Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Copenhagen Dansehallerne upgrade with DirectOut

DirectOut has been chosen to deliver creative solutions for Copenhagen Dansehallerne (Dance Halls), the Danish capital’s center for dance and choreography. Anders Jørgensen, Project Manager for consultant and integrator Stouenborg, offered DirectOut solutions to Johannes Hornberger, Head of Sound and Video at the center.

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, for a flexible and stable audio infrastructure, able to support any conceivable performance design.

The Copenhagen Dansehallerne 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 modernizing, during which time Dansehallerne had to move to temporary premises. The center, 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”, says Hornberger. “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 analog, so we would need to convert the signal and run analog cables to them.”

In a traditional theater 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 states, 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. The solution was DirectOut”, says Jørgensen. 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”, notes Hornberger. “DirectOut can handle all of this, not just the network conversions, but also analog to digital. We can use the whole house as a single space and move freely throughout the building in a performance setting.”

Being able to pick up video and audio feeds anywhere in the building is useful not just for play back for performers and audiences, it can also be used to facilitate online and broadcast streams. “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”, continues Hornberger. “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.”

By utilizing Globcon, Hornberger can personalize access to the network system. This gives him the freedom to delegate control, without risking programming errors. “The system is amazing, but also complex if you are not familiar with it”, he says. “We have developed setups and workflows, so when I am absent, freelancers can access the audio system and work within programmed parameters. So now, all they have to do is move the loudspeakers and plug them in. I have put our DirectOut Breakout box into a small, labelled flight-case so everyone can understand and plug in simply.”

“We have been able to create a system that works exactly as we hoped”, he adds. “The major challenge was to make this complex system suitable for all our performances; simple for small set-ups but retaining the possibility to facilitate the big complex shows, too. It has achieved exactly that.”

“This is a building that lends itself to festivals or large-scale events”, concludes Jørgensen. “As soon as the audience walks through the doors, they are in the middle of the production, and the show doesn’t stop until they leave.”

(Photos: Morten Lundrup/Danish Dance Theatre/Mikkelsen Arkitekter/Johannes Hornberger)

www.directout.eu

© 1999 - 2025 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories