Denmark - DirectOut is a supplier of flexible, robust solutions for any audio application. When the scope of the flexibility required by Copenhagen Dansehallerne, Copenhagen’s centre for Dance and Chorography, became clear, DirectOut was the only solution able to deliver what was needed.
Anders Jørgensen, project manager for consultant and integrator Stouenborg, offered DirectOut solutions to Johannes Hornberger, head of sound and video at the centre. The team decided to purchase two Prodigy.MP and six Prodigy.MC, equipped with AN8.IO converter modules, Dante.IO and Milan.IO network modules. This combination ensured the audio infrastructure was flexible and stable enough to support any conceivable performance design.
The Copenhagen Dansehallerne (Dance Halls) are completely adjustable spaces, from the audience seating to the performance programming. The transformation of this listed building took seven years of rebuilding, renovating and modernising, during which time Dansehallerne had to move to temporary premises. The centre, housed in the historic Kedelhuset, opened in August 2024.
Hornberger has worked in the Dansehallerne since 2012, He is responsible for all sound and video requirements of the halls, as well as all media requirements, and oversaw the move from the old premises to the new halls.
Matching the freedom of the spaces, there are no permanent loudspeaker positions. The entire building is covered by an ethernet network, powered by Dante and AVB/Milan network protocols and a Meyer Sound Galaxy drives the Meyer Sound Ultra X20 and X40 point source speakers. Initially, the specified system was too rigid to deliver results that could cope with the requirements of the artists, so Hornberger worked with the rest of the design team, turning to DirectOut for a solution.
“We needed a completely flexible system, which is unusual for a performance space, especially for small or black-box spaces,” Hornberger explains. “We had already planned that the whole house would be covered with an ethernet network, with connections wherever we needed them. However, the speaker system was analogue, so we would need to convert the signal and run analogue cables to them.”
In a traditional theatre setting, this system would be entirely satisfactory, but with the ever-changing repertoire of the Dansehallerne, engineers would be running hundreds of meters of cables a week. As Anders Jørgensen of Stouenborg continues, the venue is designed to be used as separate spaces and as a single performance venue, with the ability to fully immerse the audience as soon as they step through the front doors.
“We have 300 network lines throughout the building. We knew we would be using Dante and AVB/Milan, so we needed a bridge, and we had no doubt that the only solution was DirectOut,” Jørgensen says. “The infrastructure that DirectOut provides, with the ability to swap cards and easily route whatever we want to wherever we want, is completely aligned with our immersive whole-venue mindset. Whatever you dream of as a sound designer is possible in this building.”
Thanks to Stouenborg’s implementation of this bold and future-proof infrastructure, the Dansehallerne are now the perfect blend of modern ideas and historic style. The audio network covers the venue entirely, offering the connectivity of a single performance space, allowing engineers to access any point at any time to facilitate whatever the choreography requires.
“Dancers and choreographers love to experiment. Our system is AVB/Milan, so we knew we need to convert from our console and wireless microphones, plus IEMs to our loudspeakers,” Hornberger explains. “DirectOut can handle all of this, not just the network conversions, but also analogue to digital. We can use the whole house as a single space and move freely throughout the building in a performance setting.
“Overall, we have eight Prodigy systems, two Prodigy.MP are permanently installed into a central control room, then we have six further PRODIGY.MC to ensure flexibility; whether the performance is in a studio or the foyer, we are all set. In the old days, we would need to run a lot of cable, through doors and windows to get to some places, now we just have one box.”
