The company
Franco Dragone and water stages
The Dragone company behind La Perle: Franco Dragone's years at Cirque du Soleil and his water shows in Las Vegas, Macau and Dubai, with sources.
Book the show ↗Quick answer
La Perle comes from the Dragone company, founded by Franco Dragone in 2000 after years directing Cirque du Soleil shows. Its water stages include Le Rêve in Las Vegas, The House of Dancing Water in Macau and La Perle in Dubai. Wikipedia calls La Perle the first Las Vegas style permanent show of this scale in the UAE.
The short answer
La Perle is a Dragone show. Franco Dragone, born in Italy in 1952 and died in 2022 (Wikipedia gives both dates), directed many Cirque du Soleil productions between 1985 and 1998 before founding his own company. That company has made a series of large shows built around water. La Perle in Dubai is the latest one covered here, and the operator describes the Dubai theatre as home to the region's first permanent Dragone productions.
Cirque du Soleil years
Wikipedia says Dragone directed nearly all of Cirque du Soleil's most prestigious shows during 1985 to 1998, including Saltimbanco, Mystère, Alegría, Quidam and O. It says Mystère helped to change the nature of production shows in Las Vegas. In 2000 he left Cirque du Soleil on amicable terms and formed the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group, later shortened to Dragone. The company was based in La Louvière, Belgium, and became known simply as Dragone in 2014.
A New Day and Le Rêve
One of the company's best-known early productions was A New Day, created for Céline Dion at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which premiered in 2003 and ran for five years. Le Rêve followed in 2005 at Wynn Las Vegas. Wikipedia says Le Rêve was the only Las Vegas show set in an aquatic theatre in the round, with a pool of more than one million US gallons whose deepest point is 27 feet. It combines diving, swimming and stunts with special effects.
The House of Dancing Water
In 2010 the company opened The House of Dancing Water at City of Dreams in Macau, which Wikipedia says marked its entry into Asia. The Macau theatre has sloped seating for up to 2,000 patrons, and its pool holds about 3.7 million US gallons, one of the world's largest commercial pools. The show won a Thea Award in 2012. It shows how the company's idea scaled up: a purpose-built theatre built around a pool the size of a small lake.
La Perle in Dubai
La Perle followed in 2017 at Al Habtoor City. Wikipedia says Franco Dragone was its artistic director and Wikipedia calls it the first Las Vegas style permanent show of this scale in the UAE. The operator says the theatre holds 2.7 million litres of water and that artists dive 25 metres. Gulf News reported a motorbike globe and a six-metre puppet. Dragone told The National that Dubai was a laboratory of the future, in the paper's account.
Who might look elsewhere
Anyone wanting a history of Cirque du Soleil or a biography of Franco Dragone will find only a short outline here, and the sources listed are the better place to go. The company's story also includes financial difficulty in the years before La Perle, which Wikipedia describes, and the production has changed since its launch. For a decision about booking, the practical guides on children, seats and dress are more useful.
Frequently asked questions
Who made La Perle?
The Dragone company, which Franco Dragone founded in 2000 after years directing Cirque du Soleil shows.
What other water shows has Dragone made?
Wikipedia lists Le Rêve in Las Vegas, which opened in 2005, and The House of Dancing Water in Macau, which opened in 2010.
When did La Perle open?
Wikipedia says it premiered in 2017 at Al Habtoor City.
Is Franco Dragone still alive?
Wikipedia says he died on 30 September 2022 in Cairo, aged 69.
Sources