In the 25 years since the release of Baz Luhrmann's film "« "Moulin Rouge!"» gave audiences many unforgettable moments. Whether it was doomed lovers Satine and Christian (Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, respectively) sparking atop a giant elephant, or Jim Broadbent in a tuxedo performing Madonna's "Like a Virgin," the Australian director who shot «"Strictly Ballroom Performance »" And «Romeo and Juliet, turned the notion of musical films on its head. And for this achievement, the film was generously rewarded with eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Kidman, as well as Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, which it won.
But of all the film's iconic scenes, the performance of the Police classic "Roxanne" remains the most powerful. The scene "El Tango de Roxanne"—as it's titled on the film's soundtrack—unites all the main characters to set the stage for the film's epic finale. Satine, a courtesan secretly involved with the apparently impoverished writer Christian, is forced to go to the villainous Duke (Richard Roxburgh) and seduce him to preserve the ending of the play-within-a-film, "Spectacular Spectacular." Unfortunately, jealousy begins to plague Christian.
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In a tense atmosphere, one of the play's actors—a narcoleptic Argentine played by Jacek Koman—recounts a local legend from his home country, similar to the plot the audience is witnessing. Transforming The Police's "Roxanne" into a tango, the Argentine and his fellow Moulin Rouge dancer, Nini (Catherine O'Connell), act out the jealousy, passion, and betrayal that begin to escalate between the lead couple.
Captain of the dance team
The choreographer responsible for creating this tango was "« "Moulin Rouge!"» John "Cha-Cha" O'Connell, who has been dancing since the age of 6, grew up on old Hollywood musicals starring the likes of Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, and Fred Astaire. O'Connell met Luhrmann in the 1990s through their mutual agent.
«"[She] set us up on what was essentially a blind date," O'Connell tells Gold Derby. "I remember going to his apartment. There was so little in it. He had no furniture. I had to sit on the floor on newspapers. I thought, 'This guy is crazy,' and he thought I was a little crazy, too.".
After completing the work on «Romeo and Juliet» Luhrmann began pitching O'Connell an idea for «"Moulin Rouge!"» , and the choreographer immediately began researching, aided by full access to the 20th Century Fox archive. "I spent months just studying it," he says, recalling the work of choreographers like Ray Bolger and Maurice Chevalier. "I showed Baz interesting things and showed him… what we could do as a basis for inspiration.".
O'Connell also began exploring various dance styles, such as Argentine tango and classical Indian dance. According to writer and dance historian Katerina Pantelides, this sequence of events has some factual credibility, as tango began to gain popularity in Argentina in the 1890s. "Some believe it originated in brothels, but we know it developed in working-class neighborhoods," she explains. "It's a blend of Spanish flamenco and Italian folk dance.".
Before Roxanne was released, it took shape on a sheet of wrapping paper—a collaborative process between Luhrmann and O'Connell. "We'd put [the wrapping paper] on a big easel and just bounce ideas around... and sketch," O'Connell explains. "There's a lot of creative freedom there, because I've never heard [Lurmann] say, 'This is too much.' A producer might say that, but not Baz. There's a lot of creative freedom in terms of ideas, and then he basically leaves me to work with the dancers, and then he comes in and watches and gives notes, and it all goes from there.".
Learning the steps
Jacek Koman (far right) and the actors of the musical "Moulin Rouge!"«
Koman, for his part, was close to «"Moulin Rouge!"» From the very first days of its creation, ever since the series of master classes organized by Luhrmann during the script's development. The dancer participated in the second of three master classes, initially auditioning for the role of Toulouse-Lautrec, which ultimately went to actor John Leguizamo.
«"We just sat around the table, reading, talking, and discussing ideas, the script, and scenes," he recalls. Although he doesn't recall his exact thoughts when Luhrmann offered him the Argentine role, Coman knew it involved dance, and "Roxanne" already held a special place in his heart. "Roxanne has always been one of my favorite songs," he says. "I remember the first time I heard it, and it has a reggae-like rhythm to it.".
In his choreographic work, O'Connell first segments and structures each dance. "Often, I'll pick the best couple or the best dancer and work with them individually," he explains. "Then I'll create a plan and show it to the rest of the dancers, saying, 'Learn this.'".
For "Roxanne," he began working with O'Connor and a dozen of the company's strongest dancers, allowing them to improvise. "Let's just start throwing Caroline around the room," he says. "And when that happens, you'll see some great moves." He also deliberately incorporated traditional tango steps into Coman and O'Connor's routine. Coman himself spent a month with instructors specifically studying Argentine tango, though he admits O'Connell focused more on ballroom tango for this sequence.
Intensity was the guiding principle. Filming lasted 10 days, involving 70 dancers, and the dance sequence required several staged planning sessions involving O'Connell and Coman, along with 35 male dancers and an entire corps de ballet performing alongside them. "There's a language of movement, and the man leads," says Coman. "But it's a dialogue. Every movement dictates what the partner's movement should be. They follow each other. One movement follows the next in very rapid succession.".
The dancers often had to start work very early, heading to the dressing room at three in the morning. "On the first day, we didn't shoot until four in the afternoon," says O'Connell. "They'd show up at three and have to sit and wait. Then they'd have to get up and dance like their lives depended on it. That's the challenge of making a film.".
Turn on the red light
The tango scene was filmed on a large stage known as the Showgrounds, with five strategically placed cameras capturing the action. Smoke permeated the room—though it was invisible on camera—when Koman began the number with a loud, guttural "Rox-anne," showcasing the Mongolian throat singing he was working with at the time.
«"[Musical supervisor and co-writer] Marius de Vries fell out of his chair when he heard it," says Koman. "He said, 'Wouldn't it be amazing if you actually sang 'Roxanne' in that voice?' He recorded it, and then we went to Baz." But Koman still had to secure the right to perform the song, which was originally slated for José Feliciano, whose voice can still be heard in the final version. The sound design heightens the fear and tension felt by the characters.
«"You start playing, and suddenly you hear these claps," says Pantelides. "It doesn't even sound like you're playing an instrument. It's more like the sound of something or someone hitting something.".
After 10 days of work, O'Connell and Luhrmann had nine hours of footage left for the tango. "They gave me access [to the footage] for a week, which is very rare," the choreographer says. "They asked, 'Can you pick the best half hour?' I spent a whole week just looking through the footage and saying, 'Well, this needs to be included in this piece.'".
Both Coman and O'Connell regret Luhrmann's rapid editing—they say «"Moulin Rouge!"» The two or three cuts per second prevented the full dance sequence from being seen. "Because I was fortunate enough to see it all… I expected most of it to be there," says Koman. "But I think something was lost." Koman suggests Luhrmann could easily create a VR version of this scene, or something similar, where viewers could see the dance number in its entirety. (There are several videos on YouTube showing this scene without the cuts.)
Even in its abridged form, "Roxanne" remains one of the most striking scenes in «"Moulin Rouge!"» , featuring a fantastic blend of contemporary music, perfectly adapted to the era in which the film is set. A quarter of a century later, no one wants "Roxanne" to turn off the red light.
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