"It's a very eclectic mix of dance, which means the lighting has to be just as flexible and diverse," explained Crawford. "For example, our signature work, Revelations, was first lit in 1960, so one of the challenges is having this recreated with today's more advanced equipment. Other work in the tour repertory can be quite modern, with contemporary lighting effects and lots of vivid qualities - we have the very classical and the very modern right next to one another and we need to be able to accomplish such different effects with the same system.
"Because we're a repertory company, all the different pieces have different lighting designers and their personal styles. Our challenge is recreate them consistently, whether we are in a huge theatre or a more intimate space, in the US or anyplace in the world."
PRG Europe provided an extensive rig of conventional lighting and electricians to guide master electrician David Kerr and assistant Brian Zimmerman through the challenges presented by the unfamiliar EU-standard wiring. Crawford said: "We tour the US during the winter, going overseas each summer. This was our first full tour to the UK in quite some time, so it was great that PRG Europe was able to provide so much advice and assistance on things like the mains equipment that we're not used to."
The lighting includes 180 ETC Source Fours, 140 Source Four Pars, Wybron CXI colour mixing scrollers, and MR16 battens which fly into the audience's view during a piece called Shining Star. "This element was a challenge, because the exact specification of equipment that we would usually use was not readily available," said Al. "We have a very high aesthetic standard for this element, since the audience sees the equipment itself, rather than just the light from it. The guys in the shop were excellent with their desire to understand what we really needed and really went the extra mile to make them all look fantastic."
The tour is presented by the Dance Consortium, which co-ordinates 19 of the largest venues in the UK, who want to increase their dance audiences by bringing in international contemporary dance acts. Indeed, the Alvin Ailey company is considered to be the most toured dance company in the world. The crew is out on the road full time, and, explained Al, because there is no scenery or set, the production element must be perfect. They tour with their own ETC Obsession II desk, but other equipment is sourced locally.
"PRG Europe, and specifically project manager Loz Wilcox, really stepped up to the plate and totally took care of us and understood what our needs were. They went the extra mile and I couldn't be happier," said Crawford. "The shop has been very involved and interested in our well-being even after we left, especially since we're facing things we feel uncomfortable with such as foreign electricity. We feel like we are supported."
(Lee Baldock)
