Wagga's Lara Smith lands contract with Moulin Rouge Féerie revue show in Paris

Miss Smith is one of two Australian dancers, and the only one from NSW, who has received a contract for the cabaret show after several rounds of auditions saw thousands try their luck earlier this year.

"There was an Australia audition tour earlier this year - there were several rounds and it was a six-hour audition," the 19-year-old said.

"I made it to the final round and was pulled aside and given a USB.

"I then received an email saying they would love to offer me a spot."

Every dancer's dream is what Miss Smith describes the experience she is about to have when she flies to Europe for the first time to start work as a showgirl.

But it hasn't come without a lot of hard work.

"I've been training so hard for the last four years in Sydney and it has always been in the back of my mind that I wanted to do Moulin Rouge," she said.

"I'm still in disbelief, I can't believe it."

In year 10 Miss Smith left school to pursue her dreams as a dancer and was one of 19 hopeful ballerinas chosen to attend the Tanya Pearson Academy in Sydney in 2019.

The Wagga powerhouse began dancing at the age of five, with her first love being classical ballet.

Travelling to Leeton once a week with her mother to attend a tiny dance studio, Di Salvatore Dance Academy, she began to expand her love for various genres.

"It just goes to show that you can do whatever you put your mind to," she said.

"If you believe in yourself and are determined, anything is possible."

It wasn't until she was a young teenager that she fell in love with the idea of being a showgirl in Moulin Rouge.

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"I was dancing in one of the eisteddfods when I was in year eight and one of the adjudicators said to me I would be great in Moulin Rouge," Miss Smith said.

Moulin Rouge dates back to the 1880s and is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.

"It's a beautiful act," Miss Smith said.

Known as a cabaret show that seeks out only the best of the best, it is incredibly hard for dancers like Miss Smith to secure a contract.

"I'll be the youngest in the cast, which is daunting but so exciting," she said.

"It's such a famous cabaret show, there's no coming back from getting to be a part of it."

Miss Smith will be living in Paris, and will undergo a month of rehearsals before she begins performing two shows a day, six days a week throughout the year.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said.

"It's going to be hard and I want to give it my best shot, but I feel ready for it.

"I think I know what I am stepping into."

The ultimate end goal, although it could take years of experience to land, would be to become one of the principals in the show.

Mother Benita Smith said she was incredibly proud of her daughter, who has shown a commitment like no other for dance.

"I'm beyond proud of her," she said.

"She has worked really hard and she deserves this - it has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears."

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