Mexico. Mexican dancer Elisa Carrillo, principal dancer at berlin's Staatsballett and winner of the 2019 ballet grand prize, the Prix Benois de la Danse, traveled to her home country to present a series of ballet performances called "Gala of the stars, Elisa and her friends."
The special shows, which took place last year in some of Mexico's most renowned venues, including Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional, were lit by Rafael Mendoza with Elation Artiste Picasso LED-profile luminaires.
"Gala of Stars, Elisa and Friends" featured performances by renowned figures of classical and contemporary dance from some of the world's leading ballet companies, including the American Ballet Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Berlin State Ballet and the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Mendoza has served as lighting designer for the ballet gala "Elisa and her friends" for years, effectively since the beginning of the project, and has years of experience illuminating ballet, dance and opera behind him.
He commented: "Mexico, with its different expressions and genres of dance, classical dance, Mexican folklore, contemporary dance and many that have been added in the last 40 years, involve the wonderful human body expressing itself in different ways. I design the lighting thinking about the body and movement, adding symbolism or other elements that, for example, in ballet are usually defined in the script. Light often defines space, defines time, and defines the indoor or outdoor places you want to take the viewer to. The color is often chosen based on those spaces or simply highlights the mood of the dancers, modeling the body contrasting through the angle and color of the beam, generating drama and interest for the viewer."
In "Elisa and Her Friends", Mendoza had the opportunity to use Artiste Picasso for the first time. "I was looking for new LED luminaires when I found the Artiste series by Elation and Artiste Picasso," he explained. "These luminaires have delighted me with all the possibilities they offer and, above all, for the applications they can cover in the type of work I do. I studied the device, saw it work and understood that they were the ideal devices for my transition to LED technology. I have been given the possibility to use LED lighting for any dance genre for its technical possibilities, color temperature options, high color saturation and power. They are also very quiet."
Mendoza says it's been amazing to compare the light quality and intensity of a device with a discharge lamp with a device of the same light quality and technical ability, but now powered by an LED motor that consumes 30% of the energy. "But what impressed me most about the Picasso was its zoom range and framing system," he said. "Being able to shape the beam according to my needs, to match the landscape or to hide a scenic element or body was decisive in my choice. I have loved knowing the Artiste series and the truth is that it has left me pleasantly satisfied".
