Kelly Brook turned down eating bugs in the jungle to be in risqué new cabaret Crazy Horse. And the 33-year-old actress, who is a trained dancer, certainly made the right decision in her eyes as she got rather philosophical when it came to her final night. Producers also had a lot to celebrate with the sultry star bringing in a 250 per cent boom in ticket prices since her guest run started.
But for Kelly Brook, who turned 33 on Friday, the show was less about stripping down and more about putting her dance training to good use. ‘I am hoping that this has reminded everyone why I am still around,’ she says. ‘Because this, more than anything else, is what I love. It’s taken me back to my roots, it’s why I got into showbiz in the first place and it’s why I put up with what I put up with . . . what I have to.’ Unknown to some Kelly trained primarily as a dancer at the Italia Conti Theatre School in London for three years before she started modelling and her career took off in directions she would have never imagined.
‘In your career you get swept away and taken in all directions,’ she says. ‘Sometimes you have to be quite business-minded and political. Kelly even begged promoter Harvey Goldsmith to let her be a part of Crazy Horse after seeing the show in Paris. Crazy Horse, which has been a fixture of Parisian life for more than 60 years, has a formidable reputation as the world’s most seductive cabaret. It is a blend of eroticism and inventively choreographed dance — a mixture of creamy flesh, long legs and high fashion. The dancers get through 2,500 pairs of stockings in a season, as well as 500 litres of make-up and 300 lipsticks specially made in the shade of Rouge Crazy.
High fashion is a major attraction, with their stilettos designed by Christian Louboutin and costumes — such as they are — created by corset queen Poupie Cadolle. Kelly has found herself following in some famous footsteps — other Crazy Horse productions have featured burlesque stars Dita Von Teese, Carmen Electra and even Pamela Anderson. ‘I first saw Crazy Horse in Paris about four years ago and I thought it was the most amazing show I had ever seen,’ Kelly recalls. ‘It was so beautiful to watch and I loved the way it really celebrated the female form.
‘The girls are naked, but it is about so much more than that. The choreography and lighting are so incredible that it is mesmerising. ‘It is famous for being the best cabaret in the world and commands huge respect,’ adds Kelly. ‘I am all about the integrity, and I think as long as that’s how you approach things, then you can’t go wrong. But it’s pretty hard to find nowadays. ‘I had a long chat with the choreographer and I said that if the show was coming to the UK I would love to be in it, but I was told they did not often have guest stars and it felt very much like there wasn’t an opportunity. But it was still one of my dreams.’ – Dailymail