Why is the Can Can dance called that?

Question

I just always wanted to know this

Answer 1

because it was found a LONG TIME AGO.. where all the woman were FAT AND FAT.... so the dancer legs might be look like CAN.. or maybe DRUM.. (lol)

Answer 2

Origins
The cancan first appeared in the working-class ballrooms of Montparnasse in Paris in around 1830. It was a more lively version of the galop, a dance in quick 2/4 time, which often featured as the final figure in the quadrille. The cancan was, therefore, originally a dance for couples, who indulged in high kicks and other gestures with arms and legs. It is thought that they were influenced by the antics of a popular entertainer of the 1820s, Charles Mazurier, who was well known for his acrobatic performances, which included the grand écart or jump splits—later a popular feature of the cancan. At this time, and throughout most of the 19th century in France, the dance was also known as the chahut. Both words are French, cancan meaning "tittle-tattle" or "scandal", hence a scandalous dance, while chahut meant "noise" or "uproar".

As performers of the cancan became more skilled and adventurous, it gradually developed a parallel existence as entertainment alongside the participatory form. A few men were cancan stars in the 1840s to 1860s, but women performers were much more widely known. They were mostly middle-ranking courtesans, and only semiprofessional entertainers—unlike the dancers of the 1890s, such as La Goulue and Jane Avril, who were highly paid for their appearances at the Moulin Rouge and elsewhere. These individuals developed the various cancan moves that were later incorporated by the choreographer Pierre Sandrini in the spectacular "French Cancan", which he devised at the Moulin Rouge in the 1920s and presented at his own Bal Tabarin from 1928.

Answer 3

There are Egyptian relief's that depict the fundamental Can-Can high kicking above the audiences heads. The Catatonians and Parisian women (French) also are depicted kicking the hats off of the gentlemen spectators.


For more information on the CanCan here is a weblink

Answer 4

It's a French slang term that roughly translates into "Scandalous"

Answer 5

Think the person naming it had a s-s-s-stutter problem.

Answer 6

Good question