Tag Archives: Folies Bergere

Art & Decor

Charles Gesmar

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Charles Gesmar by Angelo Luerti

Charles Ges(i)mar, simply known as Gesmar, was one of the greatest designers of costumes and posters during the golden age of the Paris music hall during the Jazz Age and was primarily renowned for his work for the great Parisian star Mistinguett. Although his tenure was short, his output was prolific and his creativity and talent unrivalled.

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Art & Decor

Hugh Willoughby

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The British artist Hugh Willoughby rose to prominence in the new wave of costume designers and illustrators that emerged after the First World War during the Jazz Age. He made a name for himself in London and Paris before moving to the USA in the mid 1920s.

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Personalities

Nina Payne

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Nina Payne

Nina Payne was an eccentric, futurist American dancer who, after long years in vaudeville travelling across the USA, made a trip to Europe and became an instant hit in Paris where she remained throughout the 1920s.

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Dancing Duos

Fowler and Tamara

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Fowler and Tamara

Addison Fowler and Florenz Tamara were undoubtedly one of America’s leading exponents of ballroom dancing in the mid 1920s through the early 1930s. Although they had an extensive repertoire it was Spanish themed dances that made their name and the fact that they looked good and had a great knack of wearing deliciously evocative costumes.

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Dancing

The Pony Trot

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The Pony Trot

The Pony Trot was an extension of the Pony Ballet allegedly devised by John Tiller in the 1890s and made famous by the Dolly Sisters in 1914 and thereafter as an exhibition dance.

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Dancing Duos

The Hengler Sisters

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The Hengler Sisters

At the turn of the century the Hengler Sisters (May and Flora) were child protegees of society who became stars on both sides of the Atlantic, famous for their singing and dancing act. But gossip suggested that huge bills for their stage dresses and transatlantic fares consumed nearly all they earned. They were one of the first trail-blazing sister acts that would later become such a popular feature of the Jazz Age.

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