Morphed is a work by Tero Saarinen circulating
around eight dancers showing the expressive power of the human body and
liberating movements in their performances. While Esa-Pekka Salonen created the
music, Mikki Kunttu, who has been working with Saarinen for many years, was
responsible for the set and lighting design. Morphed is currently touring
through different venues in Europe accompanied by a grandMA2 light console that
is owned by the Tero Saarinen Company.
Kunttu stated: “The grandMA2 is the standard in
every production for the Tero Saarinen Company. It offers many vital features
needed for a theatrical orientated project like this one. Thanks to the
networking capabilities of the MA System it has been possible to pre-program
the lighting on a grandMA2 onPC, then transfer the show to the grandMA2 light.
This was a real time saver and made my job a lot easier. For the opening night
at the Finnish National Opera it was basically the opera house’s network and
control setup. For the touring version of the piece, all the extra elements
were deleted from the showfile.”
“Also the grandMA2 offers the best possible
flexibility for touring, as showfile modifications are so easy – a real benefit
when you think about the different venues and how the equipment varies from day
to day.”
“The lighting and stage design took a rather
traditional and theatrical approach in this production”, explained Kunttu.
“Although some Vari-Lite wash and spot moving lights were also used, they were
there for the quality of light they deliver rather than any movement being
necessary. The set design is basically a few kilometres of ropes hanging down
from trusses framing the stage. The stage floor is a composition of rectangular
white and black dancefloor linoleum areas.”
Audico Oy is the exclusive distributor of MA
Lighting in Finland.
Photos: © Mikki Kunttu
