Medieval Magic in Provins
Sitting on a bench beneath the towering ramparts of Provins, I can easily imagine I’m back in the Middle Ages. Gentlemen on horseback are showing off their falconry skills to ladies in flowing gowns, their hawks skimming over our heads...
La Danseuse: American Icons of La Belle Époque
A film by Stéphanie Di Giusto charts the lives of Loie Fuller and Isadora Duncan, two American girls who found friendship, fame and fortune in turn-of-the-century Paris.
Talk about unlikely. When Midwesterner Loie Fuller – later to become a world-renowned Belle Époque...
My Life in Paris: A Herbalist Remedy
Rain starts spattering the pavement in Place de Clichy as I arrive, sans parapluie, panting from the mad dash down the hill from Montmartre-Abbesses. I rap-a-tap-tap not so gently on the locked mustard-coloured door, desperately seeking a divine...
From Mickey Mouse to Modern Musicals: Interview with Jean-Luc Choplin
Jean-Luc Choplin still remembers the day in 2003 he learned that the directorship of the Théâtre du Châtelet was soon to become vacant. An old friend happened to be on the theatre’s board and thought Choplin would be perfect...
From Fashion to Movies: Erté & the History of Art Deco in Paris
The world’s first Art Déco building was the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées built in Paris prior to the First World War. Between the two wars, the style was popularized by designers and artists who used...
Retail Therapy: How Would You Spend €1,000 in Paris?
Pirouetting straight to the point, I’ve always dreamed of becoming a prima donna in a bigwig corps de ballet (not said in a Zelda Fitzgerald sort of way!). So I’ve choreographed a decadent day...
The Clothes Make the Man: A Visit to a Unique Stage Costume Museum
On a chilly Monday morning in Moulins, France, a small group moved through darkened rooms and gathered round a softly lit display case. Behind the glass, artfully crumbled paper covered the floor about ankle...
Romeo and Juliet at the Opéra Bastille
“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...” William Shakespeare’s legendary tale of star-crossed lovers will be transported to the French capital this spring. Romeo and Juliet, one of the Bard’s most performed plays, was...
Valentine’s Day at the Moulin Rouge
Even before the Moulin Rouge’s theatre lights are dimmed and the curtain is raised, you know you’ve set foot in a maison drenched in history, a Parisian icon. The world-famous cabaret’s current show, Féerie,...
Interview with French Ballet Star Yannick Lebrun
In French, it is called: Je ne sais quoi.
In English, it is called: The “It” Factor. Regardless of language and phrasing, French Guiana native and star dancer Yannick Lebrun has it. He’s got that...
