Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/149416
BACK STORY MAKING A SPLASH A gasp-inducing moment showcases the artistry of Le Rêve's high divers. BY JOANNA HAUGEN E verything about Le Rêve: The Dream is arguably spectacular: The in-the-round seating—where no chair is more than 12 rows away from the performers—means that every spot in the theater is intimate and immediate to the action. But if there is a single moment in Le Rêve that people remember for weeks, months, and even years after seeing the show, it is the scene in which one of the divers is dropped 80 feet into the water 102 below. Throughout the show there are a few dives of note; one from 60 feet elicits an audible gasp from the audience. But it is the drop from a height so high that the diver actually disappears into the rafters for a moment that sparks a tense wave of anticipation before the spectators burst into applause. David Underwood has been performing this stunt since the show's creation in 2004. Like all cast members, Underwood appears in several acts, but his role doesn't end there. He also trains a team of five divers to properly execute the drop so that it is done safely, beautifully, and with just the right amount of anxious anticipation that the audience wants. What the audience may not realize is that the drop is much different than a typical dive because performers take the plunge while hanging above the water. "Divers traditionally take off from their feet," Underwood says. "Since we're already hanging, we have a different approach." "When we were training, we experimented with flips, falls, and different entrances, and we decided it gives a better visual effect for the height if we did the straight drop. It sounds easier, but it's very difficult to control your descent in a straight line down without rotation," he says. Rotation helps control entry into the water, but coming from a straight drop, divers must be absolutely rigid. A good sense of awareness and aerial timing, a fair amount of natural ability, a lot of physical strength, and lots of practice are essential for the perfect pitch. "The theory is to pierce the water rather than to [flatly] hit the water," Underwood says. While the physical aspects of the drop are the same for all the highdive performers, each person differs in mental preparation. When he started the job, Underwood liked silence before the drop, but this has changed over the years. "Now I want to be in a happy, relaxed, chilled state of mind. If I hear stuff in the background, I'm happy," Underwood says. "I put myself into happy thoughts. I keep tight in the rest of my body. I'm relaxed and ready to enjoy the flight." With thousands of Le Rêve performances on his résumé and a great responsibility for ensuring that the next generation of divers are up to the challenge of the high dive, Underwood continues to love going to work every day. "Yes, it is a job, but who else gets to do what we do?" he says. "We get to do amazing things in an amazing theater for lots of great people who come every day to see this great show." n PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEILA NAVIDI left: Le Rêve divers in the midst of one of their high-in-the-sky feats. above: A moment in the showstopping 80-foot dive. WYNN 102_W_BOB_BackStory_Fall13.indd 102 8/9/13 1:25 PM