What It's Like to Watch a Vegas Show Underwater
Tomasz RossaThe dazzling dresses of a Las Vegas show, not a mooring ball, mark this unusual dive site.
Imagine a night dive on a wreck … in a cavern … with no light.
I can’t shake the feeling of being in some sort of dream world as my eyes adjust and my guide points out the exact spot where I should be looking.
Then, it all becomes real. I squint to see a figure coming out of a tunnel just ahead — it’s a short, brawny bald man with a second stage in his mouth and a scuba diver on his back, like a skydiving instructor.
Tomasz RossaThe view from the audience differs greatly from a diver's perspective during a VIP viewing of Le Rêve — The Dream.
Maybe this is a dream.
The diver escorts the man to a massive 4,700-pound “tree,” where he hops off and grabs a hookah hose. The diver turns around and disappears into the tunnel, only to reappear with a nearly identical man and repeat the process again and again and again — six times in all. With each pass, the new performer looks at me and waves.
Once they’re all in position, I hear a voice over an underwater speaker with perfect clarity: “OK, we are ready to begin. Launch the tree in three, two, one ….” The tree shifts vertically and rises out of the pool, taking the performers with it.
This is one of the most unusual — and amazing — dives of my life.
Tomasz RossaThe show includes swimming, dancing, gymnastics, diving and stunt performances.
And it is a dream. I’m here to witness Le Rêve — The Dream at Wynn Las Vegas, from below. I watch in awe, an audience of one, while the sold-out crowd of 1,606 takes in the performance from the theater above. They don’t even realize I’m down here — and they certainly don’t get to interact with many of the 93 performers as I do.
A nimble acrobat stretches and flexes while breathing from a hookah hose, awaiting an auditory cue. I swim by, and am delighted to get a fist bump from him midstretch.
My guide, Amelia Bruff, leads me around the pool as the landscape shifts — sometimes the floor rises to slightly lower our depth while set pieces and performers move around right on cue. I’m always in the perfect spot to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to put on this grand performance.
Tomasz RossaThe synchronized swimmers' heels receive a fresh touch-up of paint every day.
I look to my right to see divers bringing in new performers; above me, a group of synchronized swimmers moves in exact alignment, their bright-red heels dancing beautifully in the dim light; and now I snap to see a high diver splashing into the 1.1-million-gallon pool from a height of 80 feet.
It’s a frenzy. But everything is placed into perspective when I return later that night to view the show once again, this time perfectly dry in the audience.
Tomasz RossaPerformers quickly receive a second stage underwater.
My pampered day is called the Diver’s Dream, a package from Wynn that allows two divers to stay at the famed Las Vegas Strip hotel for two nights and see the show from this perspective, along with a second viewing in VIP seating.
The day starts early with an in-depth behind-the-scenes tour of the set and theater, initial dive tour of the pool, and preparations for the show in my own personal dressing room.
I left impressed with the unheralded role divers play in making this show special — and with the glee of living out my lifelong dream of being a Vegas showgirl.