Portrait of Olympian and Artist Stella Umeh - Page 3

Becoming an artist

A promotional model shot of Umeh.
Upon graduating from UCLA in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Umeh made her move to the stage. Umeh studied theater at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and with Philippe Guiller, clown and physical theater professor at Le Coq University in Paris. Soon, Umeh earned leading roles in World Rhythms on Ice at Sea World in San Diego, California and in Broken Heart with the Bel-Air Theatre Group.

The new millennium found Umeh performing in Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere as a member of the house troupe and teeter board performer. While performing in Cirque du Soleil is the culmination of a life-long dream for many artists, Umeh wanted a larger role that would enable her to utilize her creativity.
When Umeh heard that Cirque du Soleil was interested in creating a new production, Varekai, she was one of the first performers to contact casting director Michel Laprise.
“I will always remember my first call from Stella Umeh,” Laprise says. “I was casting Varekai and got this phone call from one of our artists in Mystere (Stella) saying she wants to be involved in our new creation. She wants to contribute in a more creative way and create an acrobatic character. She was so genuine and enthusiastic. I could tell right away that she was serious.”
Although Cirque du Soleil directors felt that Umeh was performing successfully in Mystere, Laprise challenged Umeh to show them more of herself as a creative artist.
“Stella filmed herself in her Vegas flat, storytelling and miming her first audition at Cirque. She was so funny an entertaining, so at ease with her own identity and artistic personality that I decided to show her video to the director of creation,” Laprise says.
Not only was Umeh cast in Varekai, she was chosen to be one of the performers featured in Bravo’s reality series Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within, which depicted the creation of Varekai from auditions to opening night.
“A few years ago I watched the Cirque du Soleil reality show 'Fire Within' and Stella was one the characters they followed,” said Dwight Normile, editor of International Gymnast Magazine. “She was the spice of the whole show for me. As strong-willed as she is, Stella was still able to survive and flourish in the creative world, which can often be ruled by overblown egos. Stella knows she has a rare talent, but doesn’t turn you off with a big ego.”
One of the major story arcs on Fire Within featured Umeh and five other trapeze artists as they struggled to develop an inspiring act on an untested piece of equipment created by Cirque du Soleil engineers. The piece of equipment was unable to showcase the performers and was scrapped a few months before opening night, leaving the plight of the group trapeze number in jeopardy. Tensions and frustration among performers were evident during the series.

Triple Trapeze

“The Stella shown smoking a cigarette and bitching about Cirque was real,” says Valorie Kondos Field, Head Coach of the UCLA Women’s Gymnastics Team. “What the show was also to display was Stella’s ability to focus and become a leader in adverse situations.”
With the premiere of Varekai approaching, Cirque du Soleil’s engineering department created a triple trapeze, far simpler than the cage-like apparatus the performers were initially given to tackle. Umeh and her fellow artists created a stirring display, even in the absence of a piece of music, which had yet to be finalized.
The triple trapeze act inspired the Cirque du Soleil creative directors enough for it to be included in the Spring 2002 world premiere in Montreal. For the act, four of the six trapeze artists performed as spider goddesses, with the intention of tempting Icarus, the show’s male lead, with their graceful movements and sensual beauty.