Thread: La Goulue - More History

In researching some items on Bohemian Paris, I turned up a story that La Goulue (The Glutton), once arguably the star of the Moulin-Rouge, spent some time as a belly dancer traveling at fairs after she'd decided her fame had outgrown the cabaret. Apparently this was a poor choice, as she ended up destitute and selling cigarettes in front of the Moulin-Rouge at the end of her life, where no one recognized her. There are even a few blurry photographs available of her (supposedly) belly dancing. Let me know if we've discussed her before - I don't recall ever seeing it, but what an interesting story!

Anyway, I thought I'd contribute the matter for further research!

Here are the blurry pictures:

One of my father's relatives dated her for a while.

I've got a book with a chapter on her, somewhere, I must try & dig it out.

ETA- the book is called "Stripping in Time - a History of Erotic Dancing" by Lucinda Jarrett (ISBN 0-04-440968-0, published 1997).

I reviewed it for MADN way back when it was first published, as follows:

STRIPPING IN TIME - A History of Erotic Dancing
by Lucinda Jarrett

I was trying to find a way of starting this review without making an immediate comment about the title, but it has proved beyond me. I know the title seems terrible. It appears to reinforce all the worst prejudices about Arabic dance, lumping belly dancing in with Go-Go dancing, stripping and prostitution. But it does give you a clear picture of what this book is all about. It is a highly researched history of erotic dancing, from the mid-nineteenth century to date.

Before getting up in arms about the apparent association of Belly Dancing with the Sex Industry, it should be noted that Jarrett does make a clear distinction in her Introduction between the social dance of North African women, and erotic dance. She points out that the former is based on "participation, not spectacle". This book is concerned only with the latter.

It examines the history of Cabaret, Variety & Burlesque, using detailed documentary research, and personal interviews. Jarrett uses an unusual combination of factual analysis and fictionalised first person narratives. She brings the voices of the dancers of the past vividly to life.

She includes detailed chapters on the Oriental dancers that have influenced the Western concept of strip-tease. In particular, there is a chapter on Little Egypt, and the dancers who came to the West for the World Fairs or Exhibitions at the turn of the century. There is also a chapter on the Orientalists of the early twentieth century, concentrating on Maud Allen, one of the early pioneers of oriental dance.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter, though, is the final one which deals with the current dance climate, in Egypt and in the West. Jarrett comments on the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism, which now makes it harder for Egyptian women to make dancing their career, and for some dancers to continue their careers. She looks at Cairo as a City, in order to put the dance scene into context. She paints a vivid picture of Mohammed Ali Street, and writes about dancers at all professional levels, from young hopefuls, to the Western expatriates, to the Stars such as Fifi Abdou and Mona Saïd. She raises many issues, of Feminism, of Censorship, of Sexuality.

Although my attention was first drawn by the chapters on the Arabic dancers, the rest of the book is just as interesting, looking at Paris of the Naughty Nineties, Berlin's decadence between the wars, and American Burlesque. This is a fascinating read.

Interesting! I would love to hear more about her, have been fascinated for years with Toulouse Lautrec and all those he chose to paint.

-Devora

That sounds like an amazing book! I'll have to look into it. Bohemian Paris is one of my research interests.