Living a dancer's dream on stage

WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standard

DANCE AWAY: Gemma London takes choreographic instruction from The Boom Boom Room burlesque troupe director Ian Harma

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Gemma London, 24, is a Palmerston North dancer who has spent the last three years entertaining passengers with Las Vegas-style cabaret on cruise ships around the Caribbean.

She's back in town for Ring a Ding Ding! A Christmas Burlesque. She told MICHELLE DUFF about life as a professional dancer.

What is your background?

I started dancing when I was four, for Gwenda Britten dance academy. I've been dancing my whole life, I can't remember anything different to be honest. When I was 19 I moved to Australia and did a diploma in musical theatre for two years. At the end of that I signed up to an agency and did some Las Vegas-style burlesque shows in Brisbane.

Then I got a job on Carnival Cruise lines, and that's where I've been working for the past three years.

So what is a typical day for you?

The ships are huge – they carry about 6000 people. It's like a city on water.

We have a cast of about 16, with girls and guys dancing and a couple of singers.

We sign a contract for nine to 11 months, go to Miami for a month and a half, doing rehearsals from 7pm to midnight every day. Then you go on board and have two weeks of technical runs, and you can be up till 2am learning tricks with the magicians.

We have the whole day off, then sometimes we have a rehearsal an hour before a show. Then there's two shows at night and then we are done, and that's five days a week.

The rest of the time I'm just sunbathing, and enjoying seeing the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

What do you like about cabaret dancing?

It's my style, ever since I was young. I just think the shows we do are the most fun, they're stunning to watch. It's all feathers and sparkles, and that's what I've always wanted to do.

What are your plans for the future?

I've come back for Christmas and next year I'll work in either Paris or London.

I've just auditioned for the Moulin Rouge in Paris – that's French cabaret, it's a bit more refined than the American stuff. I'm on their books, so hopefully that comes through.

Dancing is my dream. It's exciting, and I get to travel the world and meet thousands of interesting people.

Not many people get to live their dream. Ring a Ding Ding!

A Christmas Burlesque is on at the Globe Theatre Tuesday, December 22, and Wednesday, December 23.

Gemma London will be playing the part of Roxy La Fox, a "naughty wee thing," director Ian Harman says. "She's like a little bomb just waiting to go off, really."

Bookings are at Centrepoint theatre.

- © Fairfax NZ News