 boys in just jeans and Trilbys. Body hair-free evening. Boys as objects. 17tth Century Louis 15th number, girls as boys court dancing, boys strip off and stay, girls leave. Real boys in same sort of outfit and they strip off too. 2 sets of boys dance together. Bouillon? Tap-dancing juggler. Can-can, better costume, better choreography (than La Nouvelle Eve). Girl tumbler, 3 boy tumblers. Compère in white tails. Thanks technicians, dressers, musicians, front of house. Cheerleaders, singer in a long white gown – Marie. No fake boobs. Crossdresser type dame goes back and forth between male/female dress.