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South China Morning Post

Macau's House of Dancing Water returns with 3.7 million gallons of spectacle

Macau's biggest indoor spectacle is making a splash yet again, as it returns to City of Dreams after a nearly five-year hiatus. House of Dancing Water, which debuted in 2010, made waves regionally and beyond for its ambitious scope and scale that required a boundary-pushing 2,000-seat theatre for what was the world's largest permanent water-based show at the time. Advertisement Directed by Franco Dragone , the show was forced to shut down in 2020 due to Covid-19. After Dragone's death in 2022, his long-time collaborator, Giuliano Peparini, took up the mantle, working with veteran martial-arts choreographer Jaden He Jingde to relaunch the production. Now, the show goes on, with a fresh narrative, cutting-edge technology and a world-class 300-strong cast. The House of Dancing Water, Macau's biggest indoor spectacle, is back. Photo: The House of Dancing Water The story will be familiar to those who have visited previously: a brave stranger embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Aani, who is being held captive by the Dark Queen, with water serving as a recurring motif throughout the 80-minute run time. To balance the show's dramatic intensity, a new character, the Sailor, injects moments of comic relief. The purpose-built Dancing Water Theatre features a pool holding 3.7 million gallons of water, more than five times the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The venue has been refurbished to improve sightlines, accessibility and seating comfort, while technological enhancements allow for a more immersive experience, including a stage capable of transforming from a dry platform to a vast aquatic arena in under a minute. The show features a pool holding 3.7 million gallons of water, more than five times that of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Photo: The House of Dancing Water One of the show's most arresting moments is the revamped Golden Boat sequence. This set piece has been re-engineered with a state-of-the-art water-hydraulic system allowing the massive ship to glide across the water, in a spectacle that feels both grand and intimate. Complementing this is the Human Chandelier 2.0, an act in which acrobats perform gravity-defying manoeuvres on flying chandeliers, pushing the boundaries of physical artistry and technical precision.