THE WAHBIANG BLOG

The House of Dancing Water (City of Dreams, Macao)

A costly HKD 2 billion production! The House of Dancing Water is indeed the world’s newest and most spectacular and original extravaganza. A cast of 77 performers from 18 different countries, this show took 5 years to prepare and 2 years of rehearsals. Situated in the heart of the City of Dreams, the 2000-seat theater houses the world’s largest commercial pool (3.7m gallons of water, 160ft diameter and 16ft deep – about 5 Olympic-swimming-pool-size) with 258 automated water fountains. Sounds impressive? Wait till you watch the performance live in action!

The show is now in its 8th month (it was launched last August) and it is still incredibly running full-house. We have been hearing so much good reviews about this show that we decided to watch this during our Easter break. As expected, it was full-house and we have to book the tickets 3 weeks in advance. All the mid-range tickets were taken, leaving us no choice but to get the most-expensive tickets available.

At first, I was doubtful about the reviews and thought the HKD880 (ticket) +500 (return ferry) was a little too much to bear. But it was worth every dollar! (And I will certainly bring my son and wife to the show the next time they are in town!)

If you are done with circus and musicals, the House of Dancing Water promises you a show like no other. Breathtaking acts, stunning stage effects and beautiful settings, the director of the show choreographed every scene perfectly. Audience sit around a deep pool. The stage effects are beyond anything I have seen before. Fog engulf the theater, a 30ft tall ship rises up in the middle of the pool. The ship sinks and an oriental pavilion rises in its place. There is rain and snow.  In a blink, the deep pool disappears, dry land rises. The land cracks and steam hissing out of the holes on the floor. Motorcyclists doing daredevil stunts. Dancers flying in mid-air, performing breathtaking dives from as high as 15m tall. Take a magical 90min journey across space and time! A 100% must watch if you are in Macao! Enjoy the official Sammi’s MTV below.

Updated: Jacky Cheung ½ Century Tour Concert 2011 (張學友1/2世紀演唱會 – Hong Kong)

Jacky Cheung is more than just an cantopop idol. He remains one of the best Heavenly Kings of the 90s. Even today, Jacky is still very much everyone’s “God of Songs”! Many of us grew up listening to his songs. For me, his songs accompanied me for 2 long decades since I was 15!

Shame to admit, this is my first ever Jacky Cheung’s concert and he blew me off with his spectacular performance! Jacky fired up the stage (and yes, he literally did that) with his powerful vocal, his well-choreographed act and his magical “musical performance”! Stunning! Instead of inviting guest stars to his concert, Jacky paid special tribute to the late Lydia Sum. 

This is more like a hybrid of Broadway and pop concert! Hits after hits, Jacky sang continuously for 3 solid hours! (Tonight is the 2nd night of his 20-night concert in Hong Kong!) I can’t believe Jacky is 50 years old this year (that is why he named his concert “½ Century Tour Concert 2011“). With an unbelievable level of stamina and energy, he outclassed all the current princes + princesses of pop! Based on tonight’s performance, there is no doubt Jacky is still the best male singer in Asia.

At the end of his concert and when it was time for “encore”, Jacky gave us not 2, not 5 but over 10 classic hits! It was a great night to remember. It is no wonder why he is named the “God of Songs”. Jacky is indeed legendary. Here is a list of some of the songs he sang tonight: 花花公子, 小姐貴姓, 初吻, 你的名字，我的姓氏, 你是我今生唯一傳奇, 一滴淚, 分手總要在雨天 , 月半灣, 吻別 , 人在雨中, 如果愛, 三分拍 , 李香蘭, 我真的受傷了, 餓狼傳說, 這個冬天不太冷, 每天愛你多一些, 祝福.

(Earlier this Jan, Jacky broke ticket sales record in Singapore and the organiser extended his 2-night concert to 5 nights from 26th – 30th Aug. He will be performing in Singapore Indoor Stadium! Don’t miss it!)