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Thursday, November 27, 2014

HOUSE OF DANCING WATER

Every year, for my birthday, I aim to get out of the country as a form of celebration to see and experience something new. For me, there's no better way than having a getaway as I age up to reconnect with myself and getting immersed in a different culture every now and then had served me well. I aim to achieve this on each trip.

This year, I received the best birthday gift of all which is my daughter, Brave. And so I thought to myself, maybe there's no need to travel this year. Yet, my husband had to take a relative to Macau so, he asked me discreetly how would I like to see the House of Dancing Water. I was exalted! 

If you plan to eat around the City of Dreams, The House of Dancing Water
tickets offer 10$ discounts on selected restaurants and diners.

I have always aimed to watch shows as much as I can to feed my artistic soul but it was my first time to experience visual theatre. I've only held as much knowledge of Cirque de Soleil via youtube so as a critique, it was pretty challenging to analyse the story it presents to the audience. Everything that you need to know about this show can be researched on its website. Good thing I read about it before being able to watch so I somehow understood how the elements of the show are related to each other. My husband didn't and it was actually interesting to hear his commentaries solely based on what he saw. He somehow finds some parts astoundingly good (e.g. motorcycle stunt exhibition, synchronised aerial stunts and the group of black men forming pyramids during the fight scene) but it makes him wonder, how could he put the puzzles together with such modern presentation when the core of the story itself started with an ancient storyline. As bugging as it may seem, we got entertained overall.

The stage of the House of Dancing Water,
in City of Dreams Macau,
that is 26 feet deep and is 2 billion
worth of investment.
I am amazed by how the stage of 26 floors high could transform from being a deep diving pool to a dry surfaced stage in just less than 1 minute. The first act was welcomed by a strong performance of divers (perceived by Moi as pirates of some sort) coming atop a ship unleashed by a powerful mist. It could be a simple element seen by the audience but my jaw dropped when the thick mist could cover the ship and clear out to present another kind of stage in again, I have to mention, less than a minute. The lady being rescued who dances ballet very gracefully deserves that much applause but the leading man needs to pump it up in the fighting scene. It was pretty predictable when he wasn't the one doing the motorcycle stunt yet he had to act as such. I was kind of imagining that the evil queen could've been more powerful of a character if it was a black woman. I hope this wouldn't be thought of being a racist. In general, that character needs colour regardless if it's brown or black. We watched from B reserve and all that I could describe her with is that she's tall and skinny. This is from a critic's point of view.

Overall, I am in awe of how they can perform this show twice a day, 5 times a week. (For all those planning to see it, you have to know that they are dark every Tuesday and Wednesday.) No wonder the performers owned chiselled bodies. In that show, they dive, swim and dance all at the same time. They do things that are beyond performing. They all own special talents that are worth seeing. But in doing so, choose to be an empty vessel. Just take in what the show has to give and you'll find the uniqueness of the show. I believe comparison won't help too since it is like no other.

Related posts:
1. HOLIDAY SEASON 2014 IN HONG KONG - what the country has to offer this Christmas.
2. AFFORDABLE FOOD IN HONG KONG - check these out if you plan to travel to HK on a budget.
3. 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HONG KONG - Here are some of the best things about HK

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