How did you get involved in choreographing a segment of the huge water and music extravaganza at the majestic Fountains of Bellagio?
It started as a rather unusual idea between me and my best friend–New York-based artist and filmmaker Steve Willis–because we are huge music fans. We listen to a lot of the same music; listen to it the same way and try to visualize it. In particular, we are addicted to songs that build to big crescendos. Any performance of Ravell’s “Bolero” is an obvious example; an amazing version of “Stairway to Heaven” by the London Philharmonic Orchestra is another. We search and search and search and now have about 15 CDs of songs that build. Once in a while, Steve and I get together with our record collections for an evening of “build-offs.” It’s really outrageous.

Which song actually sparked the notion of transforming the idea into action?
I don’t remember, but it began as a joke. We were listening to a particular piece of music one night and one of us thought it would sound great with Bellagio’s fountain shows. The next day it turned into an obsession and we became determined to see it through. Basically, we regard Bellagio’s fountain shows as a great form of artistic expression–a new way to listen to music.

When and how did you go about taking the concept to the Bellagio’s management?
Perceiving the experience as a unique way to feel, see and listen to our favorite music with giant fountains dancing around it, we began researching how the Bellagio went about their business in 1995 to plan, design, build, choreograph and program their fountain shows. Everything pointed to Mark Fuller, the man who runs a water performance company called WET Design in Los Angeles. I put in several calls to him last March, but he never returned them. I guess he thought it was an outrageous request and just a prank.