Crazy girls debut in Seoul
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Luxury strip show revives latent theater
By Yun Suh-young
“Crazy Horse Paris” began its two-month run at the 587-seat Walkerhill Theater on Monday, marking a new beginning for the theater which has been a renowned performance hall over the past half century.
After opening in 1963, the Walkerhill Theater has showcased a variety of performances of artists such as Louis Armstrong, Susan Barett, The Mills Brothers, Patty Kim, Yoon Bok-hee and Johnny Brothers.
The “line dance” was introduced for the first time in Korea by the Honey Bee Show at the Walkerhill Theater featuring slim, bikini-dressed female dancers performing the moves.
The show has been noted for holding a high standard in the recruitment of dancers. Those who did not meet the physical and academic standards need not apply. Dancers had to be taller than 162 centimeters, at least have a high school diploma and be between the ages of 18 and 21.
The opening act “God Save Our Bareskin” of the Crazy Horse Paris show in Seoul / Courtesy of Crazy Horse Paris
The Walkerhill showcased a variety of shows organized by the culture and arts team at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill until March 30, 2012, when it ceased putting on its own shows. Instead, it lent the Walkerhill Theater space to outside organizations to host their events.
Crazy Horse Paris can be described as a revival of the famed Walkerhill shows in that the performance itself resembles the Honey Bee Show, which created a sensation at the time featuring barely clothed dancers.
As next year marks the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and France, Crazy Horse Paris has become a prelude to commemorate the anniversary. Coincidentally, Seoul is the only city other than Paris to host the performance.
“But I Am a Good Girl” sequence from Crazy Horse Paris
Show history
Defined as “naked couture” or “art nude performance,” the Crazy Horse is a historic performance originating from France. It had been a sign of privilege among the upper class to attend the performance as it was considered a luxurious cultural activity.
For the past 65 years, the show had been viewed by 15 million audience members, including celebrities such as John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Steven Spielberg. The show actively collaborated with artists who were inspired by the performance such as surrealist painter Salvador Dali, designers Christian Louboutin and Karl Lagerfeld, movie director Woody Allen and singers Beyonce and Christina Aguilera.
Salvador Dali designed the red lip sofa featured in the “Lecon d’Erotisme” scene, while Paco Rabanne, Emmanuel Ungaro, Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Paul Gautier designed the stage costumes. In 2012, shoe designer Christian Louboutin participated as guest producer of the show.
A scene from “You Turn Me On,” one of the performances of Crazy Horse Paris
Created by Alain Bernardin in 1951 at a cabaret on the Champs-Elysee in Paris, the Crazy Horse has become one of Paris’ three representative shows along with “Lido” and “Moulin Rouge.”
The show is considered an avant-garde art performance mixing modern art and dance with humor and satire. It tickles the sexual imagination of the audience via women yet glorifies and values the beauty of female bodies. The producers claim it’s a “sensual” show, not a “sexual” show.
Ironically, the show is more popular among women than men, the dancers say. They even find it peculiar that the best audience were women and those who suggest viewing the performance are usually women. Apparently, the show is of the women, by the women and for the women.
A scene from “Legmania,” one of the performances of Crazy Horse Paris
Crazy girls
The Crazy Horse performance in Seoul features 11 nude female dancers wearing nothing other than colorful lighting as clothing.
What is interesting about the show is that the dancers don’t consider themselves naked. They say they’re wearing “extremely colorful clothes in different lighting.”
For some of the scenes, the lighting in fact was spectacular making the audience forget the fact that the dancers were nude. For other scenes with little use of lighting both on the body and stage, the dancers’ nudity was prominent and their movements seemed more seductive.
According to the dancers, who are mostly French — although there are a mix of diverse nationalities — appearing on the show as a “Crazy girl” is quite an honor as everyone in France knows the show.
Unlike the rather conservative Korean society, in France the show is aired on a French TV channel at the beginning of every year, and families and friends watch it together.
Hence, the competition for becoming a “Crazy girl” (referring to the dancers) is quite fierce. Every year, 500 young women apply to become dancers and only about 20 of them are selected.
For the first time in the show’s history, the first Korean “crazy girl” will be selected through a nationwide audition, organizers say. The chosen participant will debut on the Seoul show and receive an opportunity to perform in Paris.
The standard of selecting dancers is extremely strict. All of the dancers must be classical ballet majors who are between 168 and 172 centimeters in height and over the age of 18. The distance between the nipples must be 21 centimeters and the distance from the belly button to the pubic bones must be 13 centimeters. Those with tattoos or those who have received cosmetic surgery cannot apply. When selected, the dancers’ identities are kept strictly confidential.
Seoul show
The Seoul stage is a replica of the Paris stage created in salon-style with everything in red from the round tables to the classically designed chairs. To enhance the salon-like atmosphere, champagne is offered (for more expensive seats) to resemble the theater culture in Paris.
The show in Korea was coordinated by choreographer Philippe Decoufle who produced the acrobatic performance “Cirque du Soleil” which has become a global hit.
The Seoul show has more entertaining features compared to the Paris show, according to Rhee Byung-soo, president and producer of W&Fun Entertainment, who attracted the performance to Seoul.
“Crazy Horse will be a show that opens a whole new paradigm in the local entertainment industry,” Rhee said during a press conference held a week before the opening.
“The Seoul show has more entertaining moves compared to the Paris show. Whereas the Paris show is more elegant and calm, the Seoul show is more vibrant and lively from the music to sequences. We wanted the show to appeal more to the general public. We are also expecting a lot of Asian tourists from China and Japan.”
It is all due to the tenacity of president Lee that the show could be hosted in Korea, said Chairman and Managing Director of Crazy Horse Paris Philippe Lhomme, when asked why Korea was selected as the second location of the historic performance.
“He didn’t give up persuading me, although it took a very long time,” said Lhomme.
“I wanted to offer tourists and locals an opportunity to enjoy globally renowned original performance here in Korea,” said Rhee.