Naked ambition
Aquarter of a century ago, a vivacious 30-year-old Frenchman, Guy Lesquoy, arrived in Macau to create a nude dance show. The Crazy Paris Show became an instant sensation - a must-see back in the late 1970s.
Stanley Ho Hung-sun had wanted to bring an extravagant show to beef up tourism in the enclave, when a videotape from the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris caught his eye. Mr Ho contacted the saloon, and the manager asked Mr Lesquoy, a specialist in presenting cancan extravaganzas, to go to Macau. Within a year of arriving, Mr Lesquoy had learned enough Portuguese and Cantonese to give clear instructions to his Chinese stage crew, and exchange jokes with local Portuguese-speaking officials.
The Crazy Paris team worked diligently at integrating into Macau's unique social fabric. Mr Lesquoy became an active member of as many clubs as he could join, including the Rotary Club and the city's football team as a player. 'People understood I might be running a nude show, but that I was not a pimp,' he said.
Nor were the European dancers prostitutes. Some joined the International Ladies Club of Macau, a social group which at the time usually consisted of the wives of expatriate senior executives. 'The girls were [almost] nude on stage, but when they're not performing, they visited orphanages and elderly homes just like any other ladies' club member,' Mr Lesquoy said. 'The high society of Macau got to know them in person, and respected them.'
In the early 1990s, Mr Lesquoy disagreed with his bosses, who pushed for more revealing costumes and sexually suggestive dancing in the show. He left, and today, only a handful of tourists bother to watch the Crazy Paris Show.
Mr Lesquoy returned to Paris and opened a spa resort with a dance academy. Little did he know he would find it so difficult to readjust to his own culture. 'In Asia, people came to work and they stayed until all work is done. In France, people came to work and tried to go home as soon as possible,' he said.
One day, he just decided to close the resort and fly back to Macau. In the past decade, he has worked at the tourism bureau and with the East Asian Games Organising Committee as well as organising his own cancan dance troupe and running other businesses.
As Macau thrives in its casino boom, Mr Lesquoy is hoping to manage a show again someday.
'The success story of Macau is guaranteed,' he said. 'Glamour is what Macau longs for. I prefer the Moulin-Rouge-style shows, but regardless of the style, I will make sure it is glamorous.'
