CHINA: Melco Crown Entertainment Limited, a casino gaming and entertainment company in Macau, will launch the world's largest water-based show 'The House of Dancing Water'

Record ID: 495130

  • Title: CHINA: Melco Crown Entertainment Limited, a casino gaming and entertainment company in Macau, will launch the world's largest water-based show 'The House of Dancing Water'
  • Date: 11th August 2010
  • Summary: ANIMATED GREEN CREATURE VARIOUS OF PRINCE FIGHTING FOUNTAINS WITH A SWORD VARIOUS OF FOUNTAINS
  • Embargoed: 26th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVACTY5BHL4P7TAOWXGZIECV3LXN
  • Story Text: Envisioned by Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment Limited, and created and directed by show maker Franco Dragone, the water-based show promises to be the most extraordinary show of its type ever staged anywhere in the world.
    City of Dreams, an integrated entertainment resort developed by Melco Crown Entertainment, will stage the event in a purpose-built 'water theatre' which includes a 3.7 million gallon tank -- more than five olympic sized pools -- and is one of the largest water-based theaters ever built.
    The show, set in an extraordinary Kingdom where nature's magic reigns, promises to take audiences on an awe-inspiring journey through the heights and depths of human emotion; from the abyss of Sadness and Anger, to the heights of Desire and the summit of Joy, between the cliffs of Fear and through to a glorious resolution where Love triumphs over Hate and its sinister forces.
    Performed by a cast of 77 dancers from 18 countries, the production cost US$250 million and took five years to plan.
    The female lead is played by Shanghai-born former Hong Kong ballet principal, Fay Leung, who did not know how to swim before signing up for the role.
    Over 40 professional divers guide the dancers through trap doors beneath the stage sometimes under eight metres of water, but Leung said she had to make adjustments from her ballerina days
    "Of course dancing in the water and the biggest stage I've ever had before. And also have to dance on the floor is completely different to what I am used to, the dancefloor," said Leung.
    The male lead role is played by former Cirque du Soleil star, Jesko von den Steinen, who had to learn how to drop 18 metres into shallow pool and drive motorbikes in water for his role.
    "The weight and the transference of water is very different," he said. "To come out of the water and be wet and cold is different. The floor, the way you negotiate on the floor is different Also the water takes on a chararcter of itself so you're working with the air, with the earth and the water at the same time."
    Describing itself as "an epic story that transcends time and promises to take audiences on an awe-inspiring journey through the heights and depths of human emotion", the 'House of Dance and Water' draws from many Chinese traditional symbolisms that will go down well with the mainland Chinese tourists that make up the majority of Macau's visitors.
    Artistic director, Matthew Jesner, said the show would be universally appreciated as it encompasses aspects of human nature and although the water made it unique, the show was a multi-faceted experience.
    "It's an integral part of the show but it's not a water show. It's a stage show and it's an aerial show and it's an everything show. It's an amazingly integral part of it because first of all, not only the swimming aspect and the landing in it but also the fountains and everything else," he said.
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