AUSTIN, TX – For a recent collaboration with the Cavalettes Dance Team in Austin, TX, Lake Travis High School students Max Dalton and Trenton Schoonmaker used High End Systems SolaSpot 2000s to take the group’s production, Love, to a new artistic level. The technicians at the Lake Travis PAC are all students enrolled in the Technical Theatre program at Lake Travis High School, and are part of the LTHS Student Chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
More details from High End Systems (www.highend.com):
Lake Travis PAC Managing Director K.J. Bartosh comments, “We’ve worked hard over the last decade to transform our dance show from a very basic recital into a spectacular community event that adds a great deal of production value to the talent of our dancers, as well as to stretch the significant educational opportunities for our technical theatre students. The Cavalettes are a highly-decorated drill team, most recently showcased at Walt Disney World’s Waterside Stage, and this is the third year that automated lighting has been featured in the production.
The SolaSpot 2000’s were hung midstage; Bartosh says from this position they were extremely versatile. “The 2000s were used mostly for their beam architecture, and to add texture and movement to the design. During the opening number, the fixtures served as the primary source of illumination for the performers on the trapeze. They were also used occasionally to highlight important solos.
“The SolaSpot 2000 fit in perfectly with the rest of our automated lighting rig—the output was far superior to the VL 3500, and seemed equal to the VL4000 in studio mode. The consistent color temperature that the LED’s provide was wonderful. It’s always a challenge to make sure that all of your lamps are about the same age so they have the same color and output. We didn’t have to worry about that with the Solas. The fixture is packed with features, which our students used to create an unending number of unique looks on stage. It was also the quietest fixture in the automated rig. This was a perfect opportunity for us to compare the capabilities of this fixture with the others we’ve been using—I was very impressed with its performance.
Co-LD Trenton Schoonmaker adds, “From my perspective, the SolaSpot 2000s added a missing piece to the show, a ‘wow factor’. The Sola’s created beautiful and vibrant colors across the spectrum that none of our other automated fixtures could, making them integral parts in our design. We were able to create a look that matched the mood of each song perfectly. Whether it was bright and fun pinks, yellows, and blues for dances, or very deep purples and blues, the Sola’s responded extremely well. Personally, my favorite features of the 2000s were the indigo LED’s on front and the litho selection on the two wheels. These fixtures allowed us to finally create a light show that was truly ‘performed’ in all three performances.”
