Discover the Cancan in the third part of this world dance series, which in its heyday elicited rather too much scandal in the Parisian district of Montmartre. They didn’t call this dance the Cancan (which translates as “scandal”) for nothing. Young ladies, (usually students) would shriek, provocatively throw their legs up high from beneath their long skirt and petticoat, and energetically move around the dance hall. However, at one time the Cancan wasn’t just a dance for women. It evolved from a popular partnered dance called the “Gallop” in the early 1800s (incidentally, a simplified version of “The Gallop” by Jacques Offenbach is most often associated with the Cancan). And at one—albeit brief—time, men would perform the Cancan in dance halls alongside women. (Some say that these gents caused even more of a ruckus than the ladies.) Although the Cancan style swiftly became popular outside of France, the acrobatic and choreographed chorus line of the Cancan that we picture today was actually imported into France from the music halls of the UK and USA at the beginning of the 20th century! Today, dancing the Cancan is relegated to the days of yore. But with a visit to the infamous Moulin Rouge, a destination made famous as much by the Cancan as by post-impressionist artist, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, you’ll still be able to feel the fervor of a typical French Cancan performance.