House of Dancing Water

Macau’s casinos mimic those of Las Vegas: They’re epicenters of high-end shopping, dining and nightlife. The most celebrated casino show in the city is the “House of Dancing Water” at the City of Dreams casino-hotel.

© Wei-Te Wong | Flickr

“House of Dancing Water” is a product of Franco Dragone, a world-renowned theater director best known for his work with Cirque du Soleil and Celine Dion. As such, the performance is indeed Cirque du Soleil-esque, as performers leap from great heights and perform incredible acrobatics.

© Roderick Eime | Flickr

The show centers around an enormous pool, the surface of which is at stage level. Seats are arranged in a circle around the center stage, where 3.7 million gallons of water reside, the equivalent of five Olympic-sized swimming pools. Performers dive into, leap from and disappear into its depths. Some $250 million went into creating the show, evident from the incredible acrobatics and mesmerizing special effects throughout the performance.

© Roderick Eime | Flickr

As captivating as all this is, the plot of the show is thin — to the point of being repetitive, boring and uninspired. Clearly, all money and efforts were put into the showiness and flashiness of the stage, with little energy devoted to the plot. That’s largely the case with most Cirque du Soleil shows, too, but they can get away with it because they ignite the imagination thoroughly; something is missing when it comes to the substance behind “House of Dancing Water,” and the pyrotechnics don’t make up for it.

Estrada do Istmo

Cotai, City of Dreams

Macau, China

853 8868 6688