Frilly dresses and legs that lift high. It's a little after 8 p.m. this Friday evening when “The Infernal Gallop of Orpheus into the Underworld” by Offenbach resounds on the Quai d'Orléans, a stone's throw from Notre-Dame. The second table of the opening ceremony - which will have twelve - starts at full speed.
A few minutes earlier, Lady Gaga launched the show in Barye Square, near Austerlitz. The pop star paid homage to the French music hall. Surrounded by dancers and pink feathers, the American diva performed the famous “My thing in feather” by Zizi Jeanmaire. A way to pay tribute to this iconic magazine leader.
A few meters further on, there are now other feathers, those of the Moulin-Rouge. For this second scene, around forty dancers beat the pavement in rhythm to the tune of the best-known French Cancan in the world. A few dancers accompany them on this piece, slightly revisited for the occasion with some electro notes.
But the tradition is there. Since its creation at the end of the 19th century, the French Cancan has been part of the Parisian postcard. A cabaret dance which continues to make the reputation of institutions, such as those of the Moulin-Rouge, where tourists continue to flock.
At the end of April, the cabaret planted at the foot of the Montmartre hill lost its wings, which suddenly fell apart. But it is impossible to leave the monument in this state for the Olympics. Temporary wings have been installed, pending permanent repair.
Some saw it as a reference to the hero of the French video game “Assassin’s Creed: Unity”. According to the documentary Opening Ceremony: First Secrets, by Manuel Herrero, Thomas Jolly, artistic director of this show which will take place on and around the Seine, imagined a sequence during which the flame, carried by waiters, is stolen. By a mysterious white-hooded acrobat.
The character then takes the viewer on an eventful journey through the most beautiful sites in Paris, including under the gargoyles and a rose window of Notre-Dame Cathedral. This is one of the secrets revealed in this documentary, broadcast Wednesday and Thursday evening on France 2 and visible on replay.
If he does not give the names of the artists who will sing during the ceremony, a question which fascinates and raises the hopes of Celine Dion fans, Thomas Jolly indicates that in his eyes, “all the songs had to be French”. It also evokes ideas linked to the Louvre museum, the setting for a Mona Lisa which continues to attract foreign tourists.
The documentary also lets us see Paris Opera star Guillaume Diop in full rehearsal. He is scheduled to perform on the roof of the Théâtre de la Ville-Sarah Bernhardt.
Dance director for the ceremony, Maud Le Pladec indicates that several dancers will take to the roofs between the Notre-Dame bridge and the Pont-Neuf. “With a harness”, and without being able to “move more than 40 cm to the right and left”. More unusual, the caterpillar, a festive and popular choreography, could be invited into the show...
The project's scenographer transforms the floor of one of the bridges into a gigantic catwalk for a fashion show. With red carpet and black and white checkered floor. And barges decorated on the theme of the gardens of Versailles see around a hundred artists and athletes, dressed as historical characters, performing choreographies, skateboarding or BMX jumps.
Friday, D-Day, some 3,000 dancers, musicians and actors will storm the banks and bridges on a six-kilometer route going up the river from east to west to the Eiffel Tower. At the foot of which a stage which takes up its iron silhouette has been erected. “We’ve been working for this moment for years. We look forward. We all know how the success of this opening ceremony is decisive for the success of the Games,” Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet told Le Figaro.
