When Newcastle Dance Academy graduate Grace Whittaker was selected to join the world-famous Moulin Rouge in 2024, her mother Angela was so proud.
It's estimated Angela watched her eldest daughter perform in the Paris cabaret about 30 times in between her health battles.
Angela died in January after a long illness, but her youngest daughter Maya is aiming to once again make her mother proud by joining her big sister on the Moulin Rouge stage.
"I know she would think it's just amazing if both Grace and I were there dancing together," Maya told the Newcastle Herald.
"I think she would have absolutely loved to watch that, and she'd be proud of me for even doing the audition in itself."
Maya will travel to Sydney on Sunday to undertake a gruelling six-hour audition, in high heels, to showcase why she belongs in the sequins and pink feather boas.
"My sister has just said to me to just be confident in myself, be confident in my training, in my abilities, and present that confidence to them," she said.
"They're going to know if you're scared. They're going to know if you're this or that, so just hold confidence and just have a good time as well.
"Growing up, I was a ballet dancer, so it was very serious and it was very strict.
"Any auditions were very nerve-wracking, but it's so different when it comes to this style of dance, where you can really have a lot more fun."
Big sister Grace, 22, has also been selling the Moulin Rouge lifestyle to Maya, 19.
Grace performs two shows per day, six days a week, and also juggles modelling and TV appearances in France.
Last year she even donned a Wallabies jersey over her Moulin Rouge attire as part of the promotion for Australia's rugby test against France.
The Moulin Rouge has been entertaining the masses since 1889 in the French capital through a mix of old-school glamour, vibrant colour and sensuality.
Maya is eager to be a part of it.
"I've always liked burlesque style," she said.
"I've always liked that style of dance and how it kind of empowers yourself as a woman in so many ways, and it feels empowering when you're dancing that way.
"Moulin Rouge has got so much history as well, which I think is so important when you're dancing; you're not just dancing for nothing, but you're dancing a part of something that means something and has been around for so long, which is just something in itself."
Like Grace, Maya trained with the Newcastle Dance Academy from four to 16.
The 19-year-old has since become a teacher at the Broadmeadow studio and also works as a Pilates instructor and a personal trainer.
The studio has become something of a production line for the Moulin Rouge.
Newcastle's Rebecca Higgins has danced in the Moulin Rouge for the past seven years and Sophie Carathanassis joined in 2025.
"They love Australians because of how hard-working we are," Maya said.
