THEATRE AND STAGE
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longer just a silent partner, but instead more of a creative collaborator. Like Stranger Things , the production team jumped on the use-of-LED-in-theatre bandwagon, by integrating a wall made of Roe Visual’s Carbon CB5 LED panels into their stage design. Novatech Creative Event Technology supplied the complete LED set-up, marking Bangarra’s first-ever theatre- based production to choose an LED wall over traditional backdrops. Leveraging the enhanced creative potential offered by the Roe Visual wall, the company could achieve new, exciting and immersive visual effects, with textures and movements of light that weaved seamlessly around the dancers themselves. Illume was not only innovative in its use of technology. It also represents Bangarra’s first collaboration with First Nations visual artist Darrell Sibosado. The creative partnership brought together movement and digital storytelling in a way that honoured their ancestral heritage, while incorporating new aspects of performance design. “Partnering with Bangarra underscores our commitment to supporting the arts, particularly where innovation is concerned,” comments Leko Novakovic,
the managing director of Novatech. “This is Bangarra’s first production using the possibilities of LED technology and the results have been outstanding.” Similarly, Bangarra’s production manager Cat Studley praised the technology’s results, noting how the LED set-up elevated the team’s artistic ambitions. “The LED screen could cover everything we needed artistically, so we could bring even more ideas to life. It was the best way to go,” she enthuses. THEATRE SETS SAIL Theatre is no longer confined to land. As audiences increasingly seek immersive entertainment experiences in unexpected places, the technologies that power live performance (once found only in traditional venues) are finding new homes in ever more adventurous environments. And one of the most striking examples of this shift can be found – not in the West End or on Broadway – but far out at sea. Aboard the floating entertainment worlds of Carnival Cruise Line, live shows, concerts and multimedia spectaculars rival those of land-based theatres, yet are still supported by the same sophisticated AV infrastructure. The key to this particular transformation
Illume was Bangarra Dance Theatre’s first theatre-based production that opted for an LED backdrop
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