Cancan

cancan (kăn`kăn), a lively French dance marked chiefly by high kicking. It was developed in Paris in the 1830s and became a popular social dance there. By the mid-19th cent. it was incorporated into dance revues and stage productions. Jacques Offenbach wrote the best-known cancan music. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec made celebrated paintings and lithographs of famous cancan dancers.

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cancan

a high-kicking dance performed by a female chorus, originating in the music halls of 19th-century Paris

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Cancan 

a French dance that emerged in Paris in the 1830’sat public balls. It is in 2/4 time, with an energetic, lively tempo. Characteristic steps are kicking out the legs and jumps. The dance was widely used in French classical operettas, especially those by the composer J. Offenbach (Orpheus in Hades, finale).Later, the cancan appeared on the stage of cafés chantants, where it acquired an extremely vulgar character. The French painter Toulouse-Lautrec often depicted women dancing the cancan.