So what’s the truth about this famous venue, its history, dancers and previous celebrity collaborations? From Christian Louboutin’s appearance to Pamela Anderson’s Valentine’s Day performance, Beyoncé’s music video and more, we’re going behind the scenes to find out the truth ahead of Lisa’s September 28-30 shows.
1. Crazy Horse has a proud history
Crazy Horse was founded in 1951 by artist Alain Bernardin. Located in a prestigious location near the Champs Elysees, it was located next to the fashion houses of YSL, Givenchy and Balenciaga with its website. Bernardin was fascinated by American burlesque dancers and decided it was time to take the cabaret shows that Paris was famous for, such as the Moulin Rouge, and turn it into an art form, reports the New York Post.
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As Artefact magazine reported, Bernardin was a visionary at the time, “integrating elements of the New Wave, New Realism, Pop Art and Fashion” into his shows in a way that revolutionized the industry.
Current Crazy Horse creative director Andre Deisenberg agrees: “Alain Bernardin was fascinated by femininity in general. It wasn’t about sex; it was about seduction, about making the mind work. For him, imagination was everything. And he created an art form out of it,” she said in a 2017 interview.
2. Dancer auditions are brutal.
According to Schön magazine, Bernardin was a renowned perfectionist who chose the music and even sketched costumes for the show. And although Bernardin is no longer alive, the tradition continues. “All the dancers we hire are classical dancers because we need sharp toes,” Deissenberg said in 2017, adding that women undergo three months of training after auditioning to become so-called “Crazy Girls.”
In addition to the stringent audition requirements – where applicants must improvise a surprise song in front of a panel of judges – women cannot be taller than 173cm due to the tiny and intimate stage.
3. Lisa will perform two classic numbers from the show.
Each Crazy Horse show consists of a series of short performances—some group, some solo—with Lisa reportedly taking part in several segments with the troupe, as well as a number or two herself, including “Crisis, What Crisis?” and “But I’m a Good Girl” for WWD.
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According to the establishment’s website, “Crisis, what crisis?” is a tongue-in-cheek show that “offers a unique and irreverent look at the financial crisis that rocked the West in 2008.”
In this segment, Lisa will play a female executive on the verge of a nervous breakdown, while Parisian stock exchange prices and charts are projected on stage behind her. “Rates become more and more erratic as clothing begins to fall off,” the website explains.
Meanwhile, “But I’m a Good Girl” is one of Crazy Horse’s classic tease numbers, featuring a dancer performing a slow peek-a-boo number from behind a curtain in little more than neatly placed pearls before revealing herself to the audience. Described as “lively and energetic choreography”, it sounds tailor-made for Lisa, whose dancing skills are legendary.
4. He is known for his collaborations with fashion designers.
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Then, in 2007, one of cabaret’s most iconic unions was born. Deissenberg claims that Crazy Horse and Christian Louboutin, “two icons of Parisian nightlife,” were made for each other, and in collaboration with the luxury shoe designer, a new show was born. Since then, members of the Crazy Girls show have worn his signature 12cm red-soled shoes on stage.
5. Lisa is not the first celebrity guest of “Le Crazy”
In its early days, as Crazy Horse rose to prominence for its avant-garde approach to burlesque, the venue became something of a European Studio 54. Better known as “Le Crazy”, it even boasted many of the same clients – Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali . included.
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6. Beyoncé’s “Partition” music video was inspired by this location.
However, contrary to popular belief, the video was not filmed on the set itself, but on a reproduction of the Crazy Horse stage in a castle near Paris.