PADERBORN, Germany – German distributor Lightpower GmbH staged its sixth triennial Lightpower Open Days in early May at the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum. The two-day event drew more than 1,000 guests from 30 countries, and multi-lingual translation was available for those attending sessions led by LDs including Patrick Woodroffe, Rick Fisher, Manfred "Ollie" Olma and others. First held in 1994, the latest gathering was "our best to date," said Lightpower Managing Director Ralph-Jörg Wezorke, of the event, noting its "convergence of ideas from designers, technicians and manufacturers" and "unique chemistry."
Along with details about what it was like to work with Michael Jackson as he prepared for his last tour (Woodroffe), or the lighting design for Billy Elliot (Fisher), German Pop Idol (Olma) and details on set design for the theatre and for TV (Jürgen Schmidt-André), the event served as a forum for other various developments in lighting and video design and control.
Lightpower's major partners also supported the event, including Barco, Clay Paky, Columbus McKinnon, De Sisti Lighting, DTS, Doughty, ETC, Eurotruss, GDS, MA Lighting, MAJOR, Prism Projection, Pulsar, Rainbow Colour Changers, Robert Juliat, Rosco, Safex, Slick International B.V., Vari-Lite and Wireless Solution.
There were also performances by Australia's 8 Ball Aitken and Germany's Barpiano. The event drew positive remarks from attendees including Clay Paky's Pio Nahum, LD William Klages, Bob Gordon with A.C.T Lighting Inc. and Pulsar Light's Jon Petts.
For more information, please visit www.lightpower.de
