Thirty-two shows in twenty-two different locations with a total audience of 170,000 people. These are the impressive statistics clocked up by “TUI Feuerwerk der Turnkunst” during its “Best of 25 Years” tour. The most successful show in Europe was not only a masterpiece from an artistic point of view, but also from a technical one. Welzel Anlagen GmbH dealt with the audio, lighting and rigging as full service provider for the ninth year running.
As lighting equipment for the national tour, the agency Bramsche relied on a range of Lightpower products, including 16 Clay Paky Sharpys, 10 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700s, 16 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 700s, 8 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700s, 1 full-size grandMA and 2 MA network signal processors (NSPs), among others.
André Flaßpöhler, who dealt with the light concept and worked as a programmer, said: “During the tour, we only had two and a half hours for installation, and no adjustment time. So it was not only important for the equipment to be extremely fast and bright, but it also had to be possible for just one person to move and install it. We therefore chose the Clay Paky 700 series, for other reasons too.”
“Since the show was held in large arenas (Olympiahalle in Munich, Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Ostseehalle in Kiel, ÖVB Arena in Bremen, etc.), we installed twelve Sharpys on the floor,” Flaßpöhler went on to say. “In this way we created great spatial depth with low power consumption. Thanks to the Sharpy’s light beam, we were able to create entirely new looks and frames for individual artists. I also used the Sharpys according to the music. The speed of this moving head never ceases to amaze me!”
Flaßpöhler continued: “One of the aims of our lighting design was to achieve optimal results without excessive use of staff and equipment, and simply fill large arenas with several lights and several beams. With the Sharpys we achieved our goals excellently. Another idea was the special stage structure. The rotating stage was made up of Plexiglas parts and was occupied in different ways according to the various acts in the show. We therefore used Blinders, LED par spotlights and Clay Paky Sharpys. With this material, we were able to give a personalized style to each act.”
The lighting engineer was Holt Marcel, and technical management was entrusted to Hartmut Welzel.