Lighting Designer Evgeny Romakhin deploys extensive Martin lighting for Russian experimental
street dance troupe’s theatrical debut
MOSCOW—Martin by HARMAN lighting solutions
recently travelled with an emerging modern
performance group on a six month tour of “Red Bull Wrong Side,” an atmospheric synthesis of classical and street dance. The tour featured a
nine person dance collective known as Jack’s
Garret and
culminated in a sold out series of
shows on the historic stage of Moscow’s Pushkin Drama Theatre.
Lighting Designer Evgeny Romakhin worked with a Martin M6 console to
provide a special mood for each moment of the original,
jointly choreographed work. The suite of Martin fixtures included 38 MAC Aura XBs,
18 MAC 700 Profiles, two Atomic 3000 DMXs and a MAC Viper Profile. The
production was facilitated by Laser-Kinetics, Russia’s largest rental and
installation organization for entertainment, events and concerts.
The
Jack’s Garret team had some specific ideas in mind for the lighting design
scheme, as they perfected the performance throughout the tour. "The company wished to use as little as
possible ‘disco’ and ‘concert’ lighting effects and try to create the classical
look on the stage that is more typical for a
ballet," said Romakhin. "But to set such a unique cultural phenomenon
as the ‘Wrong Side’ into the framework of standards was not possible. So I
suggested an idea to keep a balance: do not allow the light to ‘overshadow’ the
action on the stage but to complete the performance with the help of lighting
effects, making it way more interesting and entertaining."
With continuous
action that lasts 75 minutes, Red Bull Wrong Side is a dance performance where every
split second is very important. The artists demonstrate amazing body memory and
perfect synchronization with the music. When discussing the draft of the future
light show, Romakhin described how he chose not to work on the fly, instead
synchronizing the show by time code, using the Martin M6 console.
"Actors thought out every movement up to centimeters
in the performance, so that there was no possibility to take one more step left
or right," said Romkhin. "A dancer knows that if he runs five steps, he will
be at a definite point on the stage and not in any other. All the movements of
the artists are closely intertwined – everything is very precisely synchronized
with music and light. As a result, we can see a complex and very interesting
visual form of dance performance. Therefore, I could use only the timecode. The M6 controller is very handy, whether
you work online or use time code. There are no unnecessary functions,
everything you need is there, and everything is in place."
Romakhin
used four types of lighting fixtures in the project. Just as in the play, all
of the roles of the fixtures were clearly cast between them. Thirty-eight bright
and high-powered MAC Aura XB LEDs provided high-quality wash, and at certain
moments, created beam effects.
"XB – two letters that make wonders,"
said Romakhin. "The power of the previous version MAC Aura would not be
enough for this project. There were a few moments in the show when I used these
fixtures only for beam effects in a narrow zoom to support the MAC 700
Profiles. And only with the MAC Aura XB was I able to draw a crisp uniform beam
from the high ceiling to the stage floor."
Only two
classic Atomic 3000 DMX strobes were involved in the project, but they had
"creative" tasks of their own. According to the script, the characters
periodically made a photograph together. When a distinctive click of a camera
sounded, the strobes simulated the effects of the flash. In addition, the Atomic
3000 DMXs created lightning bolts when there was a thunderstorm on the stage
and supplied the necessary accents to underline the mood of the music.
However,
the most specific task in the project was imposed on a single MAC Viper
Profile, hidden behind the screen and shining up on the final scene. "Early
in the tour, I was asked to include the light tunnel in the finale," said Romakhin.
"I needed a powerful fixture to implement this idea. We explored several
options, but the MAC Viper matched the requirements most accurately. A crisp,
smooth cone of light was sent up from behind the screen, and then, the beam
fell down while the zoom was spread to maximum. Such a vivid end of the performance
makes the audience think."
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