Latest news with #MoulinRouge
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Christina Aguilera on bringing Burlesque to the stage and her rise to fame
Christina Aguilera has told Sky News it is "magical" to see her hit film Burlesque being brought to London's West End - and also opened up about her rise to fame in the late 1990s. The US star topped the US and UK charts with Genie In A Bottle in 1999, before finding an even bigger audience with her acclaimed album Stripped and hits including Dirrty, Beautiful and Fighter in the early 2000s. In 2010, she starred in Burlesque alongside Cher, Julianne Hough and Stanley Tucci, and now, 15 years later, is a producer for the stage version of the show alongside the film's original director and writer, Steven Antin. Speaking ahead of the show's gala night, Aguilera told Sky News presenter she has enjoyed taking a backseat and seeing the fresh interpretation of her character - a small-town girl turned into a star. "It's just so beautiful to see the talent that's on this stage and to absorb it and appreciate the fresh takes on things," she said. "I love actually taking a step back and a backseat… it's beautiful to see the reinvention. "When you're in it, you focus on the choreography, all these different elements, that being able to take a backseat and being more of a visionary of the bigger picture, it's really a special thing." Aguilera said she had been "blown away" by Jess Folley, who plays her character Ali in the show, and has fully embraced the "powerhouse vocals" as well as the vulnerability needed for the role. "She just is doing such a magnificent, magnificent job and likewise inspires me as well," she said. Aguilera said she would love to see her film co-star Cher popping by to see the show in London. "She's always welcome to grace us with her incredible, iconic presence. And I'm just so grateful that I had the time to be with her. I mean, looking back, it's just - did that even happen?" Aguilera arrived on the scene at the same time as Britney Spears, at a time when young female pop stars were celebrated, sexualised and scrutinised. After the success of her debut album, she took a different direction with Stripped - embracing her sexuality and famously taking on a less girlish image with chaps, a nose stud and black streaks in her hair for the Dirrty video, and opening up about her life and emotions through songs such as Fighter and Beautiful. She also took on the patriarchy in Can't Hold Us Down, a duet with Lil' Kim, and performed on the hit cover of Lady Marmalade alongside Lil' Kim, Maya and Pink for Moulin Rouge! "I always want to stay true to authenticity," she said. "And for me, with that first album it was wonderful to get my foot in the door... "It's important to me that I stepped out on my own and reflected all sides of me as a woman, embracing my sexuality and sensuality, and my body... Dirrty, I just loved those chaps and everything about that was just so fun and raw." Read more: So would she do it all again, then? Or would she prefer to be an artist starting out now? "The '90s, it was a pretty special time in music. And it was a time when you could still like go to Virgin records or like wherever and look at the CDs, look at the packaging. And, you know, sometimes the authenticity is missed." However, the good thing about social media now is that it has given stars the means to tell their own stories, she adds. "You have an opportunity now to really present yourself in ways that it's not just about the music, to become more the narrator in real time… this is what it is like, be your own voice rather than reading about yourself in an article." But still, she wouldn't swap. "It has to stay where it was." Burlesque The Musical is showing at The Savoy theatre in London now
New York Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Taye Diggs Can't Resist a Good Rom-Com
Taye Diggs got his big break when he played the landlord Benny in the original Broadway cast of 'Rent,' back in 1996, and he credits the stage for creating, as he put it, 'who I am and why I am who I am.' Problem is, live performance had been taking a back seat in his life. 'Once one is lucky enough to cross over to film and TV, it's easy to get kind of stuck and become an audience member when it comes to theater, and then fear starts to set in,' Diggs said. 'I found myself in the audience wondering how these actors onstage memorized all their lines. That's when I started to get scared.' Not scared enough to turn down the opportunity to step into 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical,' though — Diggs is currently in rehearsals for the show, in which he'll play the scheming, wealthy Duke of Monroth starting Tuesday and through Sept. 28. Diggs's presence on New York stages has been sporadic in the decades since 'Rent.' One reason is that he has been living in Los Angeles; the other is why he's in California. His screen career took off a couple of years after 'Rent,' when he helped Angela Bassett track down her mojo in his film debut, 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back.' This led to lead roles in the beloved rom-coms 'Brown Sugar' and 'The Best Man.' Diggs has also been a steady presence on television, with lengthy runs on 'Private Practice' and 'All American.' But now he's putting his summer to good use by returning to Broadway, his first appearance there since a stint in 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' in 2015. It helped that he's a fan of 'Moulin Rouge,' having seen the show, he said, about 10 times. And the Duke is a juicy character. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
10 pictures inside the Barras Moulin Rouge night market
The East End spot hosted a Moulin Rouge night market on Thursday, July 17, as a 'warm-up event' before Glasgow Pride on Saturday, July 19. The one-off event took place from 5pm to 10pm. (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) READ NEXT: 'Very unique' bar to open on Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street Attendees were told to expect a night full of 'high kicks, music, and dazzling lights' as the Barras was turned into a 'Parisian carnival under the stars'. It did not disappoint. Our photographer headed down to capture the dazzling action. (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) Punters were encouraged to dress up for the occasion with the theme including feathers, glitter, and 'Moulin Rouge glam'. READ NEXT: Glasgow City Council in update after cybersecurity incident (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) (Image: Gordon Terris) There was a live performance from can-can dancers, a DJ set, and more than 100 street food vendors. Entry to the event was free, and dogs were also welcome.
Scotsman
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Watch: 'Parisian carnival under the stars" Moulin Rouge at the Barras ahead of July night market
Glasgow's Barras is set to host a 'Parisian carnival under the stars' Moulin Rogue themed night market this month. Here's what to expect. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Glasgow's famous Barras market will be transformed on Thursday 17 July for a Moulin Rogue themed night market. Kicking off the city's Pride weekend , visitors can expect can-can dancers, DJs, stalls, street food vendors. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Barras 'Parisian carnival under the stars' Moulin Rouge night market follows on from previous successful events like the hugely popular now annual Hong Kong market. Taking place on Thursday, July 17, the one off event will run from 5pm until 10pm and see the London Road market transformed as the official warm-up event before Glasgow's Pride takes over the market and Barrowland Ballroom on July 19. The organisers said: "Expect a night full of high kicks, music, and dazzling lights as we transform the Barras into a Parisian carnival under the stars. "Dressing up is highly encouraged! Think corsets, feathers, glitter, and Moulin Rouge glam!" Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad MC Puppet Paul and Can Can dancers, Amy Espie and Amber Dollin ahead of the Moulin Rouge event at the Barras Market. | John Devlin Fans can expect live can-can dancer performances, DJ sets, fabulous photo opps, carnival vibes and over 100 street food vendors and traders "bringing colour, culture, and community" throughout the entire market. They added: "This is your chance to strut your stuff, celebrate freely, and get into the Pride spirit with a night of fun and freedom."
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Paris rejoices as Moulin Rouge windmill sails turn again year after collapse
The sails of the red-painted windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret in Paris, have begun turning again, restoring the home of French can-can to its full glory more than a year after they tumbled inelegantly to the ground. In a profusion of red feathers, members of the Montmartre institution's 90-strong troupe performed its signature dance on the road outside to mark the occasion on Thursday night, after the second of two daily performances that draw 600,000 visitors a year. The 12-metre sails collapsed in April last year after a mechanical failure, injuring no one but sparking an outpouring of emotion including from the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who called the cabaret a vital part of the capital's cultural heritage. 'The sails have always turned at the Moulin Rouge, so we had to restore this Parisian symbol to Paris, to France, and to the state it was in before,' said Jean-Victor Clérico, the cabaret's managing director. The sails will now rotate daily from 4pm to 2am. 'The whole troupe is very happy to find our sails again – these are the sails of Paris,' said Cyrielle, one of the 60 dancers who took part in the street celebration, which was illuminated by a specially commissioned firework display. Founded in 1889, the Moulin Rouge became a global symbol of fin-de-siècle Parisian nightlife, its famed can-can dancers depicted in paintings by artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. An eponymous 2001 film by Baz Luhrmann cemented its present-day appeal. The French can-can is believed to have evolved from the final figure of a dance for couples known as the quadrille. It caused considerable scandal when it first became popular as a cabaret act mainly because of its intentionally revealing high kicks. Performed by a line of female dancers, the dance, devised in the early 1920s by Pierre Sandrini, then artistic director of the Moulin Rouge, revolves around the 'vigorous manipulation of skirts and petticoats, high kicks, jump splits and cartwheels'. After their collapse, new aluminium sails were ready in time for the Paris Olympics last July, but it has taken almost a year to build and fit a new electric motor ready to turn them and power the hundreds of red and gold bulbs that stud the display.
