Russia - Sleeping Beauty Dreams is a fusion of contemporary dance, real-time digital avatar technology and hypnotic electronic music. Based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tale, the spectacular production explores The Princess’s – often haunting – dreams, passions and temptations during her hundred-year slumber.
Sound and movement achieved stunning cohesion as Noisia’s Thijs de Vlieger’s futuristic score was presented in L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology, with every movement of The Princess, performed by celebrated dancer Diana Vishneva, tracked in real time with BlackTrax motion tracking.
Conceived by Miami-based Magic Reality Group (MRG), Sleeping Beauty Dreams (SBD) combines visual art, contemporary dance and avatar-mapping projection, se

Spain - Valencia-based DAS Audio continues to operate aspects of its operation with staff, like so many in the industry, working remotely. The loudspeaker specialist says it is in a position to face industry shutdowns at least until the end of June.
“At DAS Audio we have already adopted all the necessary measures so that our colleagues, distributors, suppliers and family can continue with their lives and agendas without putting your health and ours at risk,” says the company. “You can reach us by phone, mail and video-call platforms, so we can keep in touch and share our passion for this industry.
“Given the current situation we are experiencing due to the coronavirus pandemic, at DAS Audio, proud of our family-business spirit, we are determined to look ahead. Getting back to normal requires collective rather than individual action, so no one can be left behi

UK - LSi is sad to report that following a long illness, Alan Jacobi LVO, the founder of Unusual Rigging, passed away peacefully at home on 13 April aged 67.

Jacobi began his career at the Old Vic. He soon moved to the lighting department of the National Theatre, under the directorship of Lord Olivier, and assisted in the theatre’s subsequent move to its current home on the South Bank. He continued to build his comprehensive technical knowledge of show production and toured the world as a freelance production electrician with theatre shows, music and concert production.

Forming Unusual Rigging in 1983, he expanded the company in 1990 to incorporate the production of large-scale national and international events.

In 2018, Jacobi was voted by his peers to receive the Gottelier Award in recognition of his work towards raising the profile and pro

USA - Bandit Lites has announced that long-time team member Stephanie McSpadden will be taking on a new role as a sales support manager. Her new duties will include overseeing sales invoicing, administrative support of inventory, sales project management within accounting, tax reporting, fixed asset reporting, revenue recognition and project administration.
“All these functions occur as Stephanie is seated in a position between sales and accounting,” comments Bandit Lites chair and founder Michael T. Strickland. “She is truly a hybrid leader in her functionality.”
McSpadden first joined Bandit in 2007 as the Knoxville office manager, answering phones and assisting each department as needed. She then joined the purchasing department to support inventory management and shipping followed by a move to the sales department.
“I am so very proud of Stephan

Europe - In the 15 years since Yamaha introduced the HS series of powered studio monitors, it has become a favourite for near-field applications in both professional and home studio environments. Now, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Yamaha Pro Audio, the company has launched the special edition HS MP (Matched Pair) models.
The new, special edition HS MP powered monitors include three models - HS5 MP, HS7 MP and HS8 MP. Each pair of monitors has been manufactured using a unique process, utilising specially selected parts and with matching serial numbers, shipping in a special paired carton with an MP (Matched Pair) label.
The HS MP monitors “continue the same rigorous design principles that have guided Yamaha designs ever since the legendary NS10M Studio monitors, first produced in 1977. Essentially, defining the look and sound preferred by engineers in studios a
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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

Europe - Madrix 5 software has always been available as a demo version for everyone to try out the pixel mapper at the convenience of their own work machines.
Madrix 5.1 launched the additional 'pre-programmer' software license to facilitate show and project preparation without the need for a full output licence.
A new way to fully test Madrix 5 is now being introduced as an additional resource to support the current workflow needs of operators, lighting designers, VJs, and project companies around the world.
Madrix 5 professional is an extensive software licence, which is available free of charge as a time-limited license that works until 1 June 2020. It is fully functioning within this time frame. The only requirement is to make a small, one-time purchase for a Madrix Key from a local dealer. This USB dongle then remains universally usable for the range of Ma

USA - ClearOne has announced the availability of its first release of Convergence AV Network Manager, a unified AV network management platform to monitor, control, and audit ClearOne Pro Audio and Video products and services. A beta version was available to AV practitioners for their evaluation prior to this release.
The new AV management system provides remote real-time system access for at-a-glance and all-inclusive dashboard views in any browser from desktop to mobile. Its unlimited scalability supports organizations of any size and can be configured for one of 12 languages.
The new release provides efficient batch firmware updates on multiple audio and video devices at once. The release adds the ability to download, back up, or restore project files simultaneously for multiple Converge Pro 2 and Converge Huddle systems. The release provides the ability to provision
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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

Thailand - The Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence recently upgraded its headquarters with Harman Professional Solutions AV, lighting and control systems.
Part of Thailand’s Ministry of Defence, the Office of the Permanent Secretary is responsible for determining strategic goals, executing plans, drafting policy and the inspection and monitoring of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
Occupying a grand, nine-story building with multiple wings outside Bangkok, the organisation’s headquarters includes a multipurpose hall which can seat 1,500 and be divided into two separate spaces on demand. To ensure world-class sound, video, lighting and control for presentations and events, the Office of the Permanent Secretary deployed a range of solutions from JBL Professional, Crown, Soundcraft, BSS, Martin Professional and AMX.
"The client needed cutting-edge AV and st

South Africa - Days before lockdown, thousands of fans gathered at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria to celebrate the 2020 edition of RAMfest, South Africa’s music festival for all things alternative.
This years’ line up included some of South Africa’s most popular alternative bands, including Facing the Gallows, Peasant, Man as Machine, Newtown Knife Gang, The Valley, Stoker, and Truth & It’s Burden. Highlights of the event included a much-anticipated reunion show by South African rock legends, The Van Coke Kartel and USA-based death metal giants, The Black Dahlia Murder, who headlined the one-day festival.
Festival organisers Real Alternative Music (RAM) once again contracted Stage Effects and Blue Array Productions to provide technical services for the event. Stage Effects’ Erik de Bruin has been working with RAM on the festival for several years a

USA - Mirror balls have been used to create atmosphere in dancehalls and nightclubs for almost a century, and became synonymous with the ‘70s disco explosion. Dance Studio Vol. 1, the latest new addition to the nightlife scene in Chicago’s River North neighbourhood, takes this lighting staple to a new level by filling the ceiling above its dancefloor completely with ADJ mirror balls of various sizes.
The new nightclub and event space is a renovation of the ‘dearly departed’ Studio Paris, which closed in January 2019 after an eight-year run. With a totally redesigned interior, Dance Studio Vol. 1 is a 350-person venue that hosts live music, DJs and ‘surprise entertainment’. It features a lighting system that was designed and installed by Craft Lighting, a Chicago-based AV design and integration company.
Craft Lighting supplied and installed a total of 470 A

USA - High End Systems has announced new live events via its Study Hall programme, featuring webinars, Q&As, and round tables led by both employee experts and friends around the industry. “The content will be geared toward all our audiences around the globe, including dedicated events for just our dealers and reps - so be sure to log in to MyETC to see all the upcoming listings!” suggests HES.
This week’s schedule includes: Thursday, 2 April, 10:00 am CDT - Intro to Controls Networking - “It's all about making meaningful connections... between the components of your lighting system! ETC NYC's Nick Gonsman presents a special intro to the theory and practice of controls networking.”
Thursday, 2 April, 12:00 pm CDT - Let’s Go Hog Wild - “Join Maegan Wilson and Noah Allen, product support specialists for High End Systems, as they will cover

UK - Touring and live events may be on hold for now, but learning and career development continue to move forward at the ChamSys Training Academy. The lighting console maker has been actively expanding its online education resources with new courses, tutorials and appointment opportunities being added on a continuous basis. In addition to providing programmers with the chance to sharpen their skills (and develop new ones), the academy is serving as a platform for them to remain connected to the industry in the wake of the closings and cancelations that have taken place.
Open to anyone, the academy offers daily online webinar training sessions. Conducted by active lighting designers and programmers, like Philip Watson, Brett Lorins and Charles Courser, these sessions cover a range of basic, intermediate and advanced topics.
The ChamSys Training Academy also features a

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has launched a series of free educational webinars for current and potential partners and end-users around the world. The Adamson Education Webinar Series addresses some on-going challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic while keeping consistent with the company’s amplified focus on partner education for 2020.
“Everyone has been impacted by Covid-19 and its aftermath, though it’s been especially trying for the live sound community,” begins Jeremiah Karni, head of education at Adamson. “That’s why we’ve been working hard on ways to support and engage with our global network despite the fact that we can’t get together. In addition to offering informative, insightful, and interesting content for attendees, the webinar series also provides them another means to interact directly with our team, as well as their peers in the Adamson N

Europe - Lightpower has announced a number of organisational changes and senior personnel moves. “After 42 years of successful activity on the market, it is time for our company to take another step,” says a statement.
“Over the years, our company has developed and established numerous national and international business activities. In order to give these businesses a common roof, we have founded the Lightpower Holding company. The task of this holding company is to act as a control centre for all underlying companies and to develop future strategies in close cooperation with their managing directors.”
The establishment of the holding company is also accompanied by a change in the management of Lightpower GmbH. As part of this process, Herbert Marx and Michael Rickers will succeed Ralph-Jörg Wezorke, managing director of Lightpower and Franz-Josef Wewer, autho

UK - The 2020 edition of Edinburgh Festival Fringe - the world's largest arts festival - has been cancelled due to public safety concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also cancelled are the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
"Just a few months ago, the idea of Edinburgh without the Fringe and our sister festivals would have been totally unthinkable; now, like so many other aspects of our day-to-day lives, we must pause and take stock in the face of something far bigger," said Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.
"Our hearts go out to the doctors, nurses, health and social care professionals on the front line, to everyone working to keep the country going, and to those who have

UK - Avolites will launch its full range of Q Series media servers, along with the Ai v12.1 release.
Designed as the ideal hardware to complement the Ai software, the Q Series line-up includes the Q3, Q3pro, Q4 and Qgen.
“Seeing the projects and shows Ai has been used on made us realise we needed to provide servers powerful enough to meet the creative vision of our users,” explains Ciaran Abrams, Avolites, Ai lead developer.
The Q3 Pro is a portable server for the more demanding shows, with two 4K outputs and one HD along with EDID managed HDMI outputs.
The Q4 offers the power to deliver even more detail thanks to four 4K outputs and flexible input modules, so users can spec a server to meet the most demanding needs. With the rise in use of interactive realtime generative content providers like Notch, the Qgen is designed to deliver stunning gr

Europe - Area Four Industries has announced that Eric Laanstra is the latest expert to join the Rigging Commandos, a group of specialists who present the latest developments happening in the industry.
Laanstra has been product manager at Prolyte for the past 10 years. He states: “I hope I can continue as Prolyte product manager for many years and have lots of fun with my new colleagues at Area Four Industries.”
Rigging Commandos is a group of respected experts who take an in-depth view of topics exciting interest within the industry. They identify closely with riggers and technicians and are constantly looking at ways to increase safety and efficiency at work by offering an extensive range of educative and informative videos that can be watched via A4I.tv on PCs, laptops, and mobile phones anywhere, anytime.

Europe - Genelec has unveiled the 1235A Smart Active Monitor, which fuses the sound and heritage of the 1035 main monitor with 96kHz processing and the ability to adapt to any space through its tight integration with Genelec’s GLM calibration software.
The 1235A is designed as a main monitor for large music, film and post-production studios that demand high SPL and neutral, stable imaging that can be optimised for the room’s unique acoustic environment.
Launched in 1989, the original 1035 became an industry standard throughout the world, fulfilling the need for a wall-mountable full-range monitor that could deliver true reference performance at high SPLs and over long listening distances. Legendary studio designer Sam Toyoshima was an early evangelist for the 1035, and as a result it was quickly adopted by many of the world’s finest studios, including Metropolis

UK - Calibre UK has announced that its HQPro1000 switcher/scaler now benefits from a number of enhancements.
Many of the new features found in HQPro1000 make it now even more suitable for remote interaction applications, a market that Calibre sees as growing rapidly as businesses and organisations look to minimise travel and face-to-face contact.
“Distance learning, cloud meetings and medical display are typical of the remote applications that have become increasingly popular as organisations look to reduce cost, increase productivity and minimise their carbon footprint,” said Willy Tsai, managing director, Calibre UK.
“Now, they have another reason to evaluate the solutions available from Calibre to facilitate video streaming and remote interaction - and the new functionalities we’re introducing for the HQPro1000 further enhance its ability to deliver th

UK - Stage Electrics has won the contract to complete the technical fit out of production lighting, sound, video, comms and stage engineering systems at the new purpose built, fully accessible, Brixtonhouse Theatre (formerly Ovalhouse Theatre) which forms part of the Somerleyton Road Project in the heart of Brixton.
The new building will have two performance venues and seven multi-use accessible studios and a whole new inventory of equipment and is set to at the end of 2020.
Stage Electrics will again be working with main contractor Galliford Try with who they previously completed the Southampton New Art Complex.

UK - Technical services provider White Light (WL) has taken delivery of a number of Powersoft’s T Series amplifier platforms from the company’s UK distributor, CUK Audio.
The purchase, which took place between July and October of last year, included 31 T604s and three T602s, and was made after the company had a chance to get some hands-on time with the products at WL’s warehouse.
WL’s senior audio technical project manager, Harry Saxton McCann, says: “CUK’s product demos were brilliant, and the training was ideal to bring our freelance and full-time staff up to date with Powersoft’s latest offerings. A lot of the engineers have commented on how clean the PA sounds when being driven by Powersoft amplifier platforms, and the ability to keep everything digital over Dante and AES has been very beneficial.”
Available in both 4-channel and 2-channel ve

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