The can-can (sometimes non-hyphenated as in the original French: cancan French pronunciation: ​[kɑ̃kɑ̃]) is a high-energy and physically demanding music hall dance, traditionally performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings. 
The main features of the dance are the lifting and manipulation of the skirts, with high kicking and suggestive, provocative body movements.

The cancan first appeared in the working-class ballrooms of Montparnasse in Paris in around 1830.