the production, outlined
The scenes, without the spoilers
What the current House of Dancing Water actually moves through, scene by scene, without giving away how the story ends.
Choose your seats ↗Named settings in the current production
| Setting | What it is |
|---|---|
| The Magic Garden | Where the stranger first crosses into the kingdom |
| The Aquarium Cage | Where the Dark Queen holds Princess Aani |
| Future City | A later setting built for the production's aerial work |
One story, not a variety bill
Unlike a cabaret-style programme of separate acts, the reimagined House of Dancing Water tells a single love story from opening to finale — a courageous stranger's attempt to rescue Princess Aani from the Dark Queen — using aerial acrobatics, diving and dance to carry the plot rather than to showcase isolated stunts.
The Magic Garden
Melco's own account of the 2025 relaunch names the Magic Garden as one of the production's settings, part of where the stranger first crosses into the kingdom.
The Aquarium Cage
Named by the same account, the Aquarium Cage is where the Dark Queen's hold over Princess Aani plays out — the dramatic hinge the rescue story turns on.
Future City
A later setting in the production, built to carry the aerial work a company of nearly 300 performers and crew — drawn from more than 30 countries — stage above the pool.
A new score for a new story
The 2025 version runs on a newly written orchestral score rather than reusing the original Franco Dragone production's music, part of what Melco describes as keeping the theatre's 'brilliant essence' while rebuilding everything inside it.
What carries over from 2010
The theatre itself, the 270-degree seating and the stage's working pool are the same physical venue Dragone's original production opened in 2010 — the story, choreography and score are new to 2025, built by a different creative team after Dragone's death in 2022.