Sneak Peek: Behind The Scenes With LA SOIREE!
By: Carrie Dunn Oct. 29, 2015
They're back in town. The dysfunctional family comprising the magnificent spectacle that is La Soiree are in residence at the Spiegeltent on the South Bank for the winter - and they're just as fabulous as ever.
BWW:UK editor Carrie Dunn was invited to take a very special sneak peek behind the scenes - she spoke to and snapped some of La Soiree's top acts in action!
Captain Frodo
The contortionist, famous for twisting himself into incredible shapes through a pair of unstringed tennis racquets, has been with La Soiree in its various incarnations for a decade now - and he's back in London for the winter at the Spiegeltent.
"The show was born in a tent like this," he says. "For the first few years we travelled, and it evolved into a show, and we'd take on a theatre - the design job the crew does there is about capturing the magic of the tent in another venue. This is where we fit best, I think."
Frodo's contortionism comes from a condition known as muscular elastosis, enabling him to stretch and even dislocate his joints to an amazing extent - but he rarely picks up injuries, save for repetitive strain-type pains - the kind of condition suffered by any athlete or acrobat performing the same moves daily.
He reminisces about the show's previous runs in London, at the Hippodrome ("we thought we were going to have a full vaudeville-style venue here in London") and at the Roundhouse - and explains how he keeps his act so fresh and vital.
"There's a strong element of improvisation in the show - not that I do really different things every night, I know what's going to happen, but when you do slapstick, you set up the maximum amount of mistakes and the only thing that makes it funny is that it looks real. That draws me into the moment - as soon as you're out with the audience around you, they're looking through a magnifying glass at you. If the mic stops working, if a racquet breaks, if I've already injured my foot before I go on - they are all possibilities, but for these twelve minutes I'm on stage, I am the master of them. For the rest of the day I'm as lost as anyone."
Like the rest of the cast, Frodo is looking forward to a successful run, saying: "We're expecting it to be an absolute party. We're coming back for the sixth time, and London has taken to us. The response we get is so heartfelt. We haven't outstayed our welcome yet!"
Long-term fans of La Soiree will be familiar with Hamish's work as one of the English Gents alongside Denis Lock - we got to see him perform a rather spectacular pole dance.
Choreographing and rehearsing a pole dance is, as one might imagine, not the most straightforward of tasks.
"When I was developing the act it was tricky to find places to rehearse, because we were constantly on the road, so I had to go to pole-dancing studios," he explains. "It was really tricky. There weren't a lot of guys pole-dancing, and I would just get flat-out refused by studios and classes. I get it. Pole-dancing in a studio is on a chrome pole, often wearing little clothing, and the girls are feeling sexy without having guys around, and I totally get that, and I was respectful of that. So I would email ahead, send them images of my work so they knew I was a professional, not some pervy guy trying to get into a pole-dancing studio to dance with the girls!"
If Hamish or any of the other acts need feedback on a new routine, they'll call on their La Soiree colleagues for advice.
"It's a generous sharing of ideas, technique and information," he says. "There's definitely a company feel. The ethos is that it has to work backstage before it works on-stage. The smiles on stage are genuine, we love what we do - it's a lifestyle."
Yammel Rodriguez
She looks terrifyingly stern on stage as she smokes a cigar, flicks her ash away and proceeds to hit the heights - when this stunning aerialist sits down to chat she's quiet and thoughtful.
"It's so beautiful here. It's like a fairytale," she says, surveying the Spiegeltent.
As a child in Mexico, Yammel danced ballet and trained in rhythmic gymnastics, and then eight years ago she saw the performance that changed her life.
"One day I saw a circus group performing, and I completely fell in love with it," she recalls. "So I pursued it. I moved to Canada to do my circus training. I started with the hoop, and then on to the strap - all with an amazing coach."
She loves to put her routines together around the character she is portraying. "It all depends on what they are doing," she explains. "La Soiree is very special, you have the freedom to bring ideas and you have the support of the company, which is amazing because you can really grow as an artist."
She's looking forward to performing for the London audiences too.
"London is incredibly open to anything. This is a great platform for me to express who I am - I hope they enjoy it and take a trip with me through my art."
La Soiree runs at the Spiegeltent on the South Bank until January.
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