The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
August 2020, it was announced that Le Rêve in Las Vegas will go permanently dark. Le Rêve (“The Dream”) is and was not just any show. This is a tribute to a dream, a vision, a milestone, and a pioneering effort that ushered in, alongside “O” a new era of aquatics shows. This is a tribute to a show which mesmerized audiences for 15 years. And, most importantly, a tribute dedicated to the creators, cast, and crew of this unforgettable masterpiece.
Franco Dragone had a dream. He had already begun realizing it with O, by Cirque du Soleil. His first aquatic creation. But, he dreamt of more. He dreamt of stretching the limits, of changing the world of circus shows forever.
Le Rêve premiered on May 6, 2005.
In its own custom built 1’500 seat, aquatic theater-in-the-round. At the Wynn, in Las Vegas.
Aquatic circus shows were nothing new. The first ones in history go back as far as the Roman Empire when the Romans flooded their Colosseum with water to stage sea battles for their audiences.
Custom-built aquatic theaters were also nothing new. They go as far back as the 19th Century. The first aquatic theater was custom-built in 1886: the Nouveau Cirque in Paris.
In Le Rêve, performers, fire and water were entwined in a spell-binding choreography. Telling the story “of a woman who see-saws back and forth between her duelling desires for love and passion, mind or body as she finds herself attracted to two men. Put into a dream world to help her decide between the two suitors, she embarks on a mystical journey.”
Le Rêve still had classic circus elements, yet these were interwoven with the powerful choreography of Giuliano Peparini, and a theatrical element as well, which went beyond the world of circus.
Franco believed anything was possible. There were no limits to his imagination.
The show included dance, synchro swimming, aerial acrobatics, acrobatics, and high diving performances. The theater’s moving lifts, geysers, jets, and pyro effects turned the stage into a separate universe. A realm of dreams to immerse all your senses in as a spectator.
Le Rêve was home to a cast and crew of almost 300 people. Over the years, many came and went. Many also stayed. Each and every one of them imbued their show with soul through their tireless efforts, their teamwork, passion and dedication.
Since Le Rêve first launched, the popular production performed close to 7’000 shows until Las Vegas’s entertainment shutdown in March 2020.
But, Le Rêve will always be remembered as one of the most magical productions of our times.
On August 15, 2020, the Las Vegas Sun wrote, “Le Rêve, the first large-scale Las Vegas production show to permanently close due to the corona virus pandemic is one of the most acclaimed performances to ever hit the strip.”
The show has won many awards.
For a record number of 9 consecutive years, it also held the title of “Best Production Show in Las Vegas”, by the Southern Nevada Concierge Association.
Stage managers and performers from the Las Vegas show family, past and present, remember Le Rêve:
“The news of the permanent closure of Le Rêve has really shaken the performing arts community of Las Vegas to its core. Everyone has been on edge these last few months with the uncertainty of the timeline for the return of shows and events in our city, but with the Le Rêve announcement, it certainly has amplified everyone’s fears.
A beautiful show that employed some of the most talented artists and crew in our industry and has been a staple of entertainment in Las Vegas for 15 years suddenly gone?
It makes us all wonder if our own show/the show we were working on before the pandemic will be the next to shutter.
I feel for my friends and colleagues at Le Rêve, not only for their loss of employment. When you are a part of a show, you become a part of a family.
To have that family torn apart suddenly and without the opportunity to be together and celebrate the show’s accomplishments and to celebrate each other is really heartbreaking.
But I send my love and support to everyone at Le Rêve. And I have great confidence that we all will land on our feet. I have no idea when, but I trust that the day will come. We, as a performing arts community, are resilient and will keep rolling with the tide.”
“Le Rêve was a show that was full of “triple threat” performers. To find someone who can act, dive, dance, and do acrobatics on this high level of skill is not an easy feat. It’s a very very hard profile. And I think they managed to keep a high quality of performance and to be very consistent on the level that they had, the acrobatics tricks, the cast, crew. The whole concept was very strong for the entire 15 years.
Another thing I believe is super-cool is how they managed to keep the live singing. In the other Franco shows after, they don’t have that anymore.
Actually, they never had that. So from the Franco Dragone aquatics shows, Le Rêve was the only one (apart from O) that featured live singing.
Le Rêve also were the first ones to start the backstage experiences for guests. All these options where you could go, and you could dive, and you could see the world backstage.
And, even though Le Rêve came after O, Le Rêve was the one that brought Franco’s world together.
Of a couple, of love, of having the queen, and the good kingdom, and the bad kingdom. All these stories that are the pillar of all the other aquatics shows Franco created. In The House of Dancing Water, they continued the concept with the couple for example. As well as in the Han show, the Dai show.”
“All the things we know of Franco… it all started at Le Rêve. So, I think, Le Rêve is basically the mother or the father of all the other Dragone aquatics shows that came after.”
“I saw Le Rêve in 2006 or 2007 for the first time. And was blown away!
I thought it was the best show I’ve ever seen, better than O and I was one of the original artists of O. I did its creation, so I felt it in my heart.
The original Le Rêve was so real, so raw, gorgeous, tough. It rendered me speechless. Franco’s direction and Giuliano’s choreography made this unbelievable match. The show has changed over the years but to me I’ll always remember the original one, the one that blew me away.“
“Le Rêve gave many people opportunities and purpose. It really was a dream job in that it opened up so many doors as a performer. You could stay there for 10 years or 1 and see yourself grow as a performer and individual.”
“For myself, it paved the way to so many other skill sets that I never would have considered. I would not be where I am today without Le Rêve.
“Le Rêve was the first place that taught me how to disrobe the conformity and structure of being an athlete.
Le Rêve awakened the artist that lives inside of me; liberating her and setting her free to explore an untapped world of freedom, creativity and expression that I never dreamed was possible! And for that I am forever grateful.”
Photographs kindly provided by Tomasz Rossa and Tom Fairchild.
Don’t Wear That Hat: Theatre Superstitions & their Origins
Entertainment with A Splash: A History of Aquatic Shows
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
Read Full Profile
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
