Water is Ludi’s Life, Pools Are Her Stage!

In this issue, I am honored to introduce you to my dear friend and business associate, Ludivine “Ludi” Perrin-Stsepaniuk, President and Creative Director of Ovia Entertainment, an aquatic-centric production and training company in Las Vegas, NV. Affectionately known as Ludi, she is an accomplished aquatic performer, synchro competitor, choreographer, and coach. 

For over 3 decades her life and career has been centered around pools. Her aquatic achievements grow more impressive every year. One of Ludi’s latest feats is being cast as an aquatic stunt performer in the mega hit AVATAR: The Way of Water.  Her journey to that role is quite storied.  

We first meet in 2017, when she graciously agreed to participate in Paragon Pools’ Float Like A Duck water safety PSA “Learning to Swim, led me to…” series. The videos in English and Spanish were created to inform and inspire youth about exciting adventures and career opportunities one can enjoy from learning how to swim.

The PSA’s showcase a wide range of individuals and groups from around the Southern Nevada community who credit their path to personal growth, success, and accomplishments in sports, academics, and careers from learning to swim. 

For Ludi, that declaration is extremely meaningful, learning to swim wasn’t just a stepping stone- it became her life’s stage.  “I feel that learning to swim saved my life… it has guided me through my life.”  

Born in Nimes, France in 1984, Ludi began swimming at age 2. “I took lessons at the local public pool,” recalls Ludi. “When I was 4, my parents had a pool built in our backyard. It was very deep, I believe the shallow end was around 5 feet, this required me to tread water and swim constantly.” 

Foray into Synchronized Swimming 

“My sister Virginie was 9-years older and a synchro swimmer, I looked up to her and she inspired me to join the sport. In those days, typical synchro swimmers were very tall with slender long legs.  I didn’t fit that profile, I was more petite, but my sister told me that synchro could be my ticket out of our hometown. If I worked hard then everyone would want me on their team.”  

At age 6, she joined the small synchro club where her sister swam. Her love for the aquatic sport magnified when she attended “Sirella” the first French water show starring French Olympic medalist Muriel Hermine. Ludi’s hard work paid off, at age 12 she was recruited to swim for one of the top clubs in Aix-en-Provence. Following numerous national titles, Ludi moved to Paris to swim with the senior national team at INSEP where she competed for 2 years and earned national titles.  

“It taught me to work hard for what I wanted, work hard and anything is possible.” 

Ludi moved to Belgium in 2004 where she joined the creation team of Le Reve, an aquatic themed show created by Franco Dragone and choreographed by Guiliano Peparini.  In 2005, she was part of the opening cast at the Wynn Las Vegas and performed nightly with the show for 10 years, totaling over 5,000 performances.   

Ludi’s talents earned her the position of synchro team captain in 2012.  In this role, Ludi excelled.  

“I really enjoyed training new performers, coaching castmates, and getting an opportunity to choreograph sequences. I knew I could do it and I wanted to be more in control. This is when I decided I wanted to be my own boss.”  

2016 was a turning point for Ludi, she was named Head Coach to the Nevada Desert Mermaids (NDM) synchronized swim team and founded her company Ovia Entertainment.  A highly sought-after performer and choreographer, Ludi and her Ovia performers have been featured in TV, films, commercials, and music videos, as well as in print.   

“I feel like I really developed every aspect of what you can do with water. I love creating, coaching, and teaching swimming.”   

Analyzing a Pool 

As a pool designer/builder when I’m traveling or visiting someone with a pool, my instinct is to analyze the pool, how it was designed, constructed, and how well its maintained. When you come upon a pool how do you assess it?   

“My teams and I have performed in pools across the globe. The first thing I do if its coaching, performing, shooting, whatever, is put my hand in and check the temperature. Any synchro swimmer will do that- you check the temperature, because that will tell you how your day is going to go. The warmer the better, especially when you spend 12-hours in it, the ideal water temperature is 89 degrees.”  

“Then, I check the chlorine level and water quality, these are very important.  In my sport, we don’t wear goggles. In a highly chlorinated pool, we won’t be able to work as long. Alternative sanitizers are much better. For any visual jobs such as shooting underwater for a movie, commercials, photos, or music videos the clarity of the water is also important.   

The next thing is I look at is the design and shape of the pool. I like to use the whole set-up, to highlight the entire pool for the client. I ask about the depth of the pool, if we can use the water features, where the audience will be standing, and determine where the performers will enter the pool. I also confirm they have working lights. For evening performances, we need lights for safety. But I love it when we can have different colored lights because it really adds to the mood of the choreography. It makes it look more like a stage. The tag line for my company is Transforming Pools into Magical Liquid Stages! We always feel so lucky when we have a beautiful pool because it’s our stage.” 

Pools and Safety 

You mentioned safety earlier, what are some of the safety elements that you look for to ensure your synchro teams and performers are safe?  

“If it’s an evening performance, working underwater lights are critical. We need it to see the interior and sides of the pool, as well as spot each other. But it’s especially important when we are doing acrobatics in the water. The performers need to check their surroundings before doing a back-flip off someone’s shoulders. If they get too close to the wall someone could get really hurt. I will also check the pool deck. There are a lot of deck tiles that are very slippery. We test it by getting the entire deck wet and check to see if we can dance, jump, and twirl on it.  If its slippery, then we adapt the choreography. Water quality is also safety concern. If we arrive and the pool is in bad condition, we will offer a dry show instead of performing in the pool. I also talk with the pool manager and lifeguard about our activities and review the signal for danger- arms crossed in an X with closed fists.  Whether it’s my performers or the athletic team, I will be the first one to jump in, why because I know the choreography, I know what looks natural, and I know what it looks like when that person is in distress.”  

Coaching 

“In 2015, while I was still performing in Le Reve, the French National Synchro Team wanted to come to Las Vegas to do a camp, and they asked me to be their manager. I contacted the local synchro team, the Nevada Desert Mermaids (NDM) for advice and help on renting pools, sound systems, and organizing the activities. I built a relationship with the Head Coach Linda Tannenbaum. A year later, Linda contacted me inquiring if I knew someone who could help in coaching the junior team 1-day a week. I accepted the parttime position and got hooked again. I just loved coaching the kids and seeing how fast they would improve. When the Head Coaching position opened, I applied for it, become the Head Coach in 2016.” 

Ludi has also been a part of USA Synchronized Swimming since 2016, starting as a guest coach and graduating to the level of Head Coach for a number of teams.  In 2018, Ludi was named USA Synchro West Zone “Coach of the Year”.  In 2020, USA Synchronized Swimming officially changed their name to USA Artistic Swimming. Her success as a coach has resulted in an abundance of medals and championships for her teams. 

“I was head coach for the USA Junior National Team for the first ever Junior Pan Am Games in Columbia held in 2021. We won the first ever gold medal presented in the Games and finished with a total of 7 medals. Then, I was named Head Coach of the USA Artistic Swimming Youth Team for the FINA World Youth Artistic Swimming Championships in 2022. We presented in every event, they swam very well and finished with the highest cumulative score, winning the championship and the world trophy. For me that was a huge accomplishment, one of the highlights of my coaching career. I had a dream team, and a great assistant coach. I cried when the US anthem played because I knew I had made it. I became a US citizen in 2021, so putting my hand on my heart and singing the national anthem was very emotional.” 

Le Reve- the dream! 

Created for Wynn Las Vegas, Le Reve was set in a unique aquatic theater-in-the-round stage. The 27’ deep swimming pool had a capacity of more than 1 million US gallons and housed moving stages and props, longline regulators, underwater cameras, speaker systems, fire elements, and an scuba crew to assist the performers.   

What was it like being a part of Le Reve?  

“It was hard to believe it at first, it was like a dream. I always had to work so hard as a competitive athlete but with Le Reve it felt so natural. They liked my style and that boosted my confidence. Like me, all the synchro swimmers were right out of competition, none of us had experience in shows, we didn’t know what to expect.  We created a nice bond, going through the good and hard times together. Franco’s direction was, I want something aquatic, but I don’t want synchronized swimming. We had to create a lot of different pieces. The Aquatic Choreographer Dacha Nedorezova had us try ugly things, for us it looked ugly- not pointing our feet, not being perfectly in-sync.   

The creation and training year was incredible, they had a red-carpet entrance for the first day, they gave us an apartment for 2, a car to share with 4 people, they fed us at work, provided us with food per diems, and a salary. For me, going from an athlete with no salary to getting paid for what I love, was like wow this is really what I want to do. I felt like a rock star. 

Castmates were from across the globe, speaking different languages. I spoke French and learned a little English. When the show was ready and we moved to Las Vegas, it was a different experience. I was 20 years old, I had to really learn English, and how everything worked in the US, it was definitely a big culture shock. But I was lucky, fellow castmate, acrobat Raman Stsepaniuk and I fell in love, and we were married in 2008.” 

The AVATAR Experience 

Since opening Ovia Entertainment, you and/or your performers have been in some amazing projects.  One of the highpoints is being cast as an aquatic stunt performer for the movie AVATAR: The Way of Water.  Tell us about that experience.  

“First the audition was amazing, you had to be invited. I was lucky to have a friend and former Le Reve castmate submit me for consideration. The audition was mainly to see how we moved in the water and how long we could hold our breath.” 

Synchro swimmers are stunning athletes known for having incredible stamina, strength, and breath holding ability. There are numerous interviews with the stars of the movie detailing how they were taught the art of freediving, several learned to hold their breaths for 5 minutes or longer underwater. Did you undergo any of that training? 

“Yes, we were trained by a professional. Freediving is very different than synchronized swimming, in freediving you learn how to take more air into your lungs, and how to calm your heartrate, it is a very different way to warm up your lungs. In synchro you are not calm you are very energetic, and you only have seconds to grab breaths during a routine. I do stress that people should not try this on their own, they should work with a trained professional to learn the technique.” 

When you watch the movie at the theatre, what are your thoughts?   

“I’ve seen the movie numerous times, I cry every time I watch it, not just because I was lucky to be a part of it but because the story line is amazing. James Cameron inspired me so much, the way he would explain a scene and his imagination was so beautiful. I remember how mesmerizing he was and how he got me hooked to the scene. He was telling a story and building our character. Now in my sport they judge performance and musicality in competition, I use his technique to explain the routine to the swimmers.   

Seeing my name in the credits is surreal.  I have such a tiny role, but the title of the movie and story line truly resonates with me. For me, water is my way of life, I just loved the story behind it. In the Scully’s new home, they learn to adapt to it, to live surrounded by water, in the water, and respect for the creatures in the water. That’s why it’s so relevant to me, I can relate to the characters in the script, the locals trying to teach the new commers how to respect the water.”  

Advice for Small Business Owners 

As a small business owner, Ludi has become very successful in carving a niche in the entertainment industry. Only two years after founding Ovia Entertainment, she was named to the 2018 Vegas, Inc. 40 Under 40 business professionals, a very distinguished and highly competitive accolade. Over 300 nominations were submitted for consideration. Ludi was one of 19 women named to the list and the only female business owner to receive the honor.  

Many pool builders and retailers are small business owners like yourself. Do you have any advice for them?   

“It’s all about the quality of your product, project, or service, I don’t want to go cheap, stay true to yourself and don’t go the cheap way. Yes, my price may be a little bit higher, but they need to understand why they are going to pay for that service.  

My second advice would be to really listen to what the client wants. I look for the approval of the clients, that’s very important to me. I focus on the quality of my projects and the satisfaction of my clients.   

Know your craft, but you can always learn something new. I am an expert in synchro swimming, but I can always find someone who knows more than I do on a certain subject. I had never done freediving or motion capture until AVATAR, the experts on set taught me. It makes me richer in skills. Learn from others, learn from your competition, and from your mistakes. Accept and own your mistake, apologize, and promise you will make it right. 

Adapt and adjust to circumstances. We all learned from Covid about adapting. The mantra for Le Reve was “The show must go on”, we never cancelled a show. So, this is just how I live my life.  

You also need to be a good problem solver. I’m a good problem solver, especially when I have a timeline, I’m going to be very stressed out for 24 or 36 hours, but I will find a solution.”  

Functionality of a Pool  

When Joey and I meet with a client, there are some key questions we ask to assist us in designing their project.  Function is a key element, how they intend to use the pool.  Is there any advice you would like to give to pool builders when it comes to functionality of a pool.  

“I’ve been to a lot of different pools. I mentioned it earlier, the safety element using non-slip deck tiles around a pool and the use of alternative sanitizers. I also prefer entry steps in the pool instead of ladders. I love wet decks, it adds so much more character to the pool, and I use them in my shows. I also love the look of the infinity edge. And lastly, underwater sound systems would be a huge plus in pools.”   

The Future 

You have already hit some major highpoints, what does the future hold for Ludi? 

“I have a few dreams. I feel accomplished when I’m really a part of the project, where I have more control, because that’s who I am, I like to lead, I like to have a say in it. I would love to expand my creative side, to create aquatic stunt segments for motion pictures, and to develop an aquatic themed show in Las Vegas. In 2020, I choreographed a cast of more than 2-dozen aquatic performers for the VIP opening night party of the Circa Resort & Casino at Stadium Swim. And in 2021, I was hired as the aquatic choreographer for the music video Seduce by hip-hop artist Russ. Shot in Atlanta, GA, I had a cast of 26 synchro swimmers.

Both experiences were very satisfying creatively. Another dream is to build my own aquatic training center, a pool where we could do everything from swimming lessons to artistic swimming, high-level training, diving, and aquatic stunts.” 

Ovia Entertainment – “Transforming Pools into Magical Liquid Stages!” 702-505-3687  https://oviaentertainment.com/  

Featured Photo: Ludivine “Ludi” Perrin-Stsepaniuk, President of Ovia Entertainment, Head Coach for the Nevada Desert Mermaids (NDM) and Coach for USA Artistic Swimming, on deck at the NDM training pool in Las Vegas. ) 

Photo Credit: Mary Vail, MBA Publicist