The Secrets of La Femme Revealed

It's summer: cactus flowers explode across the desert, The Strip sizzles and La Femme, the MGM Grand show that for years has been celebrating "the artistry of the nude," is emboldened with five steamy new numbers. With classy choreography and textured lighting, La Femme's eroticism is a universe away from your average strip show. Tasteful as well as sexy, the show tends to attract a balanced audience of women and men. With its first redesign since it emerged onto the Las Vegas scene in 2001, La Femme continues to expose thousands to the idea of art as woman and woman as art.

"It's important to be slightly ahead of time. In the new numbers we keep the same essence and flavor yet we are totally modern," explains Sophie Bernardin, daughter of Alain Bernardin, who founded the original Crazy Horse in Paris. In 2001, La Femme came to Las Vegas directly from Paris' Crazy Horse, which is renowned as one of the hottest nightspots in the world and the birthplace of L'art Du Nu (the Art of the Nude). Since it opened in 1951, the Crazy Horse theater on Paris' stylish Avenue George V has entertained more than five million people, including international celebrities Sophia Loren, Elvis Presley, President John F. Kennedy and Madonna. La Femme's faithfulness to its Parisian roots is apparent. The hour and a half show comingles a French reverence for sensuality with the Las Vegas tradition of showcasing beautiful women. Sophie Bernardin frequently flies from Paris to bring with her the history of the original Crazy Horse. The MGM Grand's intimate 340-seat theater is a replica of the original nightclub in Paris, with identical stage dimensions, red velvet seats and flawless sightlines. Dana Longfield, Manager of Sales and Operations for La Femme, jokes that if a Crazy Horse dancer closes her eyes in Paris and opens them in the MGM Grand La Femme theater, she won't know which country she's in.

A giant metal hula hoop is set on the stage for a rehearsal of the classic La Femme number, Rotor Variations. Two breathtaking dancers stretch their bodies inside as the hoop begins to twirl slowly on edge. Magenta light soaks the women as each extends a toned leg into the air. Bernardin gestures to the stage and says, "When you go to a museum a statue is completely nude, but you're not embarrassed because it's art. It's beautiful, not crude. It is sexy, but elegant too." As the dancers slide into splits, sunbursts of orange light illuminate sculpted stomachs. She continues, "It's like seeing a beautiful painting in motion."

While the glamorous lighting, costumes and music intoxicate, the girls themselves are the keys to the show's longrunning success. These ladies have to be pretty special; after all, La Femme is the title of the show. All the dancers come from classical dance backgrounds and go through further intensive training at the Crazy Horse in Paris before joining the Las Vegas cast. They are beautiful, graceful, and, believe it or not, 100% natural. Cosmetic surgery excludes a dancer from consideration. "La Femme girls are girls you could almost see in regular life," Bernardin explains, smiling. "Almost." And it's true, these are stunning versions of "the girl next door." Their natural beauty fuels fantasy in a way airbrushed pinups can't. Authentic and talented, the dancers are recruited from around the world: New Zealand to Belgium, South America to Russia. This year, La Femme is holding its first American audition in Los Angeles.

So what makes a La Femme girl? Proportion is vital: legs long but not too long, torso toned, firm derriere. And of course La Femme dancers have beautiful faces. But there's something else that is hard to put your finger on. Looking like the bird who swallowed the canary, Bernardin reveals the most vital quality, "It's the look in her eyes. There is a way a girl looks when she wants to be looked at. Our girls capture your mind. Every small dance number is a story. They make you dream about this kind of girl, that kind of girl." This spirit of seduction inspires a new number that includes all the girls. La Présentation features each of the 12 dancers introducing herself to the audience then slowly turning to reveal her name printed on the back of her costume. It's as if they're challenging you to make a choice: 'Am I your fantasy girl?'. The audience is suspended in a fantasy world where mid-century French cabaret melts into 21st-century club life. With these and other new numbers, La Femme bursts toward the future while continuing the tradition that's mesmerized millions of guests on two continents over fifty years.

Bernardin smiles as she gestures to the stage, "What you see, you take into your heart. What you imagine is what makes you happy." From our first glimpse of the girls sporting nothing but giant Beefeater hats in God Save our Bare Skin, to the flashy new finale, Va-Va- Voom, we are transported by these dancers, who take us in with their eyes and graceful forms. Instead of filling a generic idea of sexy, La Femme girls engage the audience personally, inviting us into a world where the lighting always flatters, the music excites, and every movement is a work of art.

La Femme appears twice nightly We dne s day t hr ough Monday a t 8:00 P.M. and 10:30 P.M. The show is dark on Tuesday. Guests must be at least 21 years of age to attend the show. For tickets, call MGM Grand Reservations at (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777. Tickets are also sold on-line at mgmgrand.com.