Hanging in the pink bubblegum-colored dressing room at the new Can Can [0] restaurant and cabaret are ruffled skirts, corsets and frilly underpants.
But don't get any ideas, says owner Chris Snell, who opened the venue on March 11. Although you'll probably get a glimpse up a girl's skirt while his dancing troupe performs the high kicks of the cancan [1], it's a classy joint.
"It's a balance between being sexy and provocative, and classy at the same time," he says.
The Contabellas, a dance troupe of 12 gals and two guys, are both the servers and live entertainment at the Can Can. They serve dishes from a Mediterranean-influenced menu and take the stage for song-and-dance numbers. A house band will accompany them Thursday through Saturday.
Snell previously worked as an entertainment producer in Southern California. Last September, he bought the former location of long-time jazz club Patti Summers Cabaret in Pike Place Market — located downstairs in the Corner Market Building, next to Left Bank Books — and he has spent the past six months renovating the spot into a dining room reminiscent of Paris at the end of the 19th century.
The ambience may change after 10 p.m., when Snell's club will host live entertainment ranging from indie rock bands to lounge singers. But the cancan dance remains the core theme, and developing the concept this fall was serendipitous, he says. While shopping for supplies at Ross, he met a cashier who made cancan skirts in his spare time. Friends introduced him to ballet dancers from Cornish College of the Arts who became his dancers.
"Every aspect has been perfect timing," he says.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
