Entertainment
industry engineering and automation specialist WIcreations has delivered a
custom automation solution for the brand new Holiday on Ice show “BELIEVE”, as
well as fabricating the elaborate set as an efficient and tourable package.
The world
premiere of the fantastic new ice dance spectacle took place in Grefath,
Germany and is now touring Europe.
Hans
Willems led the WI team for this project, working directly for producers
Netherlands based Stage Entertainment, and closely with set and scenic designer
Luc Peumans from Painting with Light.
Hans and
WI have worked on many previous Stage Entertainment productions including Ice
Age Live. In fact, WI’s association with Stage Entertainment started in 2006 on
the HOI “Mystery” show of that year – the same year that WIcreations was
founded.
Hans
commented, “HOI is an important part of our company history and it was
fantastic to be working on another ambitious and radical production, to meet
all the challenges and collaborate with many talented and dedicated individuals
all sharing the same goal to ensure a
smooth, slick and streamlined production that will be enjoyed by audiences
worldwide”.
A modern
take on a classic Romeo & Juliet storyline, “BELIEVE” dazzles with
movement, colour, style and world class skating and is directed and
choreographed by Olympic skating champion, Christopher Dean.
The intricate
‘stage’ comprises a series of interconnecting curved platforms, walkways and
sweeping staircases – most of them clad with LED video panels – and this fills
the space along one end of the ice.
It
involves two prominent 8 metre high elevators with curved LED doors at the top
which are used extensively throughout the performance for entrances and exits.
The video
doors at the top of the elevator are attached to tracks in the roof that are integral
to the elevator structure and deal with the open/closing movement, while the positional
movement cues for the LED doors are linked to the Pandora’s Box media server playing
back the video, so exactly the right element of video footage appears on the visible
portion of the doors as they move.
The
elevator platforms are moved up and down via a system based on one of WI’s most
popular multipurpose standard products, the WI Stacking Truss. The elevators
themselves have been custom constructed for this show but are based on more
standard WI products.
The vari-speed
hoists controlling the elevator platform movement are running on Kinesys Vector
control on the same networked system as the tracks moving the curved video doors.
The lifts are used constantly throughout the show for performers to access set platforms
at several different levels.
On top of
the central set platform is a DJ booth, which can also track 30 metres to the
centre of the ice using a WI Track touring system driven by two vari-speed
double-channelled hoists attached to the track.
WI has also
supplied a SIL3 zero speed motor attached to the same track which is used to
lift two performers during the breath-taking Bolero routine.
When in
its ‘home’ position in the middle of the set, this DJ platform has two skate
ramps either side that give access down to the ice.
The DJ
booth was also built at WIcreations’ HQ in Heist-Op-Den-Berg and fitted with
all its LED screen. Because it is designed using WI Stacking Truss, the rigging
and hoists combined remain under 1 tonne in weight, which was crucial for
tracking as most venues offer a good selection of 1 tonne pointes, but if it
exceeds that, the whole process becomes a lot more complicated.
WI also
contracted four 3.2 diameter scenic fan structures which are flown above the
ice, three to provide overhead lighting positions, and the fourth contains a
circular water screen which is activated for a special effect sequence in the
show.
Another
challenge was designing all the various set elements so they pack down into a
series of dollies for neat and practical transportation., LED screen is
designed, where possible, to travel with most of the relevant set pieces,
rather than being attached separately at each venue and lighting fixtures –
supplied by Focus Showlighting – are also built into some parts of the set.
As always
– although the budget was reasonable – there is pressure to get a large-scale
technical creation within the figures, which required plenty of advance
planning and some innovative thinking – both also a WI speciality!
WI is
supplying two crew on the tour. The show’s lighting designer is Paco Mispelters
and the video is designed by Michael Al-Far, both from Painting with Light, and
sound is designed by Jeroen Ten Brinke.
The “BELIEVE”
tour is currently scheduled to run for two years.
Photos : Morris MacMatzen
