When most of us hear the word “ballroom,” our minds immediately run to large, elegant spaces with polished floors glittering under the warm lights of a chandelier. But the truth is, a ballroom can pop up anywhere you find people dancing, even within the oval track of the Phoenix Raceway.
After all the very name “ballroom” comes from the Latin word ballare, which means “to dance.” So, it makes sense that the good folks behind Relentless Beats’ Decadence Festival decided to name one of their two main stages the “Royal Ballroom,” since people danced their hearts out in this brilliantly lit space to EDM, house, and techno heavies like Wooli, Eptic b2b Space Laces, and Svdden Death.
Every fan who crowded into this dynamic space couldn’t help but feel like a part of this “ball” thanks to an immersive lighting design by Luis Torres. Working with the teams at Relentless Beats and Kelco, which handled all the production management for the show, Torres pulled the entire area, as well as the 96′ wide by 44′ deep stage, into an embracive sea of bold monochromatic colors accented by stark white light.
Torres, of HiLite Designs, relied on 48 Rogue R3 Beams and 24 Strike Array 2 blinders from CHAUVET Professional (supplied by Hardwired Productions) to create this deeply engaging panorama. In addition to reflecting the music and stage personas of the festival’s performers, Torres lighting paid homage to the venues “Royal Ballroom” name.
“Inspired by the stage name, we wanted to create the feeling of the ballroom with a chandelier over the crowd, pillars, and windows,” explained Torres, who accomplished the first goal by having a three-level geometric truss structure outfitted with 24 of his Rogue R3 Beams (three per section) over the crowd.
The remaining 24 Rogue R3 Beams were positioned on stage in vertical configurations to evoke the “pillar look” Torres was after. As for the windows imagery that Torres sought, he accomplished this with curved vertically-oriented video walls that conveyed the impression of a classic ballroom. Accenting this effect and endowing it with extra energy were the Strike Array blinders positioned under the video panels.
Other Strike units in Torres’s rig were used to contribute to the audience lighting that he relied on to connect the performers to the crowd. As for the crowd itself, everyone in it was caught up in the excitement of the festival… Indeed, you might say that had a ball!
Further information about CHAUVET Professional: www.chauvetprofessional.com
