I’ve always held a particular passion for the Parisian arts of the early twentieth century. Many times I wish I had the chance to walk down the Champs-Elysées, pass through the Arch Di Triumph and head to the Moulin Rouge to watch the dancers while slowly entering the night with Absinthe in hand.
While Paris does not always strike me as being my favourite European city, it certainly does hold an element of charm in my heart for its historical art aspects.
While in another famous European city this weekend, Barcelona, I had the chance to see El Molino, a cabaret performance in the heart of the city.
The build up was that it was something of a hidden gem, but being a lover of the original Moulin Rogue (though my experience there I can save for another day!) was something that would need to win me over.
Upon entering the venue, I was greeted by Merche Mar, who was the master of ceremonies. A lady who has certainly handled crowds all her life, a strikingly beautiful woman, who even in her seventies maintains a decadence of glamour from a bygone time. After being ushered to our seats nuts and drinks were bought to the table. Being the first in the venue, it took a while for everyone to be seated, though each person was made to feel like a long lost friend by Merche.
The show began, and proceeded through the night, to be in Spanish. Amongst myself were a lady from London, and two from Manchester and Merche did her best to keep all entertained. My level of Spanish can be classed as non-existent, but it was evident the jokes were tongue in cheek, and half-hearted not to offend.
The show itself is two hours long. It comprises of three male and three female performers who provide a variety of acts. The three males comprise of singing, dancing and crowd entertaining; the three females provide dancing acts. Each performer has unique abilities and the acts varied from swing singing, classic feather dancing, and a few twists on classics.
The main performer was artist Juli Bellot, a tall strikingly athletic performer who surprised me with an excellent repertoire of energetic dancing, comedy and a voice that could make any west end performance proud. The two other male performers, Roger Salvany & Sebastián Yannucci also made way for an excellent display of dancing, energy and crowd pleasing acts.
The three female performers also made the night one to remember with dances that fused both classic and modern burlesque acts on a fine platform. Eugenia Sanchez and Núria Torrentallé both gave great performances that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The highlight of the night for me was the dancing of Maite Fernández. Her solo acts and with a team stood out for me as nothing but excellent. Her fluent movement, of both modern and classics, echoed those days of 1920’s Paris. A true star.
All in all a fantastic night that I would recommend to anyone. A night filled with nothing but enjoyment.
