Moulin Rouge dancer Eloise Connell’s inspiring journey from Perth to Paris (and back)

It’s 2am in Paris, and Eloise Connell has just completed two high-energy, nearly two-hour performances in sequins and feathers at the Moulin Rouge. The Perth-born performer is still riding the wave of adrenaline as she changes into cosy loungewear to settle down in the kitchen of her Montmartre apartment as much of the City of Light sleeps. The nocturnal lifestyle, the gruelling performance regime, and the glitz and glamour of the famous cabaret on the Boulevard de Clichy is a world away from Connell’s past life, when she worked as a physiotherapist in WA’s hospitals. It might seem an incongruous switch, but a return to Paris is actually a full-circle moment for Connell, who first danced at the Moulin Rouge 10 years ago, aged just 18. She spent two years at the company, before opting to return to WA to finish her studies, and spent six years working in health care. But as Paris geared up to host the Olympics, Connell felt the draw of her old life. To the delight and bewilderment of her mentors, she went through the intensive audition process a second time, rejoining the troupe in April just in time to perform the cancan as part of the Olympic torch relay last month. “I think as an 18-year-old, you get on the plane and you’re like ‘Well, this is fun’. And then as a 27-year-old you get on the plane and you’re like ‘Well, this is kind of major’,” Connell admits. “I (was) pretty ecstatic that I had the opportunity to do this again eight years later.” The life of a Moulin Rouge dancer is strenuous. They work six days a week, giving two performances per day, not to mention backstage preparations of warming up and getting ready. But Connell isn’t complaining — it’s her “dream come true”. “It’s a total pinch-me moment when the curtain opens each night, the lights come on, and the crowd scream,” she says. Although she says she feels like the “luckiest girl” in the world, luck is not what earned her the place on that stage — it was her hard work, determination and talent. Connell grew up in City Beach, part of a “fun, loving and sporty household” with parents Sharon and Patrick and older brothers Louis and Matt. Her formative years were spent immersed in a plethora of dance styles as the keen learner took on everything from jazz and tap to flamenco and ballet, training four to five nights a week and all day on Saturdays. “It was a huge, huge part of my childhood,” she says. “Mum and I used to practise for my dance exams in the garage and the whole family would know it was exam time when the garage was super-clean. We have always shared our love for dance together.” Maria Gangemi of Gangemi Dance and Entertainment taught her from the age of three to eight, before Danielle Wilson-Moore and Suzanne Arrigo took Connell under their wings at Dynamic Performing Arts until she was 18. While she loved dancing, Connell always knew she wanted to train as a physiotherapist. But when her mentor, ballet teacher Arrigo, planted the seed of an idea, it took root in the young Connell’s heart. “I was 16 and . . . she looked over and was like ‘Oh, you know, your legs are growing and you’re getting taller. You probably won’t make it as a ballerina but I think you should audition for Moulin Rouge’,” Connell says. “I had never really considered it. At that point I was doing lots of competitions and exams in dance but when you’re 16, you’re still not really thinking about what you want to do in the end.” The Moulin Rouge casting team visit Australia every two years to recruit newcomers, and by the time Perth’s audition round arrived, Connell was 18. Her mum dropped her off in the morning, and seven hours later Connell walked out with one of just seven acceptance pamphlets in the world. The offer guaranteed her a spot at the Moulin Rouge, but the cabaret’s limited performance places meant Connell had to play the waiting game for a few months. She busied herself with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Notre Dame University in Fremantle. Connell admits her family are academically minded, and her parents encouraged her to establish a balance between study and dance, in case she was injured. The long-awaited summons came in December 2014, just before Christmas, when Connell opened an email from the casting team and immediately ran to her No.1 cheerleader, her mum, to share the overwhelming news. Four months later, the pair were boarding a plane to Paris so Connell could embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The transition from Perth to Paris was a big one. Connell adjusted to a foreign country, long rehearsals, new routines, a different time zone and a completely unknown language. “The rehearsal process was three to four weeks, and it’s quite intense,” she says. She settled into an apartment block in Montmartre, just around the corner from the Moulin Rouge, with other expat dancers. Before she knew it, Connell was settled in and thriving. “I was super-well supported with Moulin Rouge; they make sure you’re not left on your own and to your own devices. They really help you integrate into life in Paris and make sure that all the girls stick together . . . which actually does happen,” she says. “Because you’re living with them and working with them, you develop friendships really quickly. I think it would be really difficult to live in a new place without having that base and developing friendships. You already have people who are looking out for you. “Everyone is from other places. There’s a few French girls but the majority are expats. Everyone does really stick together and wants to create nice little lives with each other.” Connell danced at the prestigious location at Place Blanche from 2015 to early 2017, when she spoke to associate artistic director Janet Pharaoh about returning to Perth to complete her physiotherapy training. “(I said) ‘I really want to get this degree and see where that leads, but I’m also not sure that this is the end here’. And she agreed. She said ‘We’ll always have you back, just let us know what happens and keep in touch’,” Connell says. She says it was “reassuring” to know leaving didn’t mean she was entirely finished in Paris, and she always had an inkling she’d return. Connell finished her degree and went into full-time work at Perth Children’s Hospital, also spending her weekends at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s intensive care unit — a time upon which she reflects fondly. She spent six years embracing life as a physio but that feeling of not being done with the Moulin Rouge never really disappeared. Connell was about to turn 27 when she contacted the venue and said she wanted to return. They jumped at the chance of having the Perth star back in Paris. Last month Connell and her fellow Moulin Rouge dancers performed outside the theatre as the Olympic torch relay passed through Montmartre. During her second stint in the City of Love, Connell is lapping up every opportunity to immerse herself in Parisian life between her dancing commitments. Connell’s work day begins at 7.30pm, when she arrives at the stage door in the shadow of the building and its towering red windmill. The next hour and a half is spent preparing, with hair, make-up and warm-ups. At 9pm, the curtains open for the first show, which runs until about 10.45pm, followed by the second show, which starts at 11.30pm and finishes just after 1am. Connell is back in her apartment by 1.30am to have a post-show dinner, before heading to bed at 3.30am. When she wakes around midday, she has the afternoon to explore — shopping at the historic Galeries Lafayette, picnics in the park, attending the ballet and visiting art galleries. She’s also excited to have scored tickets to the rhythmic gymnastics at the Paris Games, to see the world’s best combine dance and artistic gymnastics with apparatus such as ribbons, hoops, balls and clubs. Looking back, Connell is struck by how much of an impact her childhood dance mentors had, notably Wilson-Moore and Arrigo. “I was speaking with two girls I live with at the moment, and we’ve all got those one or two teachers that you grew up with, and who not only allowed you to choose your own direction, but also really helped guide you too,” she says. “They are really pivotal in becoming a dancer, but I also think they also help you through the journey of being a teenager and being in high school. (They are) more than just your teacher. “When I first moved to Paris I talked to them a lot. They wanted to know everything. And then again, this round I’m in contact with them, and they’re still a big part of my life.” In an introspective moment, the 28-year-old mulls over the advice she would give to her younger self, or any dancer aiming to follow in her footsteps. “As long as it’s still making you happy, just keep doing it. If this is what you love, and this is what brings you the most excitement or joy, then keep pursuing it until it doesn’t,” she says. “You just have to keep working towards your own goals, and not look at other people, but really focus on what you want and what makes you happy.” And as Connell sits in her Montmartre kitchen, tired but fulfilled by her Parisian dream-come-true, she’s proof that focus can take you places.