Of all the performances of The Fountains of Bellagio that I have choreographed to date, Con te Partirσ (Time To Say Goodbye) is the most satisfying. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to choreograph the fountains to Bellagio’s theme music, and to create a work for which the music is already an important and integral part of the Bellagio experience.

The music itself is perfect for the fountains. It grows and develops in strength very gracefully. Con te Partirσ reminds me of an abbreviated Bolero. Its build  is smooth and even, from a delicate beginning to a powerful end. This allows me to create a visual expression with the same transition. I find that the best results in my work with the fountains come when the water activity starts with soft, tranquil movement and then transitions to a finale of explosive impact, giving the show passion and drama. 

“When Steve Wynn and WET Design invited me to creatively participate in the opening of the Bellagio Fountain, I knew instantly what I wanted to do: Pay homage to Gene Kelly, my longtime friend, mentor, and teacher. It has been forty-six years since Mr. Kelly danced his way across the silver screen in ‘Singin' In The Rain’, and yet his performance still stands as one of the most loved and respected.

This new medium posed numerous challenges, but the greatest challenge was to somehow have Gene's wonderful spirit come alive and dance across the lake.

I wanted to capture the emotion that I felt when Gene performed this classic: his childlike exuberance, his exciting choreography while splashing from puddle to puddle, swinging around lampposts and, finally, whistling away carefree and in love.

To Gene, with love -”

– Kenny Ortega 

“Steve Wynn and I share a love of great Broadway musicals and agreed enthusiastically that ‘One ’ was a perfect piece for the fountain. The lake became the mirror, the fountain became the dancers, and together we set off to pay tribute to Michael Bennett's award winning Broadway choreography. ‘One’ celebrates the power of unison as well as a dancer's life quest for technical perfection. The fountain becomes the ultimate chorus line, the ensemble dancing as one. One singular sensation. . . ”

– Kenny Ortega 

“Steve Wynn's daughter, Gillian, introduced me to David Foster's ‘Winter Games’. I was immediately taken by its strong, rhythmic drive and arresting energy, contrasted by more lyrical episodes. When it came to choreographing the fountain to ‘Winter Games’,  I found that its musical repetitions gave me the freedom to vary he graphic movement of this versatile fountain at each repeat. At one point, a broken proscenium arch frames the smoothly flowing, continuous action in the central circle, an image that seemed to be in keeping with the music and its Olympic theme.”

– Gerard Schurmann 

“Years ago, when Steve Wynn and I first discussed this fountain, he said that he saw it performing in his mind to Aaron Copland's ‘Simple Gifts’, and he asked if I could choreograph the fountain  to this music. The piece is ideal for this feature. It includes a rich variety of musical textures, from delicate staccato pulses to elegant and flowing continuous movement. The work builds brilliantly from a lyrical beginning to a forceful and commanding finale. These elements allowed me to explore and push the fountain's potential and broad versatility.”

– Claire Kahn 

“The romanza, ‘Rondine al Nido’, presented a fabulous opportunity to work with the subtle dynamics of the aria. I designed the water movement to closely follow the nuances of Luciano Pavarotti's vocal expression. Sometimes, I held the water forms in place for sustained periods of time, stopping the water sequences at exactly the right moments to allow the water to fall, rather than rise, to the music. This became an important element throughout the choreography in achieving my objective of capturing the song's romance and tenderness.”

– Claire Kahn 

“I had marvelous input from Steve Wynn throughout the creation  of ‘Luck Be A Lady’. Every time we reviewed the work in progress, Steve would regale us with firsthand stories of his close friend, Francis Albert Sinatra. From these stories, and from the song itself, I reached to  capture the Sinatra style and charisma. From the ‘pop and sway’ signature movement of the jets to the explosive water forms accompanying Billy May's equally forceful brass outbursts, my intent was to express, quite graphically, the exuberance of the piece. Frank Sinatra and ‘Luck Be A Lady Tonight’ are Las Vegas.”

– Traer Price 

“During the months involved in our creative process of choreographing the fountains, Peter Kopik was humming his favorite show tune, ‘Hey, Big Spender’ from ‘Sweet Charity’. It finally dawned on us that this piece had all kinds of possibilities.

In order to properly celebrate Bob Fosse's choreography, we wanted the piece to be stylish and full of character. Peter and I challenged ourselves to bring another dynamic to the lake, namely humor, and we came to find fun, laughs, and good times in the process.

Charity and the girls beckon all you ‘Big Spenders’ from the water. Come Play With Us!”

– Kenny Ortega 

“I was pleased to discover that Steve Wynn likes Aaron Copland's ‘Hoe-Down’’ from the Ballet ‘‘Rodeo’. It is a wonderfully energetic piece, full of compositional exuberance, and it was stimulating to find that the fountain responded so well to its surprising twists and turns. There is some humor as well, from the opening preparations for the dance to the moment when the music slows down, only to jump back to life with renewed vigor. My aim was constantly to surprise the eye and to let people experience the music in visual terms through the exciting kinetics of the fountain. ”

– Gerald Schurmann

“In the midst of one of our many all night long programming sessions, Steve Wynn showed up with Lionel Richie. Fortuitously, Kenny Ortega had a CD of Lionel's handy. We popped it into the player, both to amuse Lionel as well as to entertain the rather sizable group of onlookers who, by this time in the summer, had figured out that we rehearsed our work from midnight to dawn in front of the Bellagio. (By peering through the chain link fence, they could enjoy a sneak preview.) As we turned up   the volume, we choreographers, the computer technicians, and Steve himself couldn't help dancing to the beat. Before the evening was out, Steve said, ‘Let's do this piece’. Kenny and I worked many an      ‘all night long’’ on the choreography. The piece is a celebration. A Fiesta.  It's about people forgetting their work and  cares and letting     the music transport them away.”

– Traer Price

"Faith Hill's This Kiss takes the listener through the roller coaster ride of falling in love, from early tentativeness and doubt to the explosive joy of true love and the fountains of Bellagio keep pace with quiet introspection yielding to exaltation that reaches the stars..."

- Traer Price

"This was the easiest and the most enjoyable choreographic exercise of all the programming I have done. The music gave itself to the fountain smoothly, so when I closed my eyes, I could clearly see what the water should do. I also got great feedback from Claire (Tuttle) who –in time- held me back from being overly enslaved to the tone and from being too derivative with imagery. The mid-section was also inspired by Claire when she reminded me that this part could be interpreted as driving an Austin Martin with the top down through the Swiss Alps with a “sex-bomb” sitting next to you.

- Peter Kopik

This piece presented a huge challenge choreographically and technically. The challenge choreographically was that, despite its energetic buildup that occurs twice in the piece, the composition is repetitious and revisits the main theme almost a dozen times. Technically it was challenge because the music’s structure is not always based on the usual 4x4 rhythm that our ears are so familiar with, but occasionally it uses blocks of 3 and 5 that make the piece sound fresh, and at the same time, restless.

I thought it was important that the choreography reflect these two distinct characteristics without exhausting the audience with repeated elements or syncopated rhythms.

- Peter Kopik