Design Dance Show Ideas?

Hi,

I have a big dance show I'm running tech for coming up. Every year we have the usual moving head beam and spot lights along with smoke effects. However, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some extra things we could add in this year to make it more exciting, whether it be lighting or special effects? I'm open to any off the wall ideas and would give anything a go.

The budget isn't very big but it would be possible to hire some things.

Thanks!
 
Nobody's said anything for 10 hours, OK, I'll stick my neck out.

You said DANCE show. OK, It's about the DANCERS and the DANCES. Don't make it a LIGHT show.

Warm & cool front washes. (But not too bright.) Good hot side/cross lights in several colors, maybe a deep amber, hot pink, and a couple of blues, on both sides, and if you have the positions and instruments available, DS, CS and US. White back light from as low as you can hang it and keep it out of the audience. (Use sparingly to highlight.) Arc(s) if you must highlight a soloist or lead dancer in a group. (But I'd rather not!)

Watch the rehearsals. Watch every dance. Look at all the dancers, and their costumes. Think of how you can emphasize movement, shape, pattern, etc. Color them to fit the mood(s) of the music.
 
Thank you for your response. I might not have been quite specific enough. I have done identical shows previously and have danced with the group on occasions, and with the style of dance being set more to pop music etc, the aim is to go for a big production show as opposed to dance emphasis. Perhaps more like the concert tour of a popstar.

Hopefully that makes it clearer on the kind of ideas I'm looking for to create some big eye catching effects.
 
+1. We have a few different dance groups come through our venue throughout the year. Some of them want lights on-lights off, sit on your hands in between those cues. Others want a Superbowl Halftime Show.
@spenserh And of course they expect you to program PRECISELY what's in their mind's eye in 15 minutes while they're changing garb and you're drinking the cold coffee that they've never given you a moment to drink. Can you say: "Amateur dance recital season?"
Toodleoo!
Also posting from north of Donald's walls.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
The majority of the shows I did this year were dance recitals, ranging from toddler to high school to special needs adults. Most of my lighting 'instructions' come from the choreographers of the numbers. With the toddlers they want a bright wash with a saturated cyc, and if they're really feeling excited they'll let me do a really slow color chase on the cyc. Middle School tends to be creative spots, subtle movers and gobos and fast color chases on the cyc, High School is typically flash and trash, except low lying fog / dry ice has been a big hit with ballet solos. The Special Needs adults, as big and bold as I can make it, we even used prop blowers (like the used car salesman) during one of the shows... to make it as special for them as possible.

Other things we've done:
only side light a number from the wings
track to spots. (Dancer does a part in a spot, than black to dance in another spot)
only use uplights for a number.
use movers as follow spots
pars on trees on stage used as blinders
gelled lekos on trees on stage as back lit spots


These were all worked out with the choreographer though.
 
I would recommend putting batons or trees hanging upstage behind the dancers. Each tree could have par and on it to create a beautiful back light but also just some cool patterns behind them. You can even put moving heads on it to. I added a picture for an example. You could just make it straight up and down.
 

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Lights on the dancers that respond to movements would be nice to see.

There is a YouTube video of lights on dancers that are synced with the music. I forget the name of the video at the moment.
 

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