The Moulin Rouge performs Féerie twice a night, 365 days a year, on a stage equipped with a 40-ton aquarium. Behind the curtain of the cabaret on Boulevard de Clichy, 450 people keep a machine running that includes 1,000 costumes, 17 dressers, and up to 13 costume changes per performer per show.

The audience on Boulevard de Clichy sees about 60 performers, feathers, and a staircase. They don't see the machine, which consists of three things: water, costumes, and time.

It's the revue's best-kept secret. A giant 40-ton aquarium opens in the middle of the stage, and a performer dives into it in front of 850 spectators. It was installed in the 1960s under the direction of Jacki Clerico, and it remains the theater's signature technical feature. Forty tons of water on boards that also support an entire troupe—the feat is first and foremost the work of the stagehands.

The thousand costumes of feathers, rhinestones, and sequins come from the cabaret's art workshops, four studios in addition to two costume workshops employing fifty-four costume designers and creators. Their upkeep alone requires two tons of ostrich feathers per year. Once backstage, they pass into the hands of seventeen dressers, and this is where the true scale of the operation is revealed: each performer changes outfits ten to thirteen times per show, twice a night, all year round.

The rest is a matter of precise timing. The performers arrive from 7:30 p.m. onwards to have their makeup and hair done, warm up, and put on their costumes. The curtain rises at 9:00 p.m., the second performance follows later in the evening, and the day ends around 1:30 a.m. Before their first steps on stage, the newcomers undergo four to five weeks of intensive rehearsals, including two hours of French cancan every day. Three to four times a month, the troupe meets for afternoon rehearsals, including ballet and modern jazz classes.

The figures are staggering: 450 employees, 600,000 spectators per year, 850 seats filled twice each night, eight million euros invested in the creation of *Féerie*, but it is the consistency that is most striking. Since December 1999, the show has been running continuously and has been applauded by nearly fifteen million spectators.

The most famous piece of machinery remains, and it is the only one that the public sees from the outside. The windmill's sails fell during the night of April 25, 2024, and resumed their rotation on July 5 of the following year. They're circling again above Place Blanche, as if nothing had happened.

Did you know? The Moulin Rouge recruits its female dancers from 1.75 m (5'9") and its male dancers from 1.85 m (6'1"). Among the eighteen nationalities in the troupe, Australian is the most represented, followed by British and French.

Details of the four art houses can be found in our article dedicated to the cabaret's workshops, and the rest of the dossier on our dedicated page.

MOULIN ROUGE
The Féerie revue, every night of the year
82 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 - Metro: Blanche (Line 2)