April 18th, 2007 inmacau
Last night I paid a visit to Grand Lisboa’s newest show: Rockza. After listening to a week of water cooler banter – “coiffure” this, “feathered-fan” that - it was time I saw Rockza for myself. I dragged our Product Development manager along, as well as two resident bachelors, and paraded the few blocks from the office for the 19:30 showing (there are 6 shows a day). We were graciously hosted by the executive producer and given VIP seats in front of the stage, thereafter falling hopelessly in love every five minutes for the next hour. See for yourself…
(Ms. Hayama Saki, if you read this, it would be my great pleasure to invite you out for dinner.)
Frankly, I was uncertain as to what sort of show to expect. Having been reared on the rather unrefined and tawdry peakaboo performances of the Wild Duck Inn and Marble Arch, whose origins are firmly ensconced in the Wild West saloons of a colonial continent, I was unprepared for the highly artistic erotique display that ensued.
If you’re looking for porn, poles, and ping pong balls then you’ll have to head to Pattaya. If you’re not, rest assured your view won’t be blocked by some ogling punter bellowing, “Oi, get yer kit off, love!” Rockza is a playful show that delightfully celebrates the female form in all of its glory – uncensored and in plain view. The dancers are highly-skilled and stunningly beautiful. The stage and theater are intimate and specially-designed for this show. Finally, in addition to being wildly sensual, as a Westerner, the accompanying music and videos are a crazy cultural excursion into exotic Asian erotica. It’s not like home and so it shouldn’t be. Unless you’re an ultra-conservative or under the tender age of 18, Rockza is a must-see event if you’re coming to Macau. It’s a great beginning to the permanent shows that are in the works for hotels and casinos across Macau. Full stop.
April 2nd, 2007 Fox
My big weekend regret was missing out on the exclusive GoMacau preview of Japan’s famed Rockza (ロック座) show coming to the Grand Lisboa. A few of my colleagues checked it out and one of them wrote this blog to give you the….er….inside peep.
When comparing Macau to Las Vegas, one could easily argue that Macau is now a formidable contender, certainly as far as gaming — nightlife and entertainment is a different story however. Until recently, gaming was the pretty much the only thing visitors came for — and also pretty much the only thing here. With Macau now attracting a broad range of visitors from around the region, a variety of new options are starting to appear. Apart from shopping and dining, most of the new hotels and casinos along the Cotai Strip will feature arenas and theatres housing a great array of entertainment, most notably to date, a permanent Asian base for the Cirque du Soleil, and we’ll certainly begin to see a lot of touring shows and performers.
Now, before I continue, I need to clarify something. Regulations here prevent Macau businesses from advertising certain things as what they actually are. This explains why you never see advertising here promoting gambling (oops, I mean gaming). A “strip show” becomes a “sexy show”, and so on. So as a business here you have to be inventive to work around the regulations, but visitors here also need to learn to read between the lines in order to have a more enjoyable visit.
The Grand Lisboa Casino, which opened less than two months ago, has just opened a new mini-theatre on the upper first floor, and last weekend several of us were invited to attend a preview performance of their debut “sexy show”, Rockza . Nearly an hour and a half long, featuring several lovely Japanese girls, it was very well choreographed and entertaining. Each of the carefully coiffured girls was featured in her own vignette, covering the entire gamut of Japanese female stereotypes, from geishas to school girls. Although perhaps tame by Las Vegas standards, I would say the girls were as talented and dedicated as their Vegas counterparts, and they put a lot of effort into giving us their best performance.
The theatre itself was excellent — non-smoking, comfortable seats, great lighting, and provided every audience member a close and intimate view of each girl on stage. Perhaps that accounted for the introductory announcement reminding the audience to “refrain from coming into contact with the performers, or their clothing”. My only minor complaint would be the overly loud sound system, and the fact that I was seated in the row housing the toilets at the end, where my viewing was regularly interrupted by men visiting the gents throughout the show.
At MOP250, the show may seem pricey, but you can surely lose a lot more than that in a single hand at the “gaming” tables, so by comparison, it’s a fantastic deal.
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