UK - After the success of the first series, Alesha's Street Dance Stars is back. Dance crews of up to 12 young street dancers will compete in a series of auditions, rounds and finals with one crew winning both the title of Alesha's Street Dance Stars and a money-cannot-buy-prize.

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) support LD Roger Williams in creating a very cool, edgy and urban look. 2 Lites and 8 Lites were chosen to create an almost Industrial look which complements the eye-popping routines and electrifying dance skills that are displayed throughout the show, which is aired on Saturday mornings on BBC2.

(Jim Evans)

USA - John 'Cheetoh' Chiodo, lighting designer, programmer and lighting board op for American alt metal band Chevelle, turned to Martin's mini but mighty MAC 101 wash light for the band's 2012 Hats Off to the Bull US tour.

"On the last tour with Chevelle I used MAC 700s," he stated. "On that tour the band and I discussed going with all LED fixtures for the next tour. This time I scooped up as many MAC 101s as the budget allowed."

Cheetoh spread 30 MAC 101s across the upstage edge between four trusses and pipes to create a full wall of fixtures look. "I chose the 101s because of their brightness and quickness," he says. "They also have a perfect degree beam, which helps make the light more of a spot than a true LED wash fixture."

Lighting vendor for the tour is Windy City Music out of Chicago whose role encompassed more than mere

Azerbaijan - Robert Juliat reports that 2012 is the tenth year in which RJ followspots have been used on the Eurovision Song Contest.

For the third year running, Lightpower of Germany supplied Robert Juliat followspots to this prestigious international event at the end of May, the two semi-finals and the finals of which were broadcast in three live televised events from Baku, Azerbaijan.

Lighting designer, Jerry Appelt, used 10 Robert Juliat spots in total - six RJ Aramis 2500W HMI followspots with DMX control and four of the mighty RJ Lancelot 4000W HTI followspots - to highlight participants from 42 countries.

"We chose Robert Juliat followspots for two major reasons," says Appelt. "Firstly because Robert Juliat spots are extremely reliable which is a priority on a show of this size. The Aramis' remote DMX control is an essential feature which gave me precis

The Netherlands - Dutch design, operating & video content company, Light Image, used Visual Productions' CueCore to great effect on the TV talent-show, Holland's Got Talent from RTL. Following on from the pre-recorded qualification rounds, Holland's Got Talent went on to broadcast a series of primetime live shows for the final stages of elimination and judging of the winning act.

Three judges would watch each performance and judge whether it should leave the competition by choosing to press the elimination button which in turn lit up a large red cross above the jury. If all three crosses turned red then the lights, video & audio would freeze and the act would be eliminated from the competition.

Light Image used the CueCore's MIDI-port to receive signals from the infamous large red crosses. The CueCore was positioned between the Audio control room and the three li

Norway - Popular Norwegian pop/rock group DDE is currently out on a 20th Anniversary summer tour with a rig that includes Martin Professional's MAC Aura wash light.

The band marked the anniversary earlier in the year with a special concert in Olavshallen in Trondheim, held exactly 20 years to the date that the band stepped on a stage for the first time. The special anniversary concert was broadcast on TV network NRK1 on 2 June with lighting design by 21-year-old Lars Kristian Mathisen who turned to a Martin rig of MAC Auras, MAC 700 Profiles and MAC 550s for the show.

Not your typical DDE gig, the concert featured numerous guest artists including The Trondheim Soloists and the celebrated Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir. Mathisen was responsible for all aspects of lighting including design, rigging, programming and control. He commented, "This was the largest project I had e

Germany - The first ever Mayday music festival in history took place on 14 December 1991 in Berlin (Halle Weissensee). The event was organised to help out the GDR radio station DT64 (today MDR Sputnik), which was on the verge of bankruptcy. From this initial aid event, the festival has gradually transformed into the largest indoor rave party in Germany, with about 20,000 to 25,000 participants each year. It has now entered its 21st year and Mayday has lost none of its appeal. Thousands of ravers were therefore again able to celebrate their music in 2012 in Dortmund (Westfalenhalle).

The lighting designer of this year's entirely German made Mayday was Thomas Gerdon who created a spectacular show together with Rando Lorenz (lighting operator), Philipp Schauer (video operator), Wadim Wall (media server/system), Tim Franken (laser operator), Bernd Görgen (project director) and Joac

South Africa - The new-look Boardwalk Action Bar recently opened its doors at the Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth. As part of Sun International's 1bn Rand upgrade to the Boardwalk, the old Supersport venue was gutted and rebuilt to offer the community a stunning new live entertainment venue suitable for comedy nights, music groups, cabaret, karaoke and, of course, sport on a big screen.

Local AV integration company, Avitech Systems, provided the design, supply and installation of the sound, lighting and audiovisual systems in the venue. For the stage lighting requirements, Lawrence Bricknell, owner of Avitech Systems, called on the expertise of Dave Whitehouse from DWR Distribution. Dave's lighting solution comprised a Philips Strand 200 Series 24/48 lighting console, 12 Longman F1 High Power LED parcans, 10 Longman 002 LED parcans, six Longman Stage bars, one LSC DMX Splitte

UK - Robe's eagerly awaited, super fast Robin 100 LEDBeam is the ultimate effects lighting tool and a valuable addition to the range - small, bright and super-light at just 4 Kgs, says the company.

Robe waited for the right LED lightsources to come on-stream before developing the LEDBeam 100, as the new Robe standard is to use only RGBW technology in the current LED range of products.

With the arrival of the newest multichips on the market, Robe forged ahead with the product development and finished this small, compact fixture which has extremely fast pan / tilt movement.

The LEDs are controllable in three zones - top half, bottom half, and middle - for producing 'eye-candy effects', zone strobing, colour chasing, etc.

It has a tight beam angle of 7° - making it excellent for high-impact concentrated, collimated effects, the company adds.

Simplified control via pre-p

UK - Northern Light has announced the appointment of Andy Booth as the company's senior contracts manager.

Booth has been working in project management for Northern Light since December 2011 and has more than nineteen years of experience within the entertainment technology sector, gained during his time with Stage Electrics, AC Lighting, LSI Projects and P&O.

This newly created post will form a key role within the company's installations team, where Booth will take overall responsibility for managing quality and finances across all Northern Light installation projects.

Booth said, "This is a fantastic opportunity to really make a difference to Northern Light's overall success in the technical installation market. Whilst we are already the dominant player, it will be my job to create, implement and manage new systems and procedures that will ultimately ensure that we fur

Australia - Anolis ArcPad Xtreme LED floods have been specified for a high impact lighting installation illuminating the exterior of the Sofitel Hotel, Gold Coast Broadbeach, Australia. Sofitel is the premium brand properties of international hotel conglomerate, Accor.

It takes just two of the new Anolis RGBW ArcPad Extremes - such is their power and intensity - to fill the full 23-storey high front walls of the hotel with a beautifully smooth, even wash of vivid colour.

The ArcPads replace four previous 1000 Watt discharge lightsources, bringing a fresh visuality to the hotel after dark, which now stands out like a beacon from the myriad of other tall buildings dotting the famous skyline.

For all this illumination, the power consumed by the ArcPads is a mere 580W per fixture at maximum intensity, representing 11 Amps less - or approximately a 65% reduction - across the whol

South Africa - What started off as 100 dancing crews competing across South Africa, came to a finale at the Red Bull Beat Battle, at Bass Line in Johannesburg on 26 May 2012. The live show was recorded for a European television broadcast.

AV Unlimited were commissioned by VWV to cater for the full technical production and used bright, striking effects to compliment the high energy performance. To achieve this they included 12 Clay Paky Sharpies and 24 Robe 100 LED Beams amongst other fixtures.

With no bars in the roof and no rigging points, the fixtures were flown above the stage and also positioned on the catwalk and on the stage.

AV Unlimited's Victor Vermaak was the technical production manager for the event. "When I heard we were going to do a Red Bull event I googled it to see what all the other countries and competitions looked like. I was quite intimidated by all

USA - Martin Professional will show a new breed of moving head and much more will be on stand 103 at PLASA Focus Nashville.

Martin invites lighting professionals to get an up close look at the new MAC Viper Profile along with a host of other innovative products like a new AirFX version in the MAC III family, an all-new VC series of creative LED video solutions, the award-winning MAC Aura and popular MAC 101 moving heads, a new portable lighting controller in the M-Series, and a new compact hazer in Martin's Jem family.

Following an overwhelmingly positive response from both lighting designers and rental companies, leading to the biggest pre-sale success ever in Martin's history, MAC Viper Profile is now shipping.

The MAC III AirFX is a highly versatile beam, effects and wash luminaire in one and is the latest high-performance 1500-watt moving head in Martin's popular MAC III

USA - Iluminarc Ilumipod Logic 6 are the LED light source for a permanent interactive installation combining light and sound at Revel - an Atlantic City resort spanning over six million square feet of beachfront destination encompassing a spa, casino, clubs, restaurants, and retail shops.

The resort's ocean-side walkway, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is home to Sonic Fireflies, created by architect and composer Christopher Janney, who serves as artistic director for PhenomenArts, Inc. Inspired by the sounds of the sea and the flashes of fireflies, the piece engages guests as they enter the resort.

Once you walk in, environmental sounds and acoustic instruments greet you. This composition is a "sonic portrait of a soothing ocean environment" that also changes throughout the course of a day. When you walk beneath the suspended 'fireflies' Ilumipod Logic 6 comp

South Korea - The marine-themed Expo 2012 opened in May 2012 for a three-month run in Yeosu, South Korea. The icon of the Expo is Big-O, a landmark constructed to give visitors an insight into the expo's theme, including experience zones hosting large-scale events and cultural performances.

ECA2 - a French-based company specialized in creating and producing major events and shows around the world - was in charge of designing the entire Big-O show as well as the O structure. The artistic and technical production of the show was also part of ECA2 mission.

During daytime the Big-O is a giant sculpture that will remain after the Expo as a symbolic landmark. By night, it is the centrepiece of a show that embraces the Expo's themes.

The O itself features a water screen inside the outer rim, which shows films and other videos. The outer rim also produces special effects, such as la

UK - Win one of only six customised Sharpys made for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert and signed by lighting designer, Durham Marenghi. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this piece of history is register for and attend PLASA 2012! The winner will be announced live on the Clay Paky stand during the show.

The patriotic Sharpys, dressed up in custom made Union flag jackets, were a welcome sight amongst the pageantry during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations as they delivered a dazzling display of laser-like lighting at the Jubilee Concert that marked the 60th anniversary of Queen's reign.

Pio Nahum, chief commercial officer for Clay Paky is delighted: "It is great to see the Clay Paky luminaires doing such an exemplary job on such a prestigious project. The Sharpys seem to feature in the forefront of many of the official photographs of the event.

Canada - Electric Aura Projects set the design in motion for Rick Hansen Celebration 25 which honoured the 25-year achievements of Paralympic athlete Rick Hansen. Patrick Roberge Productions (PRP) produced the 22 May event at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. It aired nationwide 24 June on CTV.

It was in 1985 when Hansen set off in his wheelchair on his Man in Motion World Tour, covering 40,000 kilometers through 34 countries in over 26 months to raise funds for spinal cord research.

Vancouver production design firm Electric Aura Projects and PRP have a history of creating events for the physically challenged, including the World Wheelchair Rugby Opening Ceremonies, the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Opening & Closing Ceremonies and past events with Rick Hansen.

This event had to accommodate the needs of Rick Hansen, The Rick Hansen Foundation and CTV. There would be musi

The Netherlands - Dutch super group Within Temptation and lighting designer Pim Elberse are making full use of Clay Paky Sharpys on their extensive summer tour.

Following a hugely successful Dutch theatre tour, Within Temptation is setting off on a mammoth festival tour that will take in 35 music festivals across Spain, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, France and many others.

Rotterdam-based Elberse, discusses, "The show is divided into two sets - An acoustic and an electric set. We wanted to create a design fitting for both moods, and because we are touring we needed fixtures that could handle both."

Comprising a riser-setup and LED-walls, with additional decorative banners and backdrops, Elberse wanted the main stage to be clean, which meant using only small fixtures on and in front of the risers.

Pim says he chose to use Sharpys, which were supplied

Czech Republic - The 600-capacity Meinl Dance, the latest club on the Novy Jicin scene is located in a former nuclear bunker dating back to the days of the 'cold war' and former Communist era. Concealed behind a seriously impregnable 7.5 tonne front door and 2m thick concrete walls, images abound of the days when the concept of 'the big red button' was a hugely more sinister threat than accessing a raft of digital TV.

The club's independent owners Ladislav and Michael Uhlar and Daniel Fojtík approached Robe lighting, , whose HQ at Valasske Mezirici is just 25 Kms down the road in Moravia, and asked them to propose a 'spectacular' lighting and visuals design.

The brief was to maintain the high production values characteristic throughout their other clubs, and make Meinl Dance the must-go destination nightspot in the local area.

Robe's Ales Gill, Anolis's brand manager Peter

USA - FocusTrack, the show lighting documentation system has welcomed New York production electrician Kevin Barry, who will now be providing direct support to FocusTrack users in the US.

An IATSE Local 1, ETCP-certified electrician, Kevin Barry has worked on many of New York's biggest shows of the last decade, including The Lion King, The Boy From Oz, Mary Poppins, Billy Elliot and the current hit revival of Evita. Constantly striving to apply new technology in service of maintaining the quality of the lighting on his shows, he has been a FocusTrack user since 2006's Mary Poppins. He will provide support to FocusTrack's many users in New York and across America while continuing to work on Evita and other new productions.

"I'm delighted that Kevin is now a part of FocusTrack, rather than just one of its keenest users,"

USA - Philips Entertainment has announced that Steve Carson is stepping down as the Chief Executive Officer of Philips Entertainment, and Matthijs Glastra will take over as the new CEO. Glastra joins Philips Entertainment with an 18-year executive track record in the LED, entertainment lighting and semiconductor industries, and Carson will remain with Philips Entertainment for the remainder of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

"I am thrilled to be part of this great business in an industry dear to my heart, Entertainment Lighting," said Glastra. "I would like to thank Steve for a tremendous job done in building this business and he has assembled a great team with strong brands. I am fully committed to further accelerating our innovation and growth in a global fashion, and I am looking forward to connecting with our customers and partners to continue to grow

Denmark - Following "an overwhelmingly positive response" from both lighting designers and rental companies leading to the biggest pre-sale success ever in Martin's history, the MAC Viper is now on its way to rental houses around the world.

Martin CEO Christian Engsted comments, "We are ecstatic about the unprecedented feedback we have received on the Viper Profile. Never before in our history have we had such a success even before we started shipping. It is a testament to the success of our strategy to stay at the forefront of the industry. When we knew that this would be our last development of a new family of discharge-based moving heads, we decided to make it the best the industry has ever seen.

"This product seriously eclipses products above its class and redefines the standards for moving heads. It contains all of our accumulated knowledge over 25 yea

Canada - A Boston Pizza franchise owner broke away from the relaxed, family-style setting and created the first modernized restaurant in the chain. To set this location apart, a design team installed nearly 60 TVs, more than 50 speakers and 276 Iluminarc interior lighting solutions programmed with custom scenes.

Design Electronics based in Niagara Falls, contributed to more than 60 Boston Pizza installations. For this restaurant, which is located in the middle of Toronto's bustling entertainment district, Rob Jones, project manager for Design Electronics, and Darren Fousert, systems technician for Design Electronics, installed and programmed the lighting, audiovisual and system control components.

The team used a combination of Ilumipod Logic 6, Ilumipod Logic 12 and Ilumipod Logic Tri-4 interior lighting solutions to provide variable and controllable lighting in the dining ar

Ukraine - The Ukraina and Novy channels are two of the most watched television outlets in Ukraine. Last year, Ukraina launched a new HD-capable facility, complete with four television studios. At the same time, Novy also opened a new, expansive complex with two broadcast studios. Both networks have ambitious production schedules with multiple shows being filmed on each set every day, covering everything from news to sports shows.

To keep up with the demands of the fast-paced broadcast environment, they installed ETC lighting equipment.

In Ukraina's largest studio, the lighting staff rely on an ETC Ion control desk with a Universal Fader Wing. They had looked at other lighting desks, but decided on the Ion in order to future-proof their rig, as dynamic light becomes more prevalent in broadcast applications. They also liked the output count and the fact that the desk supports tw

Canada - An enduring relationship has been renewed, with SGM and its Canadian distributor SF Marketing signing a new contract which will see the Montreal-based company represent SGM's next generation of LED fixtures under the name 'SGM Canada'.

This will give the company much greater responsibility. But what makes the move significant is that SGM had been the first professional lighting brand that SF Marketing - originally established back in 1978 - brought into its portfolio almost a decade ago.

There is also an irony in that 20 years ago SGM's chief executive Peter Johansen came close to signing up his company at the time with SF Marketing president, Sol Fleising. How that decision might have impacted on the respective companies' fortunes we will never know - but two decades later the two industry giants are determined to grasp the opportunity this time around.

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