After four years in the Moulin Rouge, another four with the Lido, and a year or so as Batman at Movie World, Lee Kearney has swapped his decadent costumes for a costume of a different kind.
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"It was time to come home," Kearney said.
"A dancer can only dance for so long."
The 33-year-old, who grew up in the north Brisbane suburb of Hendra and started dancing and singing at the age of 11, said working at the Moulin Rouge was always a dream.
After years of training, Kearney said he prayed during the gruelling audition process up against "the best of the best" that his effort would be enough.
"I pretty much broke down to actually be offered that position, it was just amazing - so emotional to think of all those years of build-up to then actually be offered something," he said.
"It was one of the most amazing times of my life."
Kearney started performing in the Moulin Rouge cabaret in 2007. It was the same two-hour show, twice a night, six days a week, the whole time Kearney was there.
"It's a great show, why change something that's working?" he said.
After four years he returned to Australia for a break, and worked at Movie World as Batman.
"That was amazing, I did that for over a year."
But still feeling the pull of Paris, when a call came from the Lido to join their show he jumped at the chance.
Kearney worked in the Lido cabaret for about four years, and said working in such high-profile shows in Paris was intoxicating.
"You basically were royalty, you were very well looked after - wined and dined, invited to the best clubs, the best restaurants, the best parties," Kearney said.
After a few years Kearney decided it was time to come home.
"It was a crazy lifestyle, but there were a couple of things missing, family was a big one," he said.
"And also I think I was missing a bit of the Australian lifestyle."
While his job as a valet for the new Sage Hotel James Street may seem worlds away from his days as a cabaret performer, Kearney said there were plenty of similarities between the two.
"I still bring my character to work, I'm really happy with the job that I get to do," he said.
"Yeah, I don't put on the big costumes anymore, but I'm happy with my Sage costume with my name badge and my tie and my cufflinks, I still get to razzle-dazzle a bit."
Enjoying bringing some "pizzazz" to James Street in Fortitude Valley, Kearney said he now planned to make working in hotels his career.
"Don't get me wrong, I have done a little show or two on the side, but I know the curtain - it's gone down," he said.
"I know that I've been given this for a reason, I've built this passion for it now, and I can see myself heading down this career path and hopefully working my way into climbing the ladder one day.
"I like the all-rounder position at the moment, but??? if I train up hard enough I'd like to be able to go into management; it's something to work towards."
