Northern Ballet looks to the future and updates its sound system with Yamaha Rivage PM3

With the resumption of tours, the company Northern Ballet has invested in two digital mixing systems Yamaha Rivage PM3. These were first used in the world premiere of the ballet Merlin, who began their tour at the Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Northern Ballet, que se define a sí misma como “la principal compañía de ballet narrativo del Reino Unido”, interprets a repertoire that goes from the most traditional to the most contemporary. A fundamental part of their job is to take the shows on tour., performing for the public outside its headquarters in Leeds. With the resumption of tours, ballet has looked to the future by investing in two digital mixing systems Yamaha Rivage PM3. These systems were first used in the world premiere of the Merlin ballet., who began his tour at the Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Founded in 1969, the dance company has used Yamaha digital mixers for several years, starting with the M7CL.

“Como compañía de giras, la fiabilidad es primordial y siempre hemos estado muy contentos con Yamaha en ese sentido”, Says Steve Wilkins, technical director of the ballet. “Sólo hemos perdido un fader y una toma de corriente por daños en las giras, while experience with consoles from other manufacturers showed that they were less reliable. therefore, cuando tuvimos que actualizarnos apostamos nuevamente por Yamaha”.

Steve asked the ballet's systems designer, Alastair West, specifying a future-proof system to support the ballet's growing touring repertoire. The system had to cover a wide range of bases, including venues ranging from studio theatres to large stadiums. In addition, had to adapt to any type of production, allow on-site recording and be used with any number of musicians.

Alastair initially considered digital mixers Yamaha CL but in the end he opted for Rivage PM3, given the advantages it offered.

“Aparte de la megafonía -utilizamos sistemas de la casa o los alquilamos para producciones más grandes-, as a company we are completely autonomous for tours. Keeping the box size of the mixing system as small as possible for transport was just as important as the control surfaces taking up minimal space in the smaller premises.. Disponer de sistemas de mezcla de última generación que no ocupan más espacio que una M7CL hizo que Rivage PM3 fuera una solución muy atractiva”, comments the technician Sam Day.

The ballet invested in two Rivage PM3 systems to make its Front of House configurations and monitors as flexible as possible.. In small enclosures it is not always possible to place a control surface in the traditional FoH position, so here the surface can be placed in a room behind the scenes and controlled by application StageMix from Yamaha.

In addition to providing the main mixture, the system provides foldback for the dancers and the feeds for the musicians' personal monitors. “Todos los instrumentos tienen micrófonos para facilitar tanto la grabación como la monitorización personal. We can place Perspex screens between musicians and control noise levels for them, permitiéndoles mezclar sus propios monitores y reduciendo la posibilidad de daños auditivos”, adds Alastair.

likewise, it also explains how at any time they can record the performances or do virtual sound checks, "in places where the orchestra has to settle away from the stage, away from the dancers. With this technique, el director de orquesta puede salir al frente para escuchar la música y hacer los cambios que necesite”.

With all instruments microphoned, "The Northern Ballet is also a leader in what the sound team calls orchestral enhancement.. No es una amplificación en el sentido en que la mayoría del público la conocería”, says Steve. “Se trata más bien de acercar el sonido al público de una manera más contemporánea de lo que es habitual en un ballet. It's the way composers tend to view audio., especially with the most modern works. Les da la flexibilidad de utilizar arreglos más modernos junto a los tradicionales sin que la orquesta suene amplificada”.

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