Toledo native keeps high-kicking can-can on track as dance captain on 'Moulin Rouge' tour

The musical "Moulin Rouge" is about magic, romance and dance, dance, dance.

And Toledo native Halli Toland is right in the thick of all that famous can-canning as a dance captain for the show's North American tour, which will play at Playhouse Square Wednesday through July 2.

For those who know and love the resplendent 2001 Baz Luhrmann movie, this is the live stage production based on the film. The national tour, which has been running for more than a year, will be making its Cleveland debut, bringing the glitz, grandeur and splendor of Paris' Belle Epoque to the Connor Palace.

The Broadway musical, which won 10 Tony Awards in 2021, including best musical, is directed by Alex Timbers and choreographed by the Sonya Tayeh, who both won Tonys for their work in the show.

As co-dance captain, Toland is thrilled to be working with the choreography of the famed Tayeh, whose powerful dances she grew up watching on the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance."

"It is a dancer's dream to do this musical," said Toland, 28, speaking by phone May 24 from the tour stop in Cincinnati. "This isn't your classic Broadway style. It is really earthy and grounded and contemporary."

When it comes to the iconic, high-energy can-can, audiences shouldn't expect those high kicks to look like pristine, precise Rockettes' kicks.

"I would say the can-can is like a lot rougher. It's grimy and this is a burlesque-type club and they're poor and (there's ) tuberculosis and there's slimy men," Toland said of the underbelly of the Moulin Rouge, a cabaret club in Montmartre featured at the turn of the 20th century.

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The dance, which happens in the musical's opening mashup, "Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!," is set to Offenbach's "Galop Infernal" in a show that celebrates 160 years of music — from 1858 Offenbach to today's Lady Gaga.

Toland, who's a swing and understudies the role of cabaret dancer Nini, said launching into the opening "Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!" is like a sprint, or being "shot out of a cannon as a dancer."

"It's very cardio-intensive," she said. "We're jumping for a long time and we're in these heavy, heavy skirts."

The whole opening's a spectacle, with confetti and lights, starting with the famed "Lady Marmalade" that audiences know and love from the movie.

"That's one of the best moments of the show, hearing the audience recognize it" and cheer for "Lady Marmalade," she said.

The story of 'Moulin Rouge'

"Moulin Rouge" tells the story of young composer Christian of Lima, Ohio, who falls in love with cabaret actress Satine, the "Sparkling Diamond" of the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

Christian becomes immersed in the world of the Moulin Rouge after becoming friends with Bohemians Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago. They live by the Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom and love.

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The club is run by Harold Zidler, who tries to save it from financial ruin by reeling in the controlling Duke of Monroth as an investor. Satine, who is hiding the fact that she's suffering from consumption, becomes a lure for the rich Duke. In the meantime, she's seeing Christian behind the scenes.

The jukebox musical's massive musical score includes the iconic original "Come What May" love song from the movie and loads of mashed-up pop songs, now remixed to also include hits released since the movie premiered 21 years ago.

"This movie is so many people's favorite movie of all time," said Toland, who first watched it as a young student dancer. "They've added updates and added new songs that have been popular since the movie's come out," including ones from stars Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Beyoncé.

Halli Toland has been dancing since toddlerhood

Toland, who grew up in the Toledo suburb of Maumee, started dancing when she was 2 and was competing by age 6.

"It was pretty hard core but it was so fun," said Toland, who danced in all styles.

She received a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater at the University of Michigan, one of the top musical theater programs in the country. The week after her senior showcase in New York, she was cast in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on Broadway.

"It was wild. I had one suitcase," said Toland, who had her belongings shipped to her and slept on a friend's couch.

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She next performed in "Carousel" on Broadway as well as "Cats" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on tour. In 2021, she played the role of Jets girl Sweden in "West Side Story" movie, where she performed in one of the most famous musical dance numbers of all time, "The Dance at the Gym."

"It really was magical," Toland said of dancing in the film, whose choreography is by Justin Peck.

Now, the Cleveland run of "Moulin Rouge" will be like a homecoming for Toland, who will have lots of family and friends coming to see her perform.

Priceless input from choreographer Sonya Tayeh

The dancer, who joined the "Moulin Rouge" tour in January, goes onstage often as a swing. The choreography's intensely difficult to perform eight times a week, so a large corps of dance swings fill in for injuries.

Toland, who took classes from Tayeh at dance competitions across the country growing up, got to meet with Tayeh on Zoom as co-dance captain for "Moulin Rouge." Tayeh told Toland and co-dance captain Justin Keats that they're athletes and the challenge in the dance is where the magic lies.

"She talked to us a lot about like intention, because we're telling a story" with the movement in each number, Toland said.

Toland's job includes giving dancers notes to maintain the show.

"If someone's spacing starts to get off, if the whole show's spacing starts to get a little off or if we're losing the integrity of the movement or if we're missing the intention, ... she (Tayeh) gives us tips on good ways to give notes to get the best out of the actors," she said.

Favorite medleys in 'Moulin Rouge'

As a Nini understudy, Toland performs "El Tango de Roxanne," a passionate and desperate tango with character Santiago that starts with "Roxanne."

"It feels epic and it feels kind of like a dream" as the characters serve as foils to Satine and Christian, Toland said.

The "Elephant Love Medley" is Toland's favorite from both the film and the musical. It features everything from U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It."

In this scene where Christian woos Satine, the company is part of the storytelling, which jumps quickly and cleverly from one song to another, ending with a sparkling view of stars and the Eiffel Tower.

"Getting to do it, it just feels like home," Toland said of dancing in "Moulin Rouge." "It just feels really good in my body."

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Musical: "Moulin Rouge"

When: June 7 through July 2, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, 1:30 p.m. June 8

Where: State Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cleveland

Cost: $39-$129

Information: playhousesquare.org, 216-241-6000

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Toledo native gets 'grimy' with all-out dance in 'Moulin Dance' tour