Davina Michelle lights up Ahoy Arena with Robe
- Details
Marc is well known for this international theatrical and opera work as well as his high-impact light shows for DJ Armin van Buuren. For these showcase performances he specified nearly 300 Robe moving lights to bring flexibility, impact, and drama to the stage, on which he worked closely with assistant lighting designer, Jordy Veenstra and Koen van Elderen.
The set concept was based on perceptions of space and proximity. To make it simultaneously intimate and visually striking in the large arena, a custom 10 x 7m glass riser was installed as a set centrepiece, underlit with LED sources. This had custom glass risers on top which Marc lit from above with a grid of Robe T2 Profiles and LEDBeam 350 fixtures, creating a cage-like effect.
“We wanted a big, bold and confident aesthetic offering all the fluidity and grace of a dance show with the power and attitude of rock ‘n roll to compliment the artist’s lively and energetic stage presence and the solidity of her band,” commented Marc.
At Davina Michelle’s request, the band risers were also positioned close to her onstage space. A substantial runway emanating from the front of the stage created an ‘almost-in-the-round’ layout which ensured she could be close to her fans, all of which was challenging to light but looked amazing.
At the back was a very large and elegant portrait orientated LED screen, flanked by two narrower left and right screens making up a powerful central lightsource in addition to the underlit floor, so Marc needed plenty of firepower and punch from his luminaires to cut through and produce the bold colour washes, specials and vivid linear looks of the show.
Robe’s T2 Profile was at the heart of his lighting design. Four trusses precision rigged immediately above the centre glass topped stage area were each rigged with seven Robe T2 Profiles alternating with eight LEDBeam 350s and a single T1 Profile on the downstage end of each truss for key lighting.
Inside these four ‘cage trusses’ were five smaller automated trusses rigged with LED strip fixtures which came in to create alternative shaping for the space.
The rest of the 116 x LEDBeam350s were deployed above, below and on vertical ladders in between the upstage LED screens.
The other 12 x T2 profiles were rigged as front and side lighting on a U-shaped truss flown above the end of the catwalk together with three Robe BMFL WashBeams that were hooked up to a remote follow spotting system.
Sixty Pointes were used to outline the stage at the front and in a long line along the back to blow-through and generally create dramatic and fun looks from these angles.
The complete lighting, video, and rigging package was supplied via Unlimited Productions, a task overseen by the show’s production director, Bart Roelen. Many of the Robe fixtures came from Rent-All, and 66 additional LEDBeam 150s from Ampco Flashlight Rental were rigged around the balconies to provide audience lighting when it was confirmed that the shows would also be recorded for later digital broadcast.
Lighting was programmed by Marc, Jordy, and Koen van Elderen on two grandMA2 consoles and mostly run to timecode. Koen, a regular collaborator with Marc and Jordy, ran the main effects lighting console while Jordy took care of the follow spots, house lights, audience illumination and other extras.
