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Alvin Ailey Dances with ETC Eos
When the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was kitting out its latest world tour, lighting director Al Crawford wanted to get the best and most advanced lighting control system on the market. So he chose the multi award-winning Eos to replace the company's Obsession II, also from ETC.
As important as the control system to Al, however, is the excellent relationship he has with ETC. Says Al: "I am aware that we have one of the first Eos consoles available. The product team are really excited about the development of the desk and listen carefully to their end users. For example, there was one time when we had an issue with the software - not a fault, but we needed it to operate differently. We contacted ETC and received a software update within 24 hours. We felt they completely supported during the Eos's tour around the world. That is unprecedented in my book - they truly stepped up to the plate."
Alvin Ailey was among the first to use an Eos lighting control desk from ETC, which recently won a PLASA Award for Innovation, completing a hat trick - it won similar awards at LDI last year and Showtech earlier this year. US company 4Wall Entertainment Lighting supplied the Eos system and is one of the first rental companies in the world to purchase them.
Eos was designed to handle the most complex lighting rigs, and the Alvin Ailey rig is no exception, with 180 ETC Source Four profiles and 80 Source Four PARs. "We chose the Eos because we'd been with Obsession for 15 years and have over 200 ballets in our repertoire," says Al. "Changing desks posed a significant challenge, because of the inherent and continual translation process, so we needed a desk that could understand the data. In our production we use conventional fixtures, moving lights and scrollers and needed to transfer the massive amount of repertory information seamlessly.
"I must acknowledge the entire Ailey lighting staff for their dedication to this process of moving to the Eos system. Stuart Nelson, associate lighting director for AAADT, lead the translation and integration process and I'm so appreciative for his hard work and tireless hours. Thanks also to Michael Cannon and Al Ridella at 4Wall Entertainment Lighting for their dedication to investing in new technology, and I cannot forget the ETC folks including Anne Valentino, Dennis Varian, Luke Delwiche, and Victor Seastone. What a team!"
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a performance in March 1958, at the 92nd Street Young Men's Hebrew Association in New York. AAADT has gone on to perform for an estimated 21 million people in 71 countries on six continents, including two historic residencies in South Africa. The company has earned a reputation as one of the most acclaimed international ambassadors of American culture, promoting the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance. The company's current tour continues in the UK until 9th October, then moves to France and China. The New York season at New York City Center Theater is from 28th November until 31st December.
5th October 2007
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