Aussie Moulin Rouge dancer reveals sad truth behind Paris Olympics opening ceremony

An Aussie dancer who was in the Olympics opening ceremony has revealed what went wrong in their performance that has been brutally roasted online.

Moulin Rouge dancers have revealed they feared they would fall in the Seine during their performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which has been brutally roasted online.

The professional dancers performed the iconic cancan dance along the bank of the Seine river on Friday, which was broadcast across the world, but viewers were quick to express their shock on social media that it wasn’t an amateur dance group.

“I was like ‘they should’ve gotten the Moulin Rouge dancers to do this section. How embarrassing for them.’ And my sister goes ‘they ARE the Moulin Rouge dancers!’” wrote one person on a viral TikTok of the performance.

“I’m so confused. I think they accidentally filmed the rehearsal instead of the performance. These are the actual dancers from the Moulin Rouge, trust me they can kick!” assured another.

On the official Olympics Instagram account, comments describing the cancan as “shockingly bad” and “not synchronised” attracted thousands of likes.

Viewers noticed dancers doing the cancan at Paris Olympics opening ceremony were not lifting their legs very high. Picture: Nine

The Moulin Rouge dancers said the stage was wet and slippery, meaning they were unable to perform properly. Picture: Nine

But the talented dancers have said the rain made the stage so slippery they risked falling in the Seine with one wrong move.

One Australian dancer, Justin Hitchcock, explained that just seconds before viewers saw them on screen, they were trying to dry the wet stage with towels.

He said despite rehearsing for seven days in a row before the performance, in addition to their usual schedule of 12 shows at the Moulin Rouge, which features an eight minute cancan, they were devastated to not give the world the show they wanted.

“We knew at this moment the world would be watching us try and do our job on a stage that just became an ice rink once it was wet and left two of our beautiful cast limping home,” Mr Hitchcock wrote on Instagram.

“I’ve never looked at a dancer on stage at the end of a performance and been heartbroken and seen heartbreak in my fellow dancers’ eyes like I have tonight.”

The dancers did their best in the difficult conditions and were devastated to read hurtful comments online. Picture: Carl de Souza-Pool/Getty Images

Mr Hitchcock said he felt it necessary to explain the situation after reading hurtful comments online.

He said he and his fellow dancers were left “so disappointed” by the conditions but still did their best, and were trying to celebrate the “once in a lifetime event”.

Canadian Allie Goodbun, who has garnered a huge following on TikTok, had her comments flooded by fans wanting to know what happened.

In response, Ms Goodbun shared incredible footage from their rehearsal.

“So proud to be a part of this performance despite unfortunate weather conditions and a very slippery surface not allowing us to do THIS,” she wrote. “It was low legs, or we went for a swim!”

The opening ceremony has been subject to controversy.

Some Catholic groups and French bishops have condemned what they saw as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” in the parade choreographed by theatre director Thomas Jolly.

Criticism has focused on a scene involving dancers, drag queens and a DJ in poses that recalled depictions of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have taken with his apostles.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters on Sunday.

“If people have taken any offence, we are of course really, really sorry,” she added.