Triple Bill - Chopiniana, Les Chats and Coffee Tonight
Artistic Director - Michelangelo Canale
Choreography - Pedro Aurelio Colon, General McArthur Hambrick and Farah Canale
Lighting Design - Cedar Cussins
Photography - Katie Behnke
Produced in the Sydney Laurence Theatre at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, the Anchorage Ballet Triple bill was particularly difficult to light because of the shallow stage, the Artistic Director's preference for brightly lit faces and choreography that pushed up within inches of the cyclorama. To highlight the dancers' legs and keep as much light as possible off of the cyc, I focused heavily on side lighting.
Chopiniana takes place in a forest at night. Blue gels were used to give the piece a cool look. A gobo wash provided texture and enhanced the forest feel. The drop was lit with R80 and a little bit of R22 to make the leaves pop.
Les Chats (Cats) is an urban nighttime scene. To differentiate it from Chopiniana, I left out the gobo wash and added amber side light to imply streetlights. A moon gobo on the cyc set the look.
Coffee Tonight takes place in a prohibition era underground nightclub in New York. I used red and purple to give the scene a sultry, sexy feel. R303 lit the tables and bar to give the feel of warm interior lighting and put a little sparkle in the chandeliers.
