La Belle Otero

The cancan dancers in the first of these these two videos from You Tube are from a performance of an operetta, "La Belle Otéro".  The second video, linked by the presence of French singer Stephane Chomont, also featrures a similar cancan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM6JeW78DA0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1BXYcr-Dh0

The video quality is poor, but I like the classic costumes, notwithstanding the use of tights rather than stockings.

"La Belle Otéro" is obviously named after the Belle Epoque dancer and courtesan.  I'm not sure if it was a one performance - done for TV - venture or an actual operetta that is more frequently performed.

A search for other videos of La Belle Otéro led to this minor gem from a 1954 film, named "La Belle Otéro", starring Maria Felix that I was not previously aware of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvr4IxmdDo
(starts about 1:22)(the rest of the film is serialized on You Tube)

The French language film is an Italian-French production:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046764/

A couple of images from the film:

The real La Belle Otéro:

A video compilation with some very short actual footage from 1898:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnBJJkuc5I8

Her interesting biography, including various royal liaisons:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Belle_Otero