SHOW PRODUCER & HEAD CREATIVE  / RYAN MUELLER

The Phoenix Zoo developed a brand new holiday light show attraction to replace the previous Dancing Trees show which had been a staple of the Phoenix Zoo for the last 20 years. The new show, Music in Motion, encircled the lagoon, increased the amount of viewing locations, decreased throughput time, relieved parking congestion, and modernized the show - all while retaining the traditions of the past.

Ryan designed new LED lighting features around the zoo, as well as a fully automated show control system, allowing for total control, and synchronization with both music and timed events.  As the producer of Music in Motion Ryan has taken the show from a single-path light show that incorporated a dozen lighted trees, to a show that includes a dozen lighted towers and a 24 foot diameter sphere on the Zoo’s lake along with nearly 40 trees around the lake.  More than 1,000 elements were programmed to specially chosen music each year.   In first year of Music in Motion the attendance was a record-breaking 292,491.

​

ZooLights attracts nearly 300,000 people over a six-week period and is the largest fundraiser event for the Zoo.

It is also one of the largest zoo light shows in the country with more than 3.6 million lights.

​

​