Back in 2010, two Adelaide locals came together with a shared dream — to build a dance troupe that could become something big. Fifteen years on, Carmel Margaritis and Maree Hopgood have grown into two of Adelaide’s leading business professionals, bringing their creation, Bellarouge, along for the ride every step of the way.
Born out of Carmel and Maree’s love for dance, the pair have a fair share of experience in the industry. Carmel trained in ballet and has choreographed for the Adelaide 36ers dancing team. Maree has danced for the Adelaide Crows, Adelaide 36ers and Woodville West Torrens, choreographing for the latter.
Fifteen years ago, they saw a need for someone to provide bespoke offerings tailored to suit clients’ needs, across private parties, corporate functions and public events. That’s when Bellarouge came in.
Bellarouge is a tour de force in showstopping entertainment. With a team of more than twenty professional dancers specialising in jazz, burlesque, and cabaret performance, the troupe are known for bringing classy pizazz to any event or celebration.
Over the years, balancing the group with Carmel and Maree’s other endeavours has been tricky. Carmel is a fashion stylist, and Maree is the director and founder of GAT Agency.
“If we weren’t busy, we wouldn’t know what to do,” said Carmel.
“Maree and I thrive on having lots to do, I think we know how to multitask really well. When you’re passionate about something so much that it doesn’t feel like work or a chore. Any job we get with Bellarouge, we get so excited and put as much effort into that as we do with our full-time jobs and businesses.”
Another big point of difference for the girls is that they edit, mix, and tailor the music to personalise every show, to make sure that it perfectly suits the clients. They also help come up with creative themes and concepts to make sure each performance is unique.
Over the years, Carmel, Maree and the team have had the chance to perform at some pretty awesome events.
“There are so many performances that stand out! We got to dance in a movie with Teresa Palmer. Another one was when we got flown to Melbourne to perform at a soccer club’s end-of-year awards. That was pretty amazing.”
Bellarouge has also been involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Adelaide Airport, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Festival Centre and Westfield over the years.
Carmel says there’s plenty to look forward to. They’ll be performing again interstate at the end of the year, which is something the whole team is looking forward to. They’ve also just launched a new website where enquiries are welcome anytime.
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