Las Vegas: The Show Must Go On
It’s no surprise that some of the best dance talent comes out of the Entertainment Capital of the World: Las Vegas, NV. Famous for its five-star resorts, swanky nightclubs and flashy casinos, this city both cultivates and attracts the kind of performers who will stop at nothing to see their name in lights.
Las Vegas and the performing arts share a rich and unique history. Back in the 1950s, when the city had just begun to find its identity, thanks to the development of resorts along the “The Strip,” showgirls became synonymous with late-night entertainment. These new hotels vied for business, or rather would-be gamblers, but the allure of the casino only took them so far. Soon, they began attracting high rollers with glittering stage acts replete with chorus girls in skimpy costumes and ornate headdresses. And that is how the “Las Vegas-style revue” was born.
In those days it was the land of opportunity. But as the 1970s approached, things went downhill thanks to gambling controversies. The hotels began looking for new energy, but found only out-of-work performers clinging to the hope of a second chance. One hotel gave that second chance to Elvis Presley, whose career had been on the fritz for some time. Presley’s act (he donned the now iconic sequined white jumpsuit) revived and transformed the City of Lights. A place once defined entirely by gambling and chorus girls was becoming more and more about full-length stage show spectaculars.
Today, these kinds of headliner and specialty productions, like Celine Dion’s “A New Day…” which ran for four years at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, seem to have completely replaced traditional showgirl revues. In a 2001 New York Times article called “The Era of Showgirls Is Leaving Las Vegas,” author Rick Bragg writes that “traveling stage productions” and “more permanent productions that feature Hollywood-type special effects” have made revues almost obsolete.
Many lament the changing cultural landscape of Las Vegas, concerned that the city will lose some its old-time elegance. Others see it as not only a positive change, but also a necessary one. With the popularization of productions like Dion’s, which was choreographed by contemporary guru Mia Michaels, the door to a whole new world of opportunity for commercial dance performers opened in Vegas.
Nonetheless, the legacy of the Vegas showgirl lives on. In addition to old style shows like “Jubilee!” at Bally's and “Best of the Folies-Bergère” at the Tropicana, the city boasts Better Midler’s new production, “The Showgirl Must Go On.” Heather Graham, one of Midler’s chorus girls, claims that Sin City is still very much about high heels and headdresses. When asked what kind of dancer should relocate to Vegas she states, “Girls that would like to do the whole showgirl thing. That’s definitely in Vegas.” In addition, Graham says that dancers with extraordinary skills like “gymnastics, acrobatics, aerial and harness work” should test the waters—literally. “O,” Cirque du Soleil’s famous aquatic production, is the Bellagio Hotel’s resident show.
Many dance educators are unaware of the opportunities available to them and their students in Las Vegas. Planning a studio trip may be beneficial, exposing your dancers to opportunities beyond the ones in Los Angeles and New York. According to Graham, a trip to Vegas can be a learning experience that is also fun. “I would recommend taking dancers to see some of the shows like ‘O,’ ‘Le Rêve’ and ‘KÀ.’ Those are amazing!” she exclaims. “Also the New York New York Roller Coaster is fun too.” Another draw is the “So You Think You Can Dance” callback round, which has been held in Vegas for the past few seasons.
Faculty members at Summerlin Dance Academy, home of the nationally ranked competition team The Las Vegas Dance Starz, use their surroundings as a teaching tool. “Some of the resources that we have used from the Las Vegas Strip have been to educate our dancers on the wide variety of different productions this town has to offer,” says artistic director Kevin Leon. “Each hotel has a unique vibe and adds their own personal touch when it comes to entertainment. Whether it be a classic Las Vegas extravaganza, an exciting Cirque du Soleil show, a pop concert from an amazing artist or the newest Broadway experience, our dancers have exposure to it all.”
In fact, some of Leon’s dancers have gone on to perform in these shows. “We have had a few of our dancers grace the stages of the Las Vegas Strip,” he reveals. “A couple of my dancers have performed in ‘Jubilee!’ We also have one of our 9-year-old boys performing in ‘LOVE,’ the Cirque du Soleil show created about the Beatles. In the show, our young dancer plays the role of little John Lennon.” For Leon, it’s an extraordinary feeling to see his students become successful right in their hometown.
Las Vegas also claims a number of world-famous performing venues, making it the perfect place for commercial dance to thrive. For example, MGM Grand Garden Arena, which is modeled after New York’s Madison Square Garden, is home to annual concert events like the FOX Billboard Music Awards and Divas Live on VH1. Many notable recording artists, including Madonna, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, have performed in the arena to sold-out audiences. (Many of these concerts have also been broadcast on HBO). The Theatre for the Performing Arts, a 7,000-seat theater located in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, is home to the Miss America and Miss USA beauty pageants. Headliner shows are performed at the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, while events like the Latin Grammy Awards are held at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Plans are currently in the works for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a theater facility that will house international music concerts and dance performances by companies such as the Nevada Ballet Theatre.
Although Las Vegas is very much about the glitz and glamour that is not to say the city lacks a more sensitive side. In 1999, Kyla Quintero and Kelly Roth co-founded the Dance in the Desert Festival, a program that aims to “restore dance to a primary position in the artistic life of the city of Las Vegas” through non-commercial work. Since its inception, Dance in the Desert has provided choreographic and performing opportunities for a wide range of artists from Vegas and all over the world. “It is with the belief that such diversity is reassuring evidence of the rich potential non-commercial dance has for stimulating the artists and audiences of Las Vegas in the 21st century,” Roth explains.
When Roth first arrived in Vegas, she was excited to see headlines in the local media with the word “dancers” in them, but at the same time she was put-off by it. “In any other locale the news that followed would contain information about a visiting dance company, a school or a night at the ballet,” says Roth. In Vegas, on the other hand, the focus seemed to be on the gaucheness associated with late-night entertainment. As a result, Roth has “worked in the interim to heighten the profile of dance as an art form.” But she does not always mind the city’s outlandishness. “It turns out a portion of my work is a direct response to the unique culture of this town and I have a great deal of fun lampooning the insanity!” she exclaims.
Another resource for dancers and educators seeking opportunities outside the Strip is the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). The UNLV Department of Dance, which is home to numerous summer workshops for students and teachers, offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance/Choreography or a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Production. The university has a yearly concert series comprised of seven productions, providing students and local residents with even more dance variety. UNLV’s dance department is diverse—some students go on to dance in contemporary companies throughout the country and others join the Vegas show scene.
The commercial and non-commercial dance communities in Las Vegas peacefully co-exist, forming a culturally rich city with a unique artistic flair. But, especially in the economic climate, it is essential for everyone to work together to keep dance alive. “With a town built on tourism, the economy has definitely put a damper on the Las Vegas shows,” laments Leon, who has recently witnessed the number of productions on the Strip dwindle. “I hope that when the economy takes a turn for the better, some new and improved dance shows will take the stage once again.”
Resources:
Dance in the Desert Festival
kelly.roth@csn.edu
Official City of Las Vegas Website
lasvegasnevada.gov
Official Las Vegas Tourism Website
visitlasvegas.com
Summerlin Dance Academy
summerlindance.com (702) 838-5131
University of Nevada Las Vegas Department of Dance
dance.unlv.edu (702) 895-3827