Share this page:

Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, as Boston Ballet discovered when its annual production of The Nutcracker moved to a smaller theater with nearly half the stage space of its former home. The more confined space presented a host of artistic and technical challenges, including the opportunity to creatively re-think the scenic and lighting elements for big impact. Color Kinetics stepped in to help, marking the Ballet’s very first use of intelligent LED lighting technology.

The new sets were designed specifically for the 2004 holiday season by New York-based scenic artist Walt Spangler. His designs supported artistic director Mikko Nissinen’s desire to focus more attention upon the dancing, rather than the elaborate, gilded sets of Nutcrackers past.

The more stylized approach called for lighting effects and altered scale and perspective to convey the fantastic aspects of the classic story. To achieve this vision, led by lighting designer Pierre Lavoie, approximately 400 feet (122 meters) of iColor Cove® NXT lined the lattice-work portals that framed the smaller, simpler set. Each 1-foot (30.5 cm) increment of iColor Cove NXT was individually controlled by the theater’s existing DMX system, allowing for seamless, gradual changes in color and atmosphere. The portals became the illuminated framework of the Sugar Plum Fairy’s palace in Act II, blending precisely with the performers’ costumes at various points.

According to Nissinen, “The use of scale, color and contrasts were enhanced by the latest and finest lighting technology, creating radiant surroundings.”

In addition to the aesthetic versatility, the LED-based units proved highly practical for the century-old theater and its space limitations. The compact units were easily concealed from view within the portals, and their low heat emission was imperceptible to the dancers.

As reviewed by the Boston Herald, “Walt Spangler’s minimal sets, gorgeously lit in subtle pastels (through the magic of LED illumination) by Pierre Lavoie, have a unique beauty, even grandeur, that should disappoint no one.”