The players in Désirs

Andrée Deissenberg, Managing Director

When it comes to captivating the Paris public and reigniting its desire to enjoy nights at Le Crazy Horse, Andrée Deissenberg has more than one string to her bow. Having travelled all over the world with Cirque du Soleil, when she took on the mantle of Alain Bernardin she put her cards on the table: Le Crazy is a creative company whose repertoire demands regular renewal.

This was the starting point for the new management: to recreate a Crazy that 'le tout Paris' would flock to … bring in an audience that was young – and not exclusively male – and loved glamour, colour, music, design and fashion! To do this, Andrée Deissenberg had the idea of regularly inviting "guest creatures" and "guest creators" … Art and creativity are back at centre stage!

So there was mounting excitement in Paris with the arrival of the first guest star: Dita Von Teese. Surrounded by the Crazy Horse dancers she set the legendary stage on fire! Arielle Dombasle took on the second stage of this transformation … for a few nights only, as if to heighten the frustration, performing in five tableaux specially created for her.

But despite this success, the situation was still not quite resolved and Andrée recommended refurbishing the technical facilities to increase the theatre's performance capabilities, taking it from a mere operating level to a creative level with some cutting edge technology.

So in summer 2007 Le Crazy Horse began its rejuvenation: new interior design, new layout for the performance space, new surround sound technology, new lighting system and high definition projection.

In early 2008, Andrée Deissenberg commissioned Philippe Decouflé to renew the Crazy repertoire. The result? Ten new creations, surprising, sparkling, cheeky and resolutely Crazy: ten mini-shows with star quality brought to the public by dancers committed to continuing the legend.

Andrée Deissenberg is recreating the Crazy legend and, in this mythical cellar in Paris's 8th arrondissement, the creative soul of Alain Bernardin is returning to the heart of the show to give Le Crazy Horse his own special cadence…

Her itinerary

Straight out of the Cirque du Soleil where she spent 12 years working as its Press Officer, then Communications Manager and finally Sales & Marketing Director, Andrée Deissenberg was responsible for launching Cirque du Soleil in Italy and France.

She became Managing Director of the Crazy Horse Group in March 2006, where she is focussing on the renewal and development of Le Crazy Horse in Paris, Las Vegas and on tour. Her literary and artistic background, her dual Franco-American nationality and her skill in speaking five languages fluently, make her an essential actor in the dynamics of the Crazy Horse Group.