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| Kate James - Laura Rose - Laura Clee - Sarah Tarleton (obscured) perform "Je Suis Belle" |
L’ESPRIT DE PARIS - Luna Bar, Canberra.
Produced and presented by Kix Arts Productions
Choreography, costume and lighting design by Amy Orman and
Kym Degenhart.
Luna Bar – Canberra - July 13th 2025. Reviewed by
BILL STEPHENS
Luna Bar celebrated Bastille Day in style with an
extravagant French style cabaret, “L’esprit de Paris”, created especially for
the occasion by Canberra-based creative company Kix Arts Productions.
On arrival at Luna, guests found themselves immediately
transported into the atmosphere of a glamorous Parisian nightclub when greeted
by the sounds of accordionist, Andrew Purdam, and welcomed by spectacularly be-jewelled
and be-feathered showgirls strutting and posing among the banquettes and tables
of Luna’s elegant décor.
But this was only the start of the evening. After selecting from a range
of creative cocktails and sampling dishes from the appealing menu, the event
commenced and the significance of the title,” L’esprit de Paris”, became clear.
As The Marseillaise played, the lights dimmed and three
showgirls—one costumed in red, one in white, and one in blue—appeared on stage.
Amy Orman, who also served as the compère, performed Cole Porter’s I Love Paris,
followed by nine dancers in red who presented a version of Porter’s C’est
Magnifique, marking the start of the show.
“L’esprit de Paris” was created by Kix Art’s Artistic Manager, Kym
Degenhart, and Creative Director, Amy Orman, who together choreographed most of
the show. The production featured a series of lavishly costumed items performed
by twelve dancers and showgirls, along with guest appearances by comedy juggler
Graeme Fennamore and male vocalist Charlie Reed.
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| High Kix dancers performing the Can-Can during "L'esprit de Paris" |
The show featured numerous highlights. Notable performances included the
Zou Bisou Bisou routine, choreographed by Amy Orman and performed by Zoe
Tuckfield, Emily Bell, Alisha Mohapp, Milly Norris, Lilly Monterosse, and Sarah
Tarleton, and the energetic Can-Can, choreographed by Kym Degenhart and
performed with panache by Emily Bell, Shakiralea Healy, Alisha Mohapp, Milly
Norris, Rosanna Curtotti, and Kate James.
Kym Degenhart is a distinguished former dancer and Can-Can soloist at
the renowned Bal du Moulin Rouge in Paris. She has also served as Principal
Dancer and Dance Captain for Dance Encore Productions in Tokyo and is the
award-winning proprietor of Bom Funk Dance Studio in Queanbeyan.
An honours graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts,
Amy Orman spent three seasons as a singer with the Radio City Christmas
Spectacular in New York. She’s performed in a slew of award-winning productions
including “Smokey Joes Café”, “Merrily We Roll Along”, multiple productions of “42nd
Street”, and recently dazzled local audiences with her performance as Charity
Hope Valentine in Free Rain Theatre’s production of “Sweet Charity”.
Orman and Degenhart have joined forces to broaden the
creative vision of Kix Arts Productions, which already has a creative
partnership with Luna Bar for which it provides weekly Saturday performances.
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| High Kix dancers during "L'esprit de Paris" |
The recent acquisition of a collection of iconic costumes from Bruce and Lesley Scott’s DanceEncore Productions, some of which are original pieces from Paris and others worn by Degenhart herself during her professional showgirl career working for DanceEncore in Japan, has opened up unique and exciting possibilities for Kix Arts and Degenhart’s burning ambition to advance the art of the showgirl as well as provide opportunities for paid employment for professional and emerging artists in Canberra.
On the strength of this production, Canberra can look
forward to more exciting high-quality presentations from Kix Arts.
Photos by Luke Broadhurst.
This is a slightly updated version of the review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS
on 14th July 2025.
