WINNIPEG - Overdramatic, overindulgent and over the top -- RWB's Moulin Rouge: The Ballet is practically bursting at the corset seams.

Everything about the new effort from choreographer Jorden Morris (Peter Pan) screams spectacle -- from the can-can skirts brighter than Carmen Miranda's fruity headgear to the embellished love scenes, booming French soundtrack, exaggerated sets and absinthe-trip dream sequences.

Granted, it's slightly less excessive than Baz Luhrmann's 2001 blockbuster based on the famed 1890s Parisian cabaret. But the plotline is much the same: A beautiful dancer, Nathalie (principal dancer Vanessa Lawson), becomes the star attraction of the showy windmill club while falling for Matthew (principal Gael Lambiotte) -- an aspiring painter who's new in town. Weasel club owner Zidler (principal Jaime Vargas) disapproves of the relationship, and thus, someone will have to die -- as melodramatically as possible, of course.

Before tragedy strikes, we get to see how the can-can is done en pointe in several frenetic club scenes. The dancers' vibrant skirts -- which costume designers Shannon Lovelace and Anne Armit spent countless hours and company dollars on -- are showstoppers on their own, with meticulously layered ruffles and tropical hues.

The eye candy doesn't end there -- three glittery green fairies (Jacelyn Lobay, Jo-Ann Sundermeier, Jennifer Welsman) pay Matthew and his famous painter pal Toulouse-Lautrec (Yosuke Mino) a psychedelic visit; Matthew and Nathalie share a tres romantique pas de deux on a lit-up bridge with the Eiffel Tower glistening in the background; and instead of staying in the pit with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, guest musicians Quartetto Gelato haul their accordion and strings up to a Parisian street set and perform in full-on gypsy gear.

If it all sounds rather theatric -- well, it is. Ballet purists may not approve of Moulin Rouge's tendencies to sacrifice properly executed fouettes for the sake of comic relief and to let Andrew Beck's sets and decorations (notably the huge spinning windmill lurking over the stage) shine almost as brightly as the stars. Dramaturge Rick Skene might have had to work overtime to get the dancers to emote as clearly as they do, given the narrative-heavy work -- which seems to lose some of its momentum in the second act.

Some promising dance talents do manage to emerge among all the drama and glitz. Second soloist Jo-Ann Sundermeier commands the stage as cabaret queen bee La Goulue, garnering hollers for her explosive half of a danceoff with Nathalie. First soloist Mino brings his signature quirk to cheeky Toulouse, Lambiotte's leaps could earn him a track-and-field ribbon and Lawson's vulnerable portrayal of Nathalie is nearly as flawless as her arabesque.

Not that we really noticed her arabesque among the flurry of gaspingly tight corsets, sky-high kicks and lively music. But hey, when it comes to Moulin Rouge, subtlety is overrated.

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