May CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2007

The Moulin Rouge opened its doors inMontmartre on the 6th October, 1889 during oneof the greatest social upheavals the world has
ever experienced. It was a time of collapsingclass barriers, as the middle-class and theriffraff began to mix, mingle and reach out toeach other across the social divide; and it was inand around Montmartre in Paris where thiswas most noticeable.
A popular culture began to emerge born in an
atmosphere of change, vitality and disorder; aperfect setting for the many artists, writers andfree-thinkers that flocked to the cabarets andmusic-halls of Montmartre to meet andexchange ideas. Their approach to life brokecompletely with the social rigidity of the time.
Entertainers, singers, comedians
and, especially, dancers came too.
And the Moulin Rouge attracted
only the best! But, perhaps, themost famous character associatedwith the Moulin Rouge was one of
the regular customers, a quiet, littleman who was almost always seen
there, the painter, Toulouse- Lautrec.
In his posters and paintings, Lautrec
immortalized some of the stars of the Moulin
Rouge. Like all great artists, his keen eye could
see beyond the surface of his subjects. He not
only stripped bear the souls of the people hepainted at the Moulin Rouge, he left us with aportrait of the very soul of the Moulin Rouge
itself, in all its grotesque splendor! (All 4paintings in this article are by Lautrec.)So, who were these characters immortalized
for all time by Lautrec’s brushes? Above all, there
werethe“ladies”
whoentertained Moulin’s gentlemencustomers
withtheir
exhilarating
dancingandoutrageous antics.

These “ladies of the night” were known as the“Diamond Dogs” of Moulin Rouge. The name camefrom their habit of throwing diamonds presented tothem by their adoring patrons into a fire. Imagine asomewhat low-class, free-spirited and very
boisterous courtesan and you get the picture. They
were prostitutes, entertainers and the inventers ofthe Can-Can! They were also the celebrity “superstars” of their day!
“La Goulue” (Louise Weber), at the height of her
career dancing at the Moulin Rouge,
became the highest paid entertainerof her day! She was loved andadmired not only for her dancing
skills, but also for her charming andaudacious behaviour. She would tease
the gentlemen in her audience byswirling and raising her dress to reveal heartembroidered panties, high-kick their hats off
and frequently gulp down her customers’ drinks
while dancing past their tables – thus, hername, La Goulue (the Glutton)!
In 1895 “La Goulue” was gone from
the Moulin Rouge and the owners
needed a new headliner. They offered“Jane Avil” (Jeanne Beaudon) the job
and she accepted. Her style ofdancing was the antithesis ofWeber’s. She was graceful, soft spokenand melancholic. Nevertheless, the crowd at theMoulin Rouge adored her and she became one of
the most recognized names of Paris’ nightlife.
Yvette Guilbert, like most, if not all, of
the ladies of the MR, was born into
abject poverty. But unlike the others
who, after attaining fame and fortune,
ended their lives back where they had
started, destitute, Yvette remained famousand respected long after her MR days. She waseven awarded the Legion of Honor as theAmbassadress of French Song.

(These words are in colour in the story)
upheavals 大変動 mingle 交わる emerge 出現する vitality 生命力 flocked 群がった
rigidity 硬直
exhilarating 気分をうきうきさせる
outrageous 無作法な
adoring 敬慕する
boisterous 猛々しい
audacious 大胆な gulp ぐいぐい飲む
headliner 大スター
antithesis 正反対
abject 絶望的な
destitute 貧困Joshua
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tonewMomandsonstudents, Iain’s magic students and Alice’s singers. Check out the report on the Notice Board, P3.
from everyone at Crossroads. We all wish you both the very best in your futures!
Junko Says: For those interested in the Government’s subsidy program tosupport education in Japan, please note that the rules are going to change soon.
Please get the details from me in the office. Also, if you or your friends areinterested in this, or any of our other programs, this is the best time to join up as
we are still holding our campaign and there are lots of great deals to be had. I’m
free any time to discuss these plans, so just come to the office.
Alice Says: Did you know that Prince William is a friend of mine? “Really…?” you might say.
Well, according to the idea of the six degrees of separation, it’s true! What does the six degrees ofseparation mean? It refers to the idea that everyone on Earth can be connected in no more thansix “steps”. In my case, my friend went to school with Prince William’s girlfriend, making us only
3 steps apart! I think it’s a nice idea that everyone can be connected to each other so quickly. It’s asmall world! Have a think about the people you know, where will your connections take you…?
Adrienne Says: My large, friendly cat, Leo, continues to disappear for several
days at a time. Every time he comes home he is noticeably fatter and smells offish. If I don’t start to feed him better meals, he may stop coming home altogether.
On the other hand, perhaps I don’t need him! I have a small back-up cat named
Jack. He is not as cute nor as much fun as Leo, the main cat, but still, a cat’s a cat!
Greg Says: The weather is warming up and that can only mean one thing….the beer gardens
will be open with the sound of slurred conversations and high pitched laughter. Actually thisspring / summer I intend to do two things a lot more than I did last year. I will have more BBQs
with friends (not to mention the odd beer garden here and there) and I will also take mydaughter to the beach. She is already looking forward to the Aussie summer (December) whenshe can hit the Gold Coast sand with her bucket and spade in hand to build big castles.
Iain Says: The other day we went out and picked up a Wii. It is a new video gamesystem that was recently released by the Nintendo Company. It uses a motionsensing controller. If you move your hand like you are swinging a racket your playeron the screen does the same thing. It sounds simple but it is actually really fun! Our
house starts to smell like a gym because the game is actually pretty good exercise.
Dean Says: Spring has finally settled in and it's a time for everything new in Japan. Newterms begin, new staff start their new jobs, new contracts are negotiated and commence inthe new fiscal year, amongst many other things. For me it was a time to explore some newtowns and villages in Thailand. It was just a short 10 day holiday, but it was fun! What
did you do for Golden Week? Whatever it was, I hope you had fun too!

Sunday, July 1st:
We are going to have a“performance Night” by ourteachers and their friends. You don’t
want to miss this one! Invite yourfriends to come along. Get the details
from Junko in the office.
Saturday, July28th:
It’s the end-of-term performancenight and party! Another occasion
to invite everyone to come along –this time, to watch youperform!

Meet Dominic – here he iswith new mom, Natacha.
Congratulations Natacha,from everyone here atCrossroads!

Don’t forget,it’s still campaign time!
Please invite yourfriends to visit us.
There are great deals
for those who join now.
Get the details fromJunko in theoffice.

A little background musicfrom Adrienne

Courses you can take at CROSSROADS
NET LESSONS:
Are you too busy to come to CROSSROADS to study? Try ourlessons on the internet! --- It’s CROSSROADS in your homeor office! You get CROSSROADS’ great teachers, teaching
programs, even classmates, all on-line! Call for details.

GENERAL COURSES:
2 x’s 60mins / week
1 x’s 90mins / week
Private 1 x / week
Semi-Private 1 x /week

MOTHER & CHILD: group or private
KIDS: group or private

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
A history of the Moulin Rouge can be found here: FRENCH with Natacha
SPANISH with Patricio
http://www.simplytaty.com/history/moulinrouge.htm
RUSSIAN with Natasha
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at theInternet activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll findgames, news and English learning sites.

GERMAN with Marita & Matthias
CHINESE with Noriko
KOREAN with Kum Fa

COSMOPOLITAN COURSES:“Singing in English” with Alice
Yoga with Dean
Guitar with William“Cooking in English” with Alice & Dean
“Magic English” with Iain
Piano with Adrienne
Acting with Alice
NETLESSONS:
group or private

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089) 921-7595
Fax: (089) 921-7319
E-mail:info@crossroadsco.com
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com