Katrina Patchett, who ignites the floor of “Danse Avec Les Stars” with her partner Philippe Lellouche, grew up very far from Paris, in one of the most isolated places in the world. But the dancer also lived in a small town in France that she particularly likes…
Katrina Patchett, who is participating in the new season of Dancing With The Stars alongside Philippe Lellouche, has been present almost every year on the show since the first edition, which she won with Matt Pokora. However, the bubbly blonde did not grow up in France, but on the other side of the world, in a particularly remote city…
Katrina Patchett grew up in ‘one of the most isolated cities in the world’
Now aged 39, the dancer spent her childhood and adolescence in Perth, Australia. “It is one of the most isolated cities in the world, far from other major Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne“, she explained in her new book, My body, my fight. And to explain: “Most of the young people who live there and who choose a career in dance have no other choice than to emigrate to Europe, more particularly to England, where there is a strong tradition in dance sports.“.
Katrina Patchett, born to two dancer parents, chose to leave her native land at the age of 16 to settle in Denmark. Then she headed to France at age 19, where she ended up meeting her best friend and dance partner, Maxime Dereymez, who also participated in several seasons of Dancing With The Stars.
Katrina Patchett, this small town in France where she lived: “The total change of scenery”
The dancers then lived in shared accommodation in Rouen, in Normandy, a city that Maxime Dereymez knew well, since he had lived there for several years, and which he introduced to the Australian. The Perth native has “immediately adopted“this place which, being close to England, allowed them to more easily participate in the competitions that took place there and take dance lessons.”Rouen was a complete change of scenery. I knew very little about Paris, where I would go to live a few years later, in Montmartre, but I loved Rouen with its small half-timbered buildings and its cathedral.“, she recalled in her book.
But even if she feels well settled in her adopted country, it is in Australia that she recharges her batteries, where her family and some of her close friends are. After her divorce from her ex-husband Valentin in 2020, it was in her native country that she took refuge for a while to find her balance.
