Strictly 09 ‘Blackpool Special’

Five years on from Strictly’s last Blackpool visit, the show producers decided it was time to return for a one-off special to the home of ballroom dancing.

Four Arctic’s, seven ELP crew members, LD Mark Kenyon and board operators Roger Williams and Darren Lovell all trundled up the M6 with a slight feeling of déjà vu.

So what, if anything, had changed?

“For a start the show has really evolved and become more complex” comments Mark. “It’s true that there are more lights now than on our last visit to Blackpool but my latest design isn’t just about increasing volume, its more about the little touches that make a big difference. For example, on this show we’ve used special chandeliers which drop down on motors to create a more intimate feel. Also, rather than just increasing lighting stocks we have focused on using mirror balls to create the real dancehall effect. Before, we just had one token mirror ball. Now, we have a cluster of five and the effect is stunning. Production were delighted because it gave them a low cost special effect.”

There have also been a few evolutionary changes. For example, previously the famous Tower Ballroom floor was decorated with Clay Paky Stage Colour 300 (AKA Toasters), these have now evolved in Mark’s design to the latest Clay Paky Alpha Beams which he uses to create a “cage of light” around the dance floor. Their super-concentrated near parallel beam has become a real ‘Strictly’ trademark in recent series.

For this Blackpool visit Rodger Williams programmed 15 separate looks on his Vector desk. This included nine contestant dances, the opening and closing sequences, the voting process, two professional dance numbers and a special guest performance from Rod Stewart.

As Roger explains, “I had to programme them from scratch. Even though we are in the middle of this current series, the whole Blackpool configuration is totally different from the one at TV centre. For a start, there was no projection in Blackpool. Instead we used gobos and mirror balls to cerate all the effects”

He concludes “There’s such a fabulous patterned dance floor here and opulent architecture that we don’t really have much trouble making it look stunning.”

Under Roger’s control were an assortment of VL 1000s, VL 2500s, VL 3500s, Martin Mac 2000s and Clay Paky Alpha Beams and Alpha Wash 575s.

Darren Lovell, also operating a vector desk, was in charge of all the generic lighting. Primarily these focussed on the dancers, judges and presenters. The generic equipment list comprised Arri Junior Fresnels, Source 4 profiles and par cans.

There were also 9 of ELPs Robert Juliat follow spots dotted around the balcony. These were trained on the dance floor and the stage area to follow the dancers. Stationary participants like the judging panel were key lit using Source 4s.

One thing that definitely didn’t change for this visit to Blackpool were the load in and load out challenges that this historic building presented to the ELP crew. Accessibility was a real problem for the team. The service lift doesn’t go up very far and the doorways throughout the building are too narrow for most road trunks. That coupled with the fact that a huge amount of care needed to be taken not to damage this ‘national treasure’ during the build, meant that progress was painstakingly slow.

Mark Kenyon concludes “I really want to show my huge appreciation to Joe Sherno and his ELP team for all their hard graft. These guys are hugely experienced and have great technical ability but they also know how to get stuck in when the job demands. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work”