When Andree Deissenberg joined Crazy Horse Paris, it was on a rescue mission, and it wasn't an overnight project. Of the 20 years she has now spent with the legendary cabaret, 15 have been devoted to bringing it up to date.
“Crazy Horse was a diamond, but it was covered in dust,” says the chief creative and brand officer.
Founded in 1951 by French artist and entrepreneur Alain Bernardin, the production was bought by its current president, Philippe Lhomme, in 2005. Deissenberg joined from Cirque du Soleil the following year.
“Things had become very entrenched. There were lots of old ways of doing things. France is complicated when it comes to change,” she says. “It's almost the opposite of Dubai.”
Deissenberg arrived in the UAE in early October, just six weeks before the unveiling of her latest creative challenge: adapting the Paris production for a new audience and venue.
With opening night set for November 12, she speaks to The National amid rehearsals at the transformed Zabeel Theatre at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.
“Here, we're presenting two formats: the show itself and the dinner show,” she says, gesturing to waiters committing their movements around the room to memory as music plays. “And that's what you're watching now – how we integrate the waiters into the performance.”
Unlike in Paris, Deissenberg describes The Dubai Edition as two ballets: “We have a ballet on our stage, and they have one across the venue.” Around 40 waiters must serve 200 guests within a limited window, without interrupting a performance. And Deissenberg has quickly picked up on the high standards of service UAE audiences expect. “I've become spoiled,” she says. “Paris service is not always like this.”
Pulling it off in the time frame provided isn't easy: one misplaced step could impact the show's intricate use of light – a character in its own right. “Light underlines what's happening on stage. It brings its own tone and mood, and underlines what we're trying to communicate,” she says. In the Paris show, light acts more like a costume to the performers, projecting artistic designs on nude dancers or using shadow to protect their modesty.
Dinner and lights aside, the biggest changes are happening on stage. Crazy Horse is known for its provocative performances, and adapting the show for Dubai's cultural sensitivities was an early consideration.
“First of all, we dressed the girls. Very simple,” Deissenberg says.
She worked with illustrator and designer Antoine Kruk to adapt existing wardrobe items and create costumes for new characters; the Crazy Horse Paris couture atelier created more than 500 made-to-measure pieces by hand. The aim was to make the production culturally appropriate without losing the show's distinctive visual identity.
“You're still enjoying the form,” she says. “It doesn't take anything away – it might even enhance it in a certain way.”
Despite initial hesitation when the idea of bringing Crazy Horse Paris to the UAE was presented to her, Deissenberg now sees the creative challenge as an opportunity to push the production forward. “My feeling right now, as I watch rehearsals and take part in the creation process, is that this is Crazy Horse Paris 2030. I think we've made it more modern.”
The Dubai show features a cast of 18 international dancers, with 12 performing each evening. Each spent several months training in Paris to learn the company's distinctive choreographic style. “First I decide on what acts from our repertoire to bring, then what type of variety or specialist acts to integrate,” Deissenberg explains.
With added stages and a larger theatre space, Dubai gave Deissenberg more to work with. “Here, given the theatre, I really wanted an aerial act, which we've never had before because in Paris the venue is tiny.”
Anyone who has previously visited the Zabeel Theatre can immediately see the transformation. Gone is its traditional staggered audience seating, in favour of velvet-red sofas, and the entrance has been upgraded with Crazy Horse's signature pink.
The lobby will feature a bar, large black-and-white photographs and an experiential room called The Legacy, which will introduce visitors to the history of the Paris cabaret, with a timeline, its guest stars and collaborations with couture houses.
“I want people to understand where we come from. There's something wonderful about bringing a piece of the old world here,” Deissenberg says. But she quickly adds that the audience shouldn't expect a show that feels 75 years old: “We continually renew ourselves.”
While immediate focus is on getting ready for opening night, Deissenberg already has ideas for future projects. This includes working with regional singers, dancers and fashion designers on potential collaborations.
Another ambition stems from one of her biggest achievements: transforming the show's appeal. “At the time in Paris, the audience was mainly male, [aged] 60 and over. Today it's mainly female, 25 to 45 – girls having fun.”
In the future, she would love to work with women on female empowerment, confidence and body image, with dance and Pilates among the areas she wants to explore. “We have a legitimate place in conversations around female empowerment,” she says. “We've been thinking about perhaps opening centres where women can work on their bodies and develop their confidence.”
An example already exists in Paris in the form of the Crazy Attitude sessions. Participants spend time with one of the company's dancers, hearing about her journey and the history of Crazy Horse, before taking part in a session lasting around an hour and a half. The session focuses on “how to walk, make eye contact and how to enter a room with confidence”.
But for now, the focus is firmly on opening night: “We are here to deliver and open on November 12.” The show joins a long line-up of dinner and dance productions in the UAE, which are only gaining popularity – from arguably the city's most well-known, Billionaire, and Guy Manoukian's newly launched Venus, to last year's newcomer, The Great Gatsby.
Beyond dinner and dance, for Deissenberg, that also means bringing an audience together in communion. “I'm not talking about religious communion. I'm talking about group feeling … when everyone applauds, or everyone gasps, or everyone gets goosebumps. Our show is very small, you're very close, things are very intimate.”
Whether that feeling translates to its new home in Dubai, time will tell. But for now, Deissenberg is confident everything is in place to bring the famous show to its new home without losing its roots.
“Dubai is fast, Dubai is big, and Dubai loves a little flashiness,” Deissenberg says. “So this is 100 per cent Crazy Horse Paris, but with a Dubai touch.”
