If at five years old Katie Malone had a crystal ball to see into the future she would have undoubtedly burst with joy. Like most girls her age she had just started dance lessons .
But while the fantasy of performing in front of huge crowds at iconic venues remains nothing more than an unattainable dream for most young dancers it became a reality for Katie. Amazingly the now 21-year-old has become the first Welsh woman to dance at the Moulin Rouge in Paris – the world's most famous cabaret.
Katie said it all started when her mum enrolled her into Ambitions Dance Centre in Wrexham which she attended until she was 16. Although dancing was just a hobby for her at that point Katie said her love for the sport inspired her to take it more seriously.
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She said: "I decided I wanted to take it professionally so I applied to some colleges that specialised in dance. I ended up getting a place at Northern Ballet School in Manchester where I trained for three years." Katie said she focused her studies on jazz and was also trained in ballet, tap, and contemporary styles.
After she graduated in 2020 Katie said she worked as a dancer at Butlins in Minehead where she danced in pantomimes and other productions held at the resort. But around Christmas 2021 Katie returned home to Wrehxam and decided the job wasn't for her.
She said for the next four months until April 2022 she worked at a local pub not knowing her life was about to change forever. She said: "My life was pretty quiet at this point. I would just go out and walk the dogs and work at the pub in the evenings. I wasn't expecting to get an audition at the Moulin Rouge but it had always been a dream job of mine so I did it anyway.
"I sent over my show reel – a video of me dancing in various styles – which I put together to music and I sent over my performance CV with head shots. I applied via their website and then they ended up giving me an audition in April. It was all very quick – I applied about two weeks before that."
Katie said for the audition she had to go all the way to Paris and perform at the legendary venue. She said: "The audition was a super-exciting experience because I had never been to Paris before. I spent the evening and night here so it was nice to explore the city a bit. It was a very different life to my life in Wrexham. It was such a privilege to just have the audition and dance there."
During her audition Katie said she was pulled aside and told they were interested in her. However she said it was still surreal when she found out she had got the job. She said: "About two hours after the interview I was walking around a supermarket when I got an email from them. It said they'd like to have me dance there as long as I could get my visa sorted by the start date in two weeks time. I was absolutely ecstatic."
After she successfully obtained her visa Katie moved to Paris where she was hurled into an intense training programme to prepare for the cabaret's resident show Féerie. She said: " We started rehearsals in April which was a four-week process learning the can-can every day.
"It was very intense because we'd be drilling can-can techniques like kicks or cartwheels – not even learning the full dance. The dance itself is very intense and it takes a lot for your body to get used to it. At the start we weren't allowed to kick our legs above 45 degrees or above our hips but in the show we kick them all the way up. We weren't allowed to kick our legs too high at the start in case we got injured."
Katie has been performing to live audiences at the Moulin Rouge since May. She performs two shows each day which last for two hours. She appears on stage for more than 10 numbers including her favourite can-can.
"My first performance was very nerve-racking," she said. "Moulin Rouge is very iconic and there are certain standards you need to uphold – you want to make sure you're doing everything correctly and doing the show justice. We watched it in rehearsals sometimes and it never failed to amaze me. I had a lot of adrenaline but had to make sure to keep it under check. Doing the can-can twice a day does take a toll on your body but it's so worth it."
But the dancing isn't all that's physically demanding for the performer as, some of the costumes can weigh around half a stone. Katie said: "The costumes are really, really heavy. Our can-can costume weighs five kilograms. Then for our finale costume we wear a huge feather backpack which lights up at the end. It's super-gorgeous but it's so heavy. It weighs six kilograms so you have to be very strong. My favourite costume is the pirate costume – it's a gold headdress with blue feathers. The costumes are absolutely amazing and they're made to measure."
When Katie isn't covered head to toe in feathers, sequins, and rhinestones she said she loves exploring Paris. She currently lives in a flat above Moulin Rouge's distinctive red windmill along with two other dancers. She explained how the company helps new dancers settle in by offering them rented accommodation as well as setting them up with healthcare and a social security number.
She said: "I love living in Paris. I love that I can just walk and get the metro to any part of the city. I love the culture and the pastries. It's such a beautiful city and so different from home. It's nice to experience the city life rather than the countryside and farms I'm used to. At the moment we don't have anything set that we have to do in the days so I spend that time outside walking or reading. I try to explore Paris a bit and try to learn a bit more about the city."
For now Katie is on a one-year contract at Moulin Rouge but she hopes it will be extended so she can spend many years living her dream. She said her friends and family are all extremely proud of how far she's come since she started dancing as a five-year-old. However she said there is one person in particular whom she owes her success to – her former dance teacher Michelle Harper.
Katie said: "I contact my old dance teacher whenever I achieve something dance-related. She is still teaching at Ambitions in Wrexham. It's nice that she's so proud because it's the local dance school in Wrexham and especially because she sparked my initial love for dance. She helped us out because we didn't have much money."
It doesn't matter that Katie has been performing in Paris for several months now – she still has to pinch herself to believe it really is her reality. She said: "I absolutely love the show, I love the costumes, and everything about it is just amazing. This really is a dream come true."
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