Brief reminder of Part 1 (without mistake )
Napoleon decided in 1802 to build the Latin Theatre that was inaugurated the following year and was an immediate success. It was destroyed by fire during the war of 1870 and remained in that state for 17 years. In 1889, Gustave Eiffel rebuilt the theatre and it was re-inaugurated on 20 January 1883 as the Paradis Latin. However, it did not manage to compete with the other concert cafés and became a warehouse. In 1973, Jean Kriegel bought it and converted it into flats.
During construction, he discovered the existence of a theatre and decided to resurect this legendary cabaret. The theatre reopened in 1977 after a meticuleus renovation with Jean-Marie Rivičre as an artistic director. Since then, the shows have followed one another, always carry by an exceptional troupe of about 35 young dancers, accompanied by world-class attractions. The selection criterias are rigorous : imposed heigt (170m. for girls; 180m. for boys ). Requirements are physical and mainly dance skils with strong classical experience (10-12 years ), jazz dance (2-3 years ), musical theatre, tap and acrobatics appreciated. It is imperative to be able to sing and dance at the same time. Rehearsals are rigorous with about 10 hours of work per day.
Only qualitie performances can survive, but apart from the professionalism of the artists, a whole invisible world is involved in the success of the show : cooks, waiters, the coordination of lights and music to guarantae the best visual and sound effects, as well as the dressers who design the costumes. Everything is brougt together in this extravagant universe rich in colour and splendeur to welcome 100000, visitors a year. |
