Le R¿Â¿ve

“Le Rêve” is the lavish aquatic spectacle that’s been holding theatergoers in thrall for five years at a theater-in-the-round within Wynn Las Vegas on the Strip. In place of a traditional stage is a huge circular pool that holds 1 million gallons of water and descends to a depth of 26 feet.

Performers swoop, splash, dip and dive into this watery abyss while performing dazzling acrobatics, aerials and dance moves. The audience lets out a collective gasp when performers freefall 80 feet from the theater’s domed ceiling into the swirling waters below.

Steve Wynn borrowed the name of his flagship show from Picasso’s “Le Rêve,” which he also happens to own. The 1932 painting depicts the artist’s mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, asleep in an armchair.

Le rêve is French for “the dream.” If anything like the scenes that unfold on the watery stage at Wynn Las Vegas passed through Marie-Thérèse Walter’s unconscious mind as she slept in her lover’s studio, she must certainly have had a vivid imagination. At the core of “Le Rêve” is a love story that takes place in a dreamy fantasy world, at once erotic, eerie and mysterious.

“Le Rêve” has undergone a number of changes since opening in 2005 as the flagship show at Wynn Las Vegas. Maksim Chmerkovskiy of “Dancing with the Stars” lent a hand with rechoreographing some of the dance sequences, bringing an amped-up sexual energy and greater complexity to the footwork.

—Anne Burke, Custom Publishing Writer

“LE RÊVE”
Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Splash zone, $99; premium, $129; VIP, $179
702.770.9966
www.wynnlasvegas.com

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. (Dark on Wednesdays and Thursdays); no performances Dec. 8-16; 7 p.m. only on Dec. 31.