XL Video ensures big impact for Dirty Dancing musical

Roosendaal, 19 Maart 2008 /EZPress/ - The wide acclaim and critical success being enjoyed by the theater production of Dirty Dancing, currently showing at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, can be attributed in part to the significant contribution made by XL Video Nederland. The company complements the production's artistic element wonderfully using, for example, two large onstage LED screens measuring 19 m² and 25 m². With its cutting-edge expertise, XL Video Nederland has taken the technical management of the theater production to a level never before seen in the Netherlands.

Interactive decor
At times, the two giant onstage screens give the Dirty Dancing audience - with Martin van Bentem, Jette Carolijn van den Berg, Chris Tates and Anouk van Nes in the main roles - the feeling that they are right in the middle of a movie. A good example is the scene in which there is a real car on the stage and the on-screen images in the background give members of the audience the impression that the car is actually moving, as if they were watching a movie. Martijn Meeuwis, commercial manager at XL Video: 'The wall in the background displays images of streets, the beach resort the car drives to etc.: it puts the audience right in the middle of the action. The theater decor is actually interactive and changes continually to keep up with the action.'

Visitors made to feel like Guests of Honor
One of the LED screens contains a curved section with a door that can be opened or closed. Life-size images of the show's dancers are seen on this curved screen prior to them dancing onto the stage themselves. The spectator is made to feel like a guest of honor at the Kellerman´s Vacation Club, which is where most of the action takes place. Meeuwis: 'We've used a great deal of technical expertise for this theater production. As a matter of fact, it's the biggest operation we've ever done in the Dutch theater sector. Until now, most of our work has been for short-running shows and performances by famous bands and stars such as U2 and Robbie Williams as well as Dutch artists such as Guus Meeuwis, Marco Borsato and Bløf. But this is very different: it's a long-term project which may last one to two years.'

Greater impact
For the Dirty Dancing show, XL Video Nederland also uses four remote-controlled cameras to film the actors and project their images onto the onstage screens. 'The artistic directors decided that just allowing the two lovers, who are involved in a great many dance scenes, to move back and forth across the stage would simply not cut it. Using additional images in the background, you can create a much greater impact on the audience.'

The company uses 1 1/2 kilometers of glass fiber cables to ensure that the entire system works flawlessly and at lightning speed (a characteristic of glass fiber). This extensive network of wiring is needed to manage the whole operation - including the LED walls, projectors etc. - from the control room in the basement beneath the stage. 'Video is a crucial element in the entire operation,' explains Meeuwis. 'No video - no show.' The projectors are also fitted with soundproofing and silencers to ensure that they do not produce any bothersome noise for the actors or audience. 'Irritations like this cannot be allowed to happen,' he adds. The company rightfully emphasizes the scale and complexity of the work involved in this kind of project.

After initial discussions in November 2007, the actual preparations for the theater production began last January. The company was already familiar with the Beatrix Theater, so it didn't take long to settle in. According to the commercial manager, one of the reasons why XL Video Nederland won the contract for Dirty Dancing was its experience in recent years working for Van den Ende Theater Productions on various shows, including musical shows staged at the Ahoy and the theater production The Wiz.

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