It is not known exactly when Le Grand Ecart opened but the first mention in the press was in early but it may have been opened before this date. It had a modest entrance with a white stucco facade, projecting marquee in leaded glass with lettering on the side and a door with a diamond art deco design. The bar was in the entrance way from the street and was home to the wealthiest men and women in Europe who sat on stools.
The main tiny room was lined with mirrors around the smallest dance floor in the world. It was reported that The room is tiny and the dance floor tinier. The internal decor was in black and white. The mirrored walls were broken with occasional surfaces covered with shiny black oilcloth which also reflected colours, lights and people.
The cornices and angles of the room were outlined in strings of the smallest coloured electric lights like those hanging from a Christmas tree. The place sparkled. The ceiling was made of squares of corrugated papers and the chairs and banquettes were made of straw coloured wicker.
It was noted that there was a procession of interesting people who pass through the door every evening and it was regarded as the real treat of an evening out in Montmartre. These young men are the barometers of Paris, because where they are is the place where we should also be, as they follow the chic world of the night life, and indeed they may have even give such a place as this its reputation. Understanding the venue was simple — it was regarded as the same old story again in the sense that here was a new place in Paris which was so small that punters had to fight to get in and so it became the greatest success of the season.
All the world struggled to get in lest it be said that they are not in the inner circle of fashionable Paris. At first Le Grand Ecart was probably thought to be too small to stage a cabaret, but Louis Moyses may have introducing ballroom dancing acts or other entertainers from time time each season. However, in the s seemingly the trend became more obvious. For example, in January from the Casino de Paris appeared with the Whitman orchestra.
