HUNTER raised Moulin Rouge star Jasmine Bard is preparing for a busy 2023, after a year that included performing the can-can on the starting grid at the French MotoGP; acting as a judge on television show Top Chef and modelling at Paris Fashion Week.
The Hunter School of the Performing Arts alumna, 24, joined the world's most famous cabaret at the start of 2018 and is on permanent contract.
Ms Bard works six nights every week - usually two shows each night - and performs the can-can as a soloist and in a duo. She is also the solo snake dancer and part of the company line.
"The feeling I get when performing on one of the most famous stages hasn't really changed," she said.
"I still have pinch me moments, I still love what I do and I still get some nerves, especially when performing the can can solo... I still have the moments of 'Wow, I am performing on one of the world's most famous and iconic cabaret stages in front of a sold out audience who are from all over the world.'"
Ms Bard said to get to the Moulin Rouge had taken "a lot of years and hard work".
"It is ingrained in me that to do what you want in life and what you dream to do doesn't come easy," she said.
"You have to work for it."
Ms Bard said the Christmas and New Year period was one of the busiest and most beautiful at the Moulin Rouge.
"All of the lodges or dressing rooms participate in a lodge decoration competition," she said.
"Moulin also gifts each lodge a Christmas stocking but in Moulin style, made out of our fishnet tights that we wear in the show filled with many yummy treats. Christmas in Paris feels magical.
"For New Year's Eve, it's a very special night at the Moulin as it's one show that ends just before midnight and the dancers stay on stage to do the countdown for the audience. This year was extra special for me as I had the honour of giving the voeux, the New Year's wishes and countdown. This was a moment that I will never forget."
Ms Bard was also the face of the Moulin Rouge's New Year e-card, sent to its subscribers, which she said made her feel "honoured".
She said other professional highlights in 2022 included travelling to a chateau in Bordeaux to appear on television show Top Chef; performing the can-can at the French MotoGP in Le Mans; helping promote a partnership between Airbnb and the Moulin Rouge; performing at the Château de Fontainebleau for a television appearance and modelling at Paris Fashion Week for Cristallini in March and Gaby Charbachy in September.
She said she had grown as a dancer and was showing more maturity in her style, technique and overall performance. "I will stay as long as I am happy and loving it and feel that I still can progress within the company," she said. It was hard to say where she would be in five years, she said.
"I love my job and where I am at right now. I can see myself still dancing and performing no matter what." Ms Bard has big goals for 2023.
"I want to keep progressing within the company, learn French fluently and pass my B1 exam, and travel to places I haven't been yet."
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