Queanbeyan has a slice of Paris tucked away in its refined suburbs, with a former Moulin Rouge dancer re-living her high kicks in High Street.

East Queanbeyan is a long way from Paris’ 18th arrondissement, but somehow showgirl Kym Degenhart found her way here from the City of Light.

For someone who’d never planned to be a dancer (she studied journalism), Kym has had a remarkable dance career, including two years at the famed Moulin Rouge.

You’ve seen the movie, now here’s the real-life version.

“It’s really tough,” Kym said. “My audition went for four hours. They generally try and do a two-hour call before they make any cuts so it gives you time to settle the nerves and start to showcase your ability instead of panicking about learning the steps.

“I came out of that audition with bleeding blisters.”

Kym was only 21 when she entered the famous, historic cabaret that runs two shows a night, 365 days a year.

She and 60 other dancers (14 different nationalities) performed six days a week, starting on the can-can line that’s a 12-minute marathon in a way”.

“Over 700 shows I clocked up in my time there,” Kym said.

The Moulin Rouge may look glamorous, but backstage the reality was gruelling.

Each night Kym arrived at 8pm to do her makeup, body paint and check her dance positions for the two shows that last one hour and 45 minutes each (during which Kym was in 10 dances, each with a different costume).

“We would climb a minimum of 638 stairs backstage every night because our dressing rooms were upstairs,” Kym said. “So for every single change between routines, we had to go up and down the stairs.

The contract (written in French) that Kym signed was strict. Not only must Moulin Rouge dancers be a certain height, they must also maintain a certain weight and measurements.

There were perks, however, such as free entry and drinks in VIP nightclubs in Paris and getting to meet Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz.

On a rare day off, Kym would explore the city because – unlike sleepy Queanbeyan – Paris is open 24 hours.

“Because you’re performing until 1am in the morning, you wouldn’t go to sleep until about 3am and you’d sleep through till about midday,” she said. “It definitely is like night shift.”

These days, Kym works not far from the Molonglo River, a long way from the River Seine in Paris. The nearby low-level bridge is far from Pont Alexandre III, her favourite Parisian bridge where she’d watch the lights of Eiffel Tower.

“It’s a conversation starter that’s for sure,” Kym said. “It wasn’t ever really my plan to be a dancer so that’s probably the most ironic part of it all, but I’m so grateful to be paid to do something that I absolutely love.”

After high-kicking and cartwheeling with the Moulin Rouge, Kym wound up in Queanbeyan through work, originally brought to Canberra to be a principal of a dance studio and later teaching at Canberra high schools.

Today, she has her own dance studio: Bom Funk.

“I’ve been here for 13 years now and I never thought I’d end up here out of all places,” Kym said. “We’ve created a little showgirl company – High Kix Cabaret – which gives local dancers the opportunity to learn, perform and experience this style of dance.”

Out of Moulin Rouge’s 1000+ costumes of feathers, rhinestones and sequins and 800 pairs of shoes, Kym has only a jar full of tiny souvenirs.

“If we were dancing on the stage and could see a bead – like when we were in a split on the ground in can-can – we’d try and pick up the beads,” she said.

Apparently there’s a saying that floats around the entertainment industry: “Once a Moulin Rouge Girl, Always a Moulin Rouge Girl.”

For more info about High Kix: bomfunk.com.au