Renowned for its music, dance, and drama excellence, the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp attracts performing arts students from across Europe and beyond. It provides high-quality facilities for its programs and keeps students updated with the latest technologies and resources to ensure a top-tier educational experience.
Recently, the Conservatory transitioned from conventional to LED lighting with a cutting-edge lighting system upgrade that features Elation KL and FUZE series luminaires. The new lighting system, supplied by Ampco Flashlight, supports many projects on stage in several of the school’s performance spaces.
Latest technologies
Seeking an up-to-date lighting package for the Conservatory’s many performance spaces, Rik Suijs, a technician at the Conservatory, attended the Prolight + Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt to explore the latest technologies supporting the transition from conventional halogen lighting to LED. There, he met Elation Key Account Manager Benelux, Bert Schmeits, who introduced him to Elation’s KL “Key Light” and FUZE series of intelligent lighting fixtures. The meeting precipitated an eventual trip to the Elation showroom in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, for an in-depth look at the products.
“To be honest, we weren’t very familiar with the market, but after some research and guidance, we reviewed several brands,” Suijs explained. “Elation stood out for its good quality and competitive pricing, and ultimately, it was an excellent choice.” Suijs specified a comprehensive Elation package of KL PROFILE FC, KL FRESNEL FC, FUZE PENDANT, FUZE PAR Z175, and SIXPAR 100 luminaires, all housing advanced, full-color LED light engines. Following a public tender, Elation dealer Ampco Flashlight was awarded the contract to supply the fixtures.
Yellow Hall
The first space to benefit from the new lighting was the Yellow Hall, a small black box theatre.
“I wanted a versatile setup suitable for different types of projects,” Suijs said. This space is more for theatre and dance than rock ‘n’ roll shows, so I wanted more Fresnels and profile spots rather than flashy moving heads.” The space uses full-color KL FRESNEL FC soft lights with zoom that serve as ideal sources for key, fill, and wash lighting. They deliver uniform, high-CRI light while operating silently and come equipped with removable barn doors and a filter frame.
Also used in the Yellow Hall are KL PROFILE FC ellipsoidal fixtures. Housing an integrated zoom, no additional lens tubes are required for faster beam angle changes. The KL FRESNEL and KL PROFILE fixtures complement each other as they house RGBMA color mixing engines for a perfect color match and contribute to a more cohesive lighting system. Additionally, FUZE PENDANT downlights serve as house and stage lights, providing uniform lighting across the entire space.
Transportable
The KL fixtures in the Yellow Hall, rigged as front and back lights, are relatively stationary and do not move around often, according to Suijs. On the other hand, the FUZE PAR Z175 fixtures move around wherever needed, in a rig or to the different performance spaces, and are used for specials, sidelight, backlight, or frontlight. Likewise, the SIXPAR 100 lights travel around wherever high-quality white or colored light is required.
Other performance spaces
The White Hall, a larger space used for classical music with excellent acoustics, features KL FRESNEL 8 and KL PROFILE FC luminaires as front lights to illuminate the orchestra. The Elation lighting is also used in several studios where students work and practice, as well as a student dining area with a small stage, where SIXPARs and FUZE PARs work with existing lighting. Plans are underway to procure new lighting for another space, the Black Hall, which still uses conventional fixtures for now, although some of the latest equipment, specifically the FUZE PAR Z175s, have already been utilized in this space.
Color convenience
Although the benefits of a dynamic lighting system, with its color-changing ability and beam manipulation options, are inherent to intelligent lighting, Suijs says they were still remarkable to experience. “It is surprisingly convenient to have lots of color in every fixture. Once your colors are managed in the console, the whole process is easier and faster. You don’t have to rig lights for every color, which is a big savings.”
Delivered late last summer, the new Elation Lighting debuted on several smaller projects in the fall and had its first major test during a dance project in January this year. “The project required a lot of lights and illumination coming from all angles, so it was a good test,” Suijs said. The new lighting system required us to adjust our workflow and find a new kind of lighting procedure, but we handled it well, and the lighting performed very nicely. Everyone was very happy.”
Interested in updating your performance space? Book a demo today to see how Elation can enhance your lighting design.
Elation gear:
20 x KL PROFILE FC
43 x KL FRESNEL 8 FC
24 x KL FRESNEL 6 FC
30 x FUZE PENDANT
35 x FUZE PAR Z175
24 x SIXPAR 100
4 x NETRON RDM6XL
