Moulin Rouge

Looking for an evening of glamour and romance this weekend? Go see Atlanta Ballet’s “Moulin Rouge—The Ballet”. The show features high-kickin’ cancan, gorgeous colorful costumes, and a love story set against the backdrop of Belle Epoque Paris. 

Don’t expect this ballet to be anything like the Nicole Kidman movie or the Lil’ Kim song. This is an original production for Atlanta Ballet, put on by the renowned Canadian choreographer Jorden Morris. 

In a nutshell, the show focuses on Nathalie—a young laundress-turned-cabaret-starlet in Paris. Nathalie is caught in a love triangle with a young Parisian painter, Matthew, and the Moulin Rouge super, Zidler. Nathalie and Matthew struggle to find love in a city enticed by alcohol, drugs, and corruption. 

About three weeks ago, Atlanta Ballet previewed a few scenes from the ballet at their new dance center (which is huge and stylish and super green, by the way), where Morris shared his inspiration for the ballet with the audience. Turns out he meticulously studied Parisian culture of the 1880s—the music, the art, the everyday lifestyles and struggles. Hearing the choreographer’s reasoning behind the dance moves made it a lot easier to relate to the story. From the two scenes I’ve seen so far, I can already tell the show is going to be classy, yet innovative and fun (there’s a great tango-on-pointe scene with Matthew and his green fairy, aka the Absinthe-induced hallucination).

Tonight is the opening night for “Moulin Rouge—The Ballet,” but it plays through Halloween at the Cobb Energy Center. I can’t wait to see the show and am making a night of it by grabbing some dinner with girlfriends in Vinings beforehand.