MOULIN ROUGE
VARIETY is the spice of life – and no one knows it better than South Shields dancer Caroline Renno.
The 29-year-old has been dancing with the world-famous Moulin Rouge in Paris for five years – and there’s no sign of her giving it up any time soon.
It’s all down to the fact she understudies for all the lead dancers and soloists, meaning that, for Caroline, no two nights are ever the same.
She said: “I work six days a week with two shows every night, and I love it.
“The show runs every single day of the year and, because we all get a day off, I’m doing something different every night.
“I am the replacement for all of the leads so most of the time I’m playing a lead. It keeps it fun and different. If I had to do the same show every night I think I would be back home by now.”
She added: “It’s amazing to wear all the beautiful costumes and perform every night to an absolutely packed- out audience from around the world.
“I even get to swim with five live pythons.”
Famous
But don’t expect the famous haunt to be anything like the 2001 Baz Luhrman film.
The ex-Whitburn C of E School pupil, whose parents, Carol and Lawrie, still live in Westoe, added: “It’s really nothing like that. The only thing which is the same is the can-can. It has made the Moulin Rouge more famous and popular.”
Caroline, who lives in Paris with her French-American boyfriend Olivier, 35, began dancing at the age of two-and-a-half with Valerie Shepherd School of Dance in South Shields.
She also danced in the borough with Kathleen Burden Ballet School and at just 16 she earned a place at the prestigious Phil Winston Theatreworks college in Blackpool.
She has performed all over the world including touring the Moulin Rouge across France, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London.
“The best place we’ve been to on tour, is the Brazil Carnival in 2009,” she said. “That was totally amazing to be part of.”
But her hectic life doesn’t make her miss her Westoe home, where her folks still live, any less. She added: “I really miss my parents, brothers and friends, so I try to get home when I can. It’s just an hour on the plane but one day that’s what will bring me home.”
Dance teacher Valerie Shepherd said: “The whole school is proud of her because of what she has achieved. When she’s home she always pops in and sometimes passes on her expertise.
“This summer I’m finally going to see her at the Moulin Rouge.”
MOULIN ROUGE
Paris - France
www.moulinrouge.fr
