Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Juanjo Llorens illuminates “Circlassica” Madrid with Robe

The “Circlassica” show returned to Madrid for the 2024-2025 season staged in the IFEMA big white tent, with a new edition - “Circlassica, la historia mundial continúa” - produced by Productores de Sonrisas and lit by Juanjo Llorens.

Llorens has a penchant for lighting circus-style performance shows. He reached into the toolbox for Robe moving lights, using forty LEDBeam 150s, twenty-two Spiiders, twenty MegaPointes, sixteen LEDBeam 350 and fourteen Esprites. “I took advantage of numerous features on all these fixture types - power, different types of looks and lenses, varying LED sources from RGBW multichip to a single high-power white chip, and also discharge lamps”, says Llorens, who has lit “Circlassica” many times.

He works with a team of “highly skilled and creative imagineers” - a set designer, screens director, artists, artistic director, sound designer, choreographer and overall technical director, and at the top of the pyramid, creative director Manuel González, who is one third of Productores de Sonrisas. A common starting point for the evolution of a lighting design for this type of project is manipulating the psychology of light. “The presentation and the lighting must appeal to children and help ensure they don’t get bored, so keeping everyone enthralled and engaged is the goal”, states Llorens.

The core lighting was rigged on a box truss hanging between the tent’s two rear poles and the front arch, a space offering up around 12 metres of headroom above the 12-metre diameter circular stage floor. The rigging infrastructure around five prominent LED screens was also used to facilitate some lighting elements, and the LED surfaces were positioned to give clear sightlines around the whole marquee.

A rear bridge truss was flown upstage of the box truss at 10 metres but in front of the set to provide positions for backlight and effects fixtures, as well as some dynamic movement without distracting or obstructing the performers. Three trusses each side of the marquee - left, centre and right - were used for front light positions and to generally open up the space.

Two central circular trusses were flown directly above the stage/ring, one with a 12-diameter flown at 14 metres high, and inside of that a 3-metre diameter truss trimmed at 18 metres. For more side positions, there were four drop-down booms at 4 metres high each - two on the legs in front of the set, and two coming down from the front of the box truss. Additionally, floor lighting upstage and in front of the set enhanced entrances and exits through the stage doors.

The Esprites were distributed between the box truss, the circular truss and the top truss. LEDBeam 150s were dotted all over all the trusses and used to light the audience in both spot and wash modes. The ones on the box and side trusses were used for lighting faces and for side lighting singing acts, presenters and juggling routines, allowing the latter to keep a clear view of their diabolos, clubs or whatever implements they were juggling with. “Sometimes the props are thrown very high, so it’s vital to avoid shining light directly in their faces”, notes Llorens.

LEDBeam 350s were placed on the ground and around the scaffolding surrounding the band at various heights, so the musicians could be seen, and used for producing broader beams than the LEDBeam 150s. Spiiders on the box truss were used for ambient light. For Llorens, the MegaPointes added plenty of magic and were the “secret creative weapons” in the show. MegaPointes were located around the box truss and on the drop-down booms, on the front and rear legs of the ground support and on the front truss.

The overall lighting was designed with dynamics and versatility at the fore to cover the wide array of different artists and acts appearing onstage - from circus to dance, including musical performances and magicians. Although Llorens is a specialist in lighting circus-style performance and acrobatics, his challenge is always maintaining the integrity of his design while accommodating the special needs of the act. Some routines are highly dangerous and need lighting very specifically, not just for drama and impact, but also for safety.

Llorens worked closely with programmer Pau Farreny on this show, plus crew chief Iván González who was also the lighting operator, plus two lighting technicians, Guillermo Cello and Gonzalo Gerbolés, both from “Circlassica”, who oversaw the everyday tasks including equipment maintenance. Cori Bustamante, Juan Elvira and Rafa XVII were Llorens’ lighting assistants, and Gerbolés and Cello were also the follow spot operators.

The planning by the show’s technical manager Flavio Bañuelos and infrastructure manager Marco Monteiro was also integral to making the project flow. The show’s technical director was Productores de Sonrisas’ Rafa González, who together with press and media director María González and aforementioned artistic director Manuel González make up Productores de Sonrisas. Some of the lighting kit is owned by Productores de Sonrisas, and the rest of it was supplied by rental company Smart Fussion.

(Photos: Pepe Castro)

www.robe.cz

© 1999 - 2025 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories