When the Rockettes® started work on their new show, HEART AND LIGHTS™, their vision presented new technological challenges in illuminating the costumes of this famous dance troupe. To achieve their goal, they teamed up with world-renowned illuminated clothing designer Janet Hansen and her company, Enlighted®.
Creating an array of high-resolution pixel-mapped jackets was something that could not be easily achieved with existing hardware. For assistance, Janet — an accomplished electrical engineer herself — turned to Kent Suzuki of Right Brain Electronics, who put sophisticated Arduino technology to work controlling custom-designed strings of individually addressable multicolor LEDs. The look is nothing short of breathtaking.
The next step was synchronization with the rest of the Rockettes® show. For this, Janet and Kent turned to RC4 Wireless. James Smith, president and chief product designer at RC4, worked with the Enlighted team to seamlessly and transparently deliver live, wireless DMX data via the chip-to-chip I2C protocol. These design efforts ultimately culminated in the RC4Magic DMXi2c data gateway, available now as a standard RC4Magic device.
“For all the work that went into the technology behind this stunning show, the result feels light, airy, and effortless — exactly how it needs to be,” says Smith of RC4. “In my opinion, top kudos go to the Rockettes lighting designer, David Agress, who took a completely new medium and applied it with skilled restraint and an impeccable sense of timing, choreography, and nuance. It is an astounding accomplishment, truly beautiful.”
HEART AND LIGHTS™ is a new show coming to Radio City Music Hall® in March 2014 starring the Rockettes® and celebrating the greatest city in the world. The passion New Yorkers have for their city comes to life onstage in this 90-minute spectacular. The show follows the adventures of two cousins as they race uptown and downtown while trying to uncover the secrets of their grandmother’s past – and of New York itself.
HEART AND LIGHTS™ features state-of-the-art technology, 3D special effects, and elaborate animatronics that bring the city to the stage, while an unforgettable soundtrack of original music and pop favorites set the energy for fantastic new choreography and incredible Rockettes® dance numbers.
For more information about the Rockettes® visit www.rockettes.com
For more information about Enlighted® visit www.enlighted.com
For more information about Right Brain Electronics visit rightbrainelectronics.com
