Jean Buckley has an exotic and glamorous job. Well, it appears as such until she begins to divulge the detail involved in her chosen career. A typical night's work can involve changing her clothes up to 20 times; donning three pairs of gloves at one time; putting Copydex glue on her eyelids and dancing while wearing a hat weighing eight kilos.
A number of her colleagues have had themselves surgically altered for the job but the Dublin woman has drawn the line at such enhancement.
Jean is a dancer with the world famous Moulin Rouge in Paris, the cabaret immortalised by the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The only Irish person in the troupe, she admits when describing what this apparently dazzling job involves that it falls far short of expectations. However, she loves it. "Adrenaline is like a drug and I am addicted to it. It is very hard to beat the `up' that you get out of it. I'm not quite ready to hang up my lashes," says Jean, referring to the false eyelashes she dons before each performance, kept in place with glue.
Dancers from all over the world work at the Moulin Rouge and most will tell you it had been a lifelong dream to perform there. The troupe is just settling into the rigours of a new show, called Feerie, which opened before Christmas. After 11 years of the previous show, Formidable, it was certainly time for a change.
A new show meant a number of existing dancers were let go but Jean survived the purge. She appears sanguine about the rigours of a dancer's life. "I know a girl who spent weeks in rehearsals but she was fired on her first night because they felt her legs were too short. There were problems with two girls that started with me because one was too fat and they didn't like the other girl's nose. They put her in the back but eventually managed to get rid of her. It is awful really. A lot of people get nose jobs and get collagen in their lips, or boob jobs," she explains, adding, "boob jobs are out at the moment: they (the management) don't like them. A while ago these people making a documentary came here to film because they were making a programme on `perfect bodies' but they said that when you looked at the cosmetic surgery people had had, the bodies were not so perfect after all."
Management at the Moulin is unabashed about the criteria set down for its dancers. In its promotional material it states that the female dancers have to measure at least 5 foot 8 inches and have "astounding figures that will leave spectators spellbound". For the male dancer it simply states that they must be over 6 foot 3 inches. "The artistic directors pay particular attention to the aestheticism and the physical condition of the troupe: losing or gaining weight is forbidden, cutting or dying one's hair is strictly monitored . . . The show must be perfect every night."
Jean (29) learnt early to deal with the high physical expectations. From Portmarnock, she began her dance career at the Dublin Ballet School. When she was 10 years old she auditioned for London's Royal Ballet but was told that she would grow to be too tall. Despite her tender years she was not put off and has since danced in Japan, Australia, Korea and Italy as well as a stint dancing on cruise ships. "Someone can decide to reject you simply because they do not like your face. Of course that hurts, but you have to get used to it."
The Moulin, famous for the French cancan, is less raunchy than some of the other Parisien cabarets but it does involve dancers exposing rather a lot of flesh. "It is never sleazy. You are not standing on a podium in a gstring. You are a dancer covered in jewels. I know that some of the other cabarets such as `Crazy Horse' are different but I would not be happy doing that. I prefer not to be topless."
She has always wanted to work at the Moulin Rouge. Working there means performing two shows a night, arriving at 7.30 p.m. and finishing at 1.30 a.m. A show involves numerous costume changes. Some of the outfits are very elaborate but the change must be carried out in seconds. Some of the shortcuts involve wearing three pairs of gloves at once and peeling them off as necessary. There are often rehearsals during the day. Dancers earn between u£1,500 and u£3,750 a month.
"I have been treated well here. I've been on tour and been a soloist. But you are either a face they use regularly or not. You can be flavour of the month and then suddenly find that you don't get picked. I'm 29 now and I never really imagined that I would still be dancing at this age. I'd like to retire here and finish while I am still good."