Performance - Paris e-guide: The Travel Guide with its Own Website - page 118

Performance

Le Zénith giant multipurpose venue
211 avenue Jean Jaurès, 19ème • 01 42 08 60 00
www.le-zenith.com/paris • Q Porte de Pantin
Purpose built by the state as a venue for popular
music, Le Zénith benefits from great acoustics and an
intimate atmosphere, despite its 6,400 capacity. The
interior of the tent-like structure can be adapted as
required, whether for French chanson , a big-name
rock concert, ice-skating spectacle or sport event.

Cinéma en Plein Air picnic and a movie
Parc de la Villette, 19ème • 01 40 03 75 75 • Q Porte de Pantin
www.villette.com Screenings Jul-Aug 10pm Tue-Sun
On fine summer evenings, the large lawn at Parc de la
Villette is strewn with picnickers and cinephiles enjoy-
ing the night's free film. The huge inflatable screen
shows recent blockbusters and classic foreign movies
(all in original language) based around a different
theme each year. Deck chairs are available for hire.

Centre National de la Danse dance
1 rue Victor Hugo, Pantin 93507 • 01 41 83 27 27
www.cnd.fr • Q Hoche RER Pantin
This 1970s concrete office building on the banks of
the Canal de l'Ourcq was refurbished in 2004 to
house the HQ of the innovative National Dance
Centre. Inside are no fewer than 11 dance studios;
three serve as cosy spaces for cutting-edge shows by
young choreographers from all over the world.

Come to the Cabaret
Cabaret is alive and kicking in the city where it first
began, but it can be an expensive night out. Shows
at the iconic Moulin Rouge have the expected formula
of Doriss Girls, clad in feathers, sequins and rhine-
stones, dancing the cancan. At the Lido , it's the
Bluebell Girls who are centre stage, accompanied
by special laser effects, while at the Paradis Latin ,

designed by Gustave Eiffel, the dancers are joined
by trapeze artists and a ventriloquist. Crazy Horse ,
meanwhile, advertises itself as an exponent of “the
art of nudity”, though it is more tasteful than the idea
of topless dance routines suggests. To escape the
domain of wealthy tourists, try the gloriously kitsch
cross-dressing at Chez Michou or the even camper
Chez Madame Arthur . For contact details, see p225.