Taking on the world

Stacey Kenealy understands the power of the building a brand, writes Sally Clark.

Stacey Kenealy, is a home-grown performing artist who epitomises all that can be achieved when you are passionate, talented and pursue a career without geographic or artistic borders. She is also one of a new breed of artists astute enough to identify that the unique skill-set she has crafted places her in an elite category that appeals to international companies like Moulin Rouge, Coca-Cola and Westfield. Thus she works just as hard at developing an awareness of Stacey Kenealy as a global brand as she does her technique and maintaining peak physical condition.

Kenealy grew up on Queensland’s Gold Coast and trained at Paradise Performer’s Academy under Peta McKenney. At age 17, she began working professionally, first at Dreamworld and then in the Jupiter’s Casino production of “Zingara” – which, she confesses, ignited her passion for largescale shows. During this Jupiter’s season she successfully auditioned for the famed Moulin Rouge and so left the Gold Coast and relocated to Paris to join the company when her contract was up.

Her first two years at the “Moulin” saw Kenealy featured as a can-can soloist, highlighting her dance and acrobatic expertise. Being a multiskilled dancer, based in Paris, also facilitated other performance opportunities for Kenealy, such as fashion shows, film clips and live television performances - including presentations at Stade de France for audiences of 100,000 people.

Next, she became part of the Moulin’s touring company, affording a further five years work and the chance to travel to and perform in Italy, Malta, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, Moscow and New York. Kenealy recalls that this part of her career offered many new experiences, including performing at the 60th Italian Music Festival. The highlight of this Moulin experience, or “pinch-me moment”, as she likes to call it, came when she was asked to be the face of the company, for interviews, during their 2014 tour to New York, and especially when they performed on a stage in Times Square and for television news show Good Day, New York...

This is an extract from our regular Dancers Without Borders feature, in the October/November issue of Dance Australia. Read the full story and more! Buy Dance Australia at your favourite magazine retailer or subscribe here, or purchase an online copy via the Dance Australia app.