All it took was one random night out at a nightclub, said Alizee DiPaola. “I was out on the dance floor dancing and they threw me up onstage, and that night I got hired to be a go-go dancer,” she said. That was nearly 10 years ago, and DiPaola still has her dancing shoes on—working as a go-go dancer and cocktail server at Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris.

“I was extremely shy when I first started dancing,” said the native of France. “I’d get so nervous—but, eventually, when the club is getting going and the ambience gets going and people are there to party and they’re not there to judge you, you start to get used to it.”

With no formal dance training, DiPaola’s natural grooving talents have allowed her to dance at some of the city’s hottest nightclubs, and the last four years she’s been at Chateau. “This is by far one of the best venues I’ve worked and had the most fun,” she said. You can find DiPaola free-style dancing on the rooftop up on podiums next to the DJ booth—where she’s moved to the beats of guest hosts including Jennifer Lopez, Sean Kingston and Coolio.

Away from the limelight, DiPaola has a second job working as a fire dispatcher, and she is finishing up her prerequisite classes to enter a nursing program. “I’ve always been a hard-working person; working a lot so I could succeed and take care of myself. … But, I think once I finish nursing school, I’ll be retiring my dancing shoes,” she said with a smile.

Pamplemousse Fizz

If you’re wondering what the French word “pamplemousse” means, just ask DiPaolo—French is her native language—and she’ll let you know it means grapefruit. Chateau nightclub exudes a chic, Parisian vibe, so its specialty cocktails are created with that ambience in mind. The Pamplemousse Fizz is a mix of blanco tequila, ruby red grapefruit juice, grapefruit soda, lime juice and agave nectar. This Memorial Day Weekend, Chateau welcomes DJ Drama behind the decks on May 28 and Marcellus Wiley on May 29.