By Val-Jeanné Jupiter

JUBILEE’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY HIGHLIGHTED BY GUEST APPEARANCE OF VIVICA A. FOX



Lights! Cameras! Dancers! Thursday, January 28th, was an exciting night charged with electricity. Why? Well, let me tell you. Bally’s Jubilee show was not going to be just another show that night. Instead it was going to be a spectacular event celebrating 25 glorious years of dance. And it would be their 15,000th show! Wow!

Bally’s Jubilee was created by the legendary Donn Arden (responsible for bringing the Paris Cabaret show “Lido de Paris” to Las Vegas in 1959) and Associate Producer Fluff Le Coque.

Although it’s fun and exhilarating to dance around in those exquisite sequined costumes, there’s a lot of hard work that goes into being a Las Vegas Showgirl.

The girls must watch what they eat, keep themselves in top shape, maintain proper posture, practice wearing those huge head pieces & costumes, which of course having strong dance skills in Ballet, Jazz & Modern is essential. Did you know that the average cost of one finale costume is $7,000.00 and that there are over 1,000 different costumes in Jubilee? That’s a lot of costumes and a lot of money. The costumes for Jubilee were designed by famous designers Pete Menefee and Bob Mackie.

In talking with two of the principle dancers for Jubilee, here’s what they had to say about their experiences. Miranda Knepp of Lakewood, Colorado who came out to Las Vegas to continue her dance career and joined up with Jubilee said, “It takes about 15 minutes to get into make-up and costume. Of course it wasn’t like that the first few weeks, when I came into the show. After awhile you get used to it.

Patricia Kubiak of Green Bay Wisconsin heard about Jubilee through some friends who recommended she try out for the show. Patricia says, “It took me on average 4 weeks to get put into the show for rehearsal and learning the show. In addition I rehearse 2 hours a week just to keep tight on the routines for the show”.

Now, I’m sure you all have heard of the show “Dancing with the Stars.” Well, what made this particular night doubly exciting was that for this celebration, there would be a special guest appearance in Donn Arden’s Jubilee by the beautiful, regal, talented and very down to earth film actress and producer Vivica A. Fox. Vivica is also the front runner for Dancing with the Stars. Born July 30th, 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana and a graduate from Golden West College with an Associate Arts Degree in Social Sciences, Vivica has appeared innumerous movies and television shows. The biggest movies that she’s best known for are; Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol.1 (2003) Vol.2 (2004) with Uma Thurman, where she played the character Vernita Green (Copperhead) and Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day: The ID4 Invasion (1996) with Will Smith where she played herself and the character Jasmine Dubrow. Vivica was most excited and honored when she was asked to make an appearance in the production Jubilee. Tonight she would experience the feeling of what it’s like to be wear thousands of feathers in those spectacular head pieces and be immersed in shimmering sequins and glittery jewels as was transformed into a glamorous Las Vegas showgirl.

Before Vivica was due to get into her make-up & costume, I had the chance to ask Vivica what other projects she had going. She said, “I just finished producing Motives II a sequel to the movie Motives I and I am very proud of that accomplishment, because I had produced and starred in the movie. Vivica also mentioned that “although Motives I went straight to video, it did so well, I decided to make a sequel. Another movie coming to the theaters in October 2006 that Vivica will star in is “The Salon.” Vivica will be heading down to Baton Rouge Louisiana along with the entertainment community that will be taking funds down there to provide jobs and replenish the community in Baton Rouge for the victims afflicted by hurricane Katrina this project is called The Bishop. In addition, she does the voice for the Cadillac commercials and will be doing six more commercials. She hopes to be on “Dancing with the Stars” until November of this year. Vivica was very pleased that her magazine Jolie was doing well. And, as an added treat, Vivica will perform one of her special dance sequences the Fox Trot from the show “Dancing with the Stars” with her handsome, debonair and most charming Australian dance partner Nick Kosovich in tonight’s performance of Jubilee. Nick Kosovich’s achievements include; Two-time U.S. American Ballroom Champion, 2005 World American Ballroom Champ, Two-time U.S Classic Show dance Champ, Arthur Murray National American Ballroom Champ and International Traveling Consultant for Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Nick has competed in the Ballroom world of dancing for 30 years and has just recently retired from competing. Nick like Vivica, has also appeared in several movies; most recently “Shall We Dance” with Richard Gere.

When asked what Nick enjoys about being part of “Dancing with the Stars,” he replied, “I like hanging out with the crew and meeting the celebrities. I enjoy the fact that the world of dance is getting so much more recognition and from a dancer’s perspective, I feel fortunate to be the front runner for Dancing with the Stars which “is just rocking!” Nick has lived in the states for 15 years. He lived in New York for 14 ½ years and now resides in Los Angeles. I asked Nick if he gets nervous before going on stage. He says that he gets nervous jitters before the first 10 minutes of the music starting, but after that, he goes out and does his thing, because “you just don’t have time to be nervous”.

After chatting with Nick & Vivica, I had the good fortune to see the finale of Jubilee. All I have to say on that subject is “Breathtaking!” The costumes were gorgeous, the choreography flawless, the lighting magnificent, the dancers dynamite and at the center of it all was Vivica looking stunning in her blue and silver sequined Bob Mackie dress. As she walked ever so gracefully down the stairs, she was presented with a big bouquet of roses. Now that’s what I call a fitting ending to a glorious evening.

Jubilee! Is performed nightly at 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm, Dark on Fridays.