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.
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.
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.
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.”
