Entertainment brings life to any event! Enthralling artistic acts ensure a magical experience for one and all. Creating high-end luxury entertainment concepts and unforgettable moments since 2015, La Clé Entertainment is known to deliver outstanding entertainment conceptions with sheer expertise. We spoke to Sherin Al Alami, the Founder and Managing Director of La Clé Entertainment regarding the company’s association with the 6th Annual Destination Wedding Planners Congress and the emerging entertainment trends within the wedding and events industry.
Tell us about yourself and your incredible company. Where did it all start?
La Clé Entertainment was born in 2015 – we are a boutique agency specializing in world-class artistic entertainment concepts and talent sourcing for weddings and events in the region and beyond. As a company La Clé has a combined experience of 25 years in entertainment. We combine our expertise with both locally and internationally sourced artistic talent to bring concepts to life and ensure every event is produced with superior quality and professionalism.
Who was/is your inspiration for setting foot in the entertainment industry?
I was raised in the artistic city of Montreal, Canada and have a strong appreciation for the arts and live performance growing up with Cirque Du Soleil and the Jazz Festival. Travelling and working in the film industry also inspired me tremendously. As a commercially driven business woman, I tapped into a niche market of luxury entertainment and been able to combine my passion of the arts and entertainment into a business that create high-end luxury entertainment concepts and cutting-edge bespoke acts.
Behind the scenes, how do you come up with the idea of the astonishing entertainment you curate for various weddings and events?
This definitely comes from experience and although we create original concepts and make suggestions, we work closely with our clients who already have ideas that they would like to see come alive and it is our job to make that happen. Our motivating philosophy is to think out-of-the-box and to constantly innovate as a company. Nothing gives us more pleasure than to see us deploy our creative thinking into ideas and experiences for our clients. We take pride in providing bespoke consultancy services to clients who will work with us to understand and develop a wedding entertainment plan and execute it with precision. I’m very hands on with my clients and like to manage all aspects of an event along with my team.
What have been some of the most unique requests by your wedding and event clientele?
We’ve definitely had many unique requests over the years but nothing we haven’t been able to accommodate so far. The most unique events have occurred when the clients have trusted us to develop themes and concepts through in-depth consultancy and run with it.
How long do the performance rehearsals take in order to put up a flawless show?
As the artist managers we work closely from inception of a concept with our artists to produce unique acts from the time we book the artist or act we work tirelessly to particularly with bespoke acts which require more creativity and productive elements rehearsals are the last stage of the concept where we see an idea come to life and tweak it.
What has been your favourite artistic entertainment concept that you have executed till date?
My most notable artistic entertainment concept executed to date would have to be our Cuban band “Cubache”. In 2016, I travelled to Cuba in search of fresh musical talent and out of a demand for more live music elements. I auditioned musicians in the capital Havana. Under my artistic direction a 6-piece ensemble was curated. Since then, we have taken the concept to neighbouring countries, Qatar, Bahrain and even Egypt and with more international bookings on the horizon; we see great things ahead for the group.
What are some of the latest trends within the entertainment world?
We have seen an increasing demand for live bands particularly international acts as well as interactive artists. Gone are the days of cookie cutter entertainment and clients definitely know exactly what they want as entertainment. There is a demand for fresh talent therefore artists/ musicians have to constantly evolve or reinvent themselves. Clients understand good entertainment. It is therefore our job to keep sourcing the very best from around the world and grow our artist roster.
How easy or difficult is it to keep up with changing trends in this dynamic industry?
We lead by example and through best practice, we set the industry standard. Being at the forefront of world-class entertainment goes hand in hand with innovation and for La Clé, innovation is key in this dynamic industry. La Clé also understands the importance of delivering entertainers that are the full package; performance is one thing but having versatile artists that can be developed and nurtured to produce completely different and compelling acts is another.
Tell us about your very first experience of putting on a stellar show.
We feel all our events are stellar from the small to the larger scale ones. We love anything bespoke and live, especially live bands and large choreographed groups of dancers in amazing costumes, makeup & styling. If we had to choose it would be my own destination wedding planned by me personally for a group of 70 close friends and family in Crete, at a villa voted as the ‘best villa 2015’ infused with some amazing non-stop international entertainment.
How do you feel being associated with DWP 2019 as the entertainment partner which is going to take place in Dubai this year?
We are very honoured to be the exclusive entertainment partner for DWP 2019. It’s very exciting to be supplying entertainment to a host at the iconic Atlantis. The La Clé team has been working around the clock in anticipation for the spectacular 3-day entertainment showcase. We also look forward to collaborating with like-minded connoisseurs in the wedding industry and network with some of the top creative partners from all over the world.
All Images Courtesy: La Clé Entertainment
