Water is Ludi’s Life POOLS ARE HER STAGE

BY JOE VASSALLO

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 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.”

“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 soughtafter 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.”

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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

Is there any advice you would like to give to pool builders when it comes to functionality of a pool.

“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. Lastly, underwater sound systems would be a huge plus in pools.”

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.”