Drawing acts from across the world, Kerstcircus Ahoy, served up performances that surprised anyone who entered Ahoy arena expecting to see typical circus fare. Supporting these performances was a lighting design by Ricky Bouckenhove of Live Systems that featured 70 CHAUVET Professional fixtures.
From “Space Elements,” the human pyramid builders from Ukraine to RCC Aruba and their Caribbean-inspired springboard act, to the gravity-defying young Austrian Stefan Dvorak, this circus featured all-kinds of entertainment.
Bouckenhove relied on a mainly blue and white colour palette to highlight its 12 different acts, which featured performers from 16 different nations. At the circus’ center ring, he hung 24 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures on the 19-meter circular truss. Drawing on the 440W light cannon’s 16-bit dimming, he was able to have smooth fades after acts.
Bouckenhove also arranged 14 Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures on the floor around the edges of the circular ring. These units lit aerial acts, while also colourising the track itself. An additional 20 MK2 Wash fixtures enhanced the circus’ magical ambience by backlighting the area. At selected points during the circus, the wash fixtures were also used to create a dramatic effect by silhouetting the performers.
There were also 12 Colour STRIKE M motorised strobe-washes in Bouckenhove’s rig. He used these fixtures to light the stands and to underscore high-impact moments with strobe effects. Bouckenhove noted: “Since the acrobats regularly needed target points, it was important that these points were programmed in the correct position and that the moving lights maintained the correct pan and tilt values.”
Given Bouckenhove’s degree of planning, and the reliability of his rig, the lighting for Kerstcircus Ahoy came off smoothly. There were, he noted, “no surprises” during the circus.
