For more than three years, La Femme at MGM Grand has been turning heads. Not only because of the breathtaking statuesque dancers from around the word, but because of the show's distinctive homage to the female form. Each act in the 90-minute production is a facsimile of Paris' famed Crazy Horse revue.
Draped in erotic red velvet tones, the 340-seat theater creates an intimate setting where guests are fully enveloped in visual and audible sensations. The focal point in this replica of the French locale on Avenue George V is the letterbox stage that is home to 12 poised dancers who transform into living pictures as their natural beauty is bathed in a kaleidoscope of light during choreographed numbers. Because of the undersized stage, these girls measure about 5 feet 6 inches tall rather than the average 5-foot-10-inch showgirl.
Using typography, film, shapes and color, woman becomes art and art becomes woman. Since 1951, this was the goal of the originator, the late Alain Bernardin. Today, his daughter Sophie carries on her father's legacy in Crazy Horse's first import to the United States.
Across the pond, this sensual phenomenon has drawn international attention from celebrities such as Madonna, Warren Beatty and Sophia Loren. Here in Vegas, the show, which recently celebrated its 2,000th performance, is just a foundling compared to its sister production. But the same cultural aspect of the art of the nude, which both shows represent, is resolute.
Although numbers such as the vibrantly colored finale "You Turn Me On" and the toy soldier march "God Save Our Bareskin" show a humorous side, each dance evokes a spirit of powerful seduction. With a twinkle in her eye, the La Femme girls engage the essence of the female wiles. Each performer is highlighted as her astrological sign is revealed, and a dance number represents those stirring qualities.
From solos to rousing cabarets, every number is an artistic experience. The sassy blonde who winds her cat-like body around a lip-shaped couch contrasts the sorrowful lament of a lonely dancer's tango. Few props are used, but when they appear, they, too, become part of the three-dimensional canvas. Poles, rings and stairs all transform into elements of composition.
La Femme evokes emotion, something that's hard to find these days in a show. And the success that has followed proves that beauty goes far beyond the eye of the beholder.