IT'S a passion that's in the blood for dancer Shikye Smith - and it's set to take her from the streets of Fairfield to the clubs of Paris.

Following in the footsteps of her grandmother, a Tivoli dancer who toured Australia, the talented 19-year-old has gone one better: she has been chosen to join the famous Moulin Rouge dance troupe later this year.

"It's very exciting to have one family member who was a part of history and now to have another family member who is also going to be a part of history.

"There could be something in the genes.

"It's really exciting and I'm looking forward to it, because I will get to do lots of dancing."

The former Westfields Sports student, Smith scored a position at the prestigious nightclub after auditioning in Sydney in April.

But it will be a dramatic life change for the performer, who has been dancing since she was three and attends a dance school at Menai.

She will move to Paris in October to take up the position, which will require her to perform two high-energy shows each night, six nights a week.

"My mum is going to come over with me to get me settled and help me find a place to live, but then she'll go home and only come back for visits," Smith said.

"I'm a bit nervous about living there on my own, but there are a lot of Australians there (at the Moulin Rouge). They love Aussies, and I think there will be a few girls in the same boat as me."

Smith will spend her first four weeks in Paris learning the show, which requires her to do an exhausting combination of splits, turns and leaps, as well as the famous can-can.

"I need to make sure I'm in the best possible shape before I get there and that I'm nice and flexible, because one of the worst things would be to get injured and not able to dance," she said