Three hundred Robe moving lights helped the one, the only … and the totally
awesome Armin van Buuren rock Jerusalem with his amazing “Armin Only Embrace”
show, a four-hour trance extravaganza that delighted 10,000 fans packing the Pais
Arena to catch the banging vibes and spectacular visuals.

The lighting for the world tour was created by LD Marc Heinz and Andre Beekmans
from design practice The Art of Light, and is being directed on the road by Michael
Seeverens, who’s just celebrated his fifth year of working with the award-winning
Dutch superstar, DJ and music producer.

His rig comprised all Robe moving lights, supplied by main lighting contractor, Tel
Aviv-based Gil Teichman, with the hire division of Robe’s Israeli distributor Danor
Theatre & Studio Systems contributing some of the BMFLs and Pointes as this was
an incredibly busy time of the year for shows and events.

Five straight trusses were installed above the stage with two circular trusses above
the B-stage and a spine truss running parallel above the catwalk that connected the
two areas. This area between the two stages saw much of the action featuring an
exciting line-up of special guests including singers Cimo Frankel and Angel Taylor
and jazz trumpeter Eric Vloeimans.

Sixty-two Robe BMFL Spots were deployed around the space, 60 on the various
trusses and two reserved exclusively to provide key light on Armin.

Thirty-two BMFL Blades were used as the main general performer key lights, with
28 rigged across the trusses, overstage and above the catwalk and six downstage –
in this case rigged on another truss above the FOH risers – for front lighting the B-
stage and catwalk.

The beam lights in Jerusalem were 74 x Robe Pointes scattered all over the trusses
and on the stage deck, where they added depth and were used for all the big, ballzy
effects looks looks – perfect for those lightening quick mega-bold accents and
stabs.

For wash light, both Robe’s LEDWash 1200s and 600s were used. The LEDWash 600s
lined the runway on the floor, mirrored above by LEDWash 1200s, with more 1200s
on the upstage truss just in front of the large LED screen at the back, bathing the
stage in an exciting array of rich vibrant colours.

Other lights on the rig included 32 x strobes, 24 x LED battens on the slanted side
trusses and 22 sets of 2 and 4-lite blinders dotted around.

Seeverens worked closely with video operator Carlo Ruijgers, FOH engineer Wouter
Asselman and show director Sander Reneman from the AO Embrace touring crew,
AKA ‘The Front-of-house Mafia’ – who also ran music for the warm-up slot, playing
some special deep techno remixes by Armin’s from a selection of his early hits and
favourites.

Jerusalem-Istanbul-Minsk is an ambitious back-to-back schedule for a large
production like this, but it’s a typical weekend for the Armin Only phenomenon,
which continues around the globe into 2017.