Robert Juliat has announced a further addition to its international family of dealers with the appointment of Lighting Bits Ltda of Brazil. Operating out of Sao Paulo and headed by Daniel Ridano, Lighting Bits Ltda will be exclusively responsible for Robert Juliat products across Brazil, and non-exclusively across the wider Latin American market.

"The quality and reliability of Robert Juliat fixtures is unique," states Ridano. "Robert Juliat is a dream product in any project where quality is a must. In addition to this, the technical and project support offered by the Robert Juliat team is superb."

Lighting Bits exhibited Robert Juliat fixtures - Cyrano 2500W HMI, Victor 1800W MSR and Buxie 575W MSD followspots and the full range of RJ zoom profile spots - for the first time in September 2010 at the Lighting Week trade fair in Sao Paulo. "The response was fan

Power Cuts - The BBC has axed its annual Electric Proms season after five years, citing financial considerations. Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan said it could be achieved "in an alternative, more cost-effective way". Sir Elton John, Robert Plant and Neil Diamond were among the artists who took part in the 2010 event. Marcus Davey, the Roundhouse's artistic director, called the decision "sad" but said he hoped the venue would develop other projects with the BBC "in due course".

Show Business - London theatre continues to defy the effects of the recession, reporting overall results for 2010 that saw record box office revenues and a minimal (0.79%) drop in attendance. Society of London Theatre president Nica Burns said that she was delighted with the results, which she claims represent an ongoing "golden period" for London theat

UK - Following "huge interest" in A.C. Entertainment Technologies' free dedicated 2012 digital switchover open days last year in partnership with Sennheiser and Shure, the company's Audio division has announced it will be holding more events in March 2011.

As a distributor of wireless microphone and IEM equipment brands, A.C. Audio has been keenly following the Ofcom ruling with a view to advising users on how they can best prepare for the switch to Channel 38 (606-614 MHz) in 2012.

Forming part of this service, the upcoming open days will be held at AC-ET's UK offices in conjunction with the manufacturers as follows: South (High Wycombe) with Shure on 9 March and North (Leeds) with Sennheiser on 17 March.

The format of the events will remain the same, with attendees receiving an in-depth 2012 digital switchover Q&A session by members of the BEIRG committee and dem

UK - White Light has seen 2011 get off to a busy start, with the company supplying the lighting rigs to major new productions not just in the UK but as far afield as South Africa.

The show travelling south is Dreamgirls, the production which opened recently at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem before touring the USA is now moving to the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg before travelling on to Cape Town. Directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom and designed by Robin Wagner, the show features lighting by Ken Billington, with whom White Light has enjoyed many collaborations since supplying the London production of Chicago in 1997 - a show the company continues to supply to this day.

Dreamgirls' production electrician Gerry Amies is currently putting the rig together at White Light's London base. It will ship from there to South Africa in time for th

Germany - The Schauspielhaus Bochum (Playhouse Bochum) is one of Germany's biggest and best known theatres. Built in 1908 as a variety theatre, it became the town theatre in 1915 and was the biggest stage in the Ruhrgebiet. During an air raid in 1944 it was nearly completely destroyed, and then rebuilt based on the design of architect Gerhard Moritz Graubner in an operation lasting until 1953.

Since then the theatre has been modernised at various times, and was recently equipped with a grandMA2 system for lighting control, consisting of three grandMA2 full-sizes, two grandMA2 lights, three MA VPUs (Video Processing Unit), 40 MA NDPs (Network Dimmer Processor) and 25 dimMA Digital Dimmers.

Andreas Bartsch and Bernd Felder, joint heads of lighting at the Playhouse comment, "We have been working with two grandMA2 consoles and three MA VPU or more on both stages of our theatr

USA - Harman Professional has appointed Aaron Simon to the position of director of licensed products. Simon will be responsible for spearheading an ongoing range of new and existing initiatives specifically designed as part of a strategic music artist endorsement programme. He will report to executive vice president of marketing and sales, Michael MacDonald.

Prior to joining Harman Professional, Simon led the strategic marketing, partnerships and promotions department at Disney Music Group. Simon also worked with record companies such as Jive Records (Sony/BMG), Atlantic Records (Warner Music Group) and Virgin Records (EMI). "I could not be more thrilled to be part of the Harman team," stated Simon.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - At ISE 2011, Christie is showcasing products from across its diverse business groups, including dynamic signage, 3D projection and control rooms amongst others.

A second stand dedicated to the event staging market demonstrates a configuration of Christie MicroTiles, alongside Christie's Roadster M Series transformed into digital luminaires - active, powered and lit - via the recently-launched Christie Nitro Solutions. The YK50, latest addition in the range, is available to view whilst the larger YK100 and YK200 models will be on the truss, controlled via the 42 Controls S.P.O.C. desk.

The main stand features the technology preview area where the Christie L2K1000 is located. The Christie L2K1000 is a 2K LCD 10,000 ANSI Lumen projector (2048 x 1080) featuring Christie's 4D Color technology. Christie will also present its successful Mirage Series 3D DLP proje

UK - West London-based rental company Entec is supplying lighting designer Mark Wood with a lighting package and video projection package for his tour with Marina & The Diamonds, currently enjoying the success of her debut album, The Family Jewels.

The lighting rig consists of a set of six Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 300 moving lights, which are mounted on different height cases and on the drum riser across the back of the stage.

In front of these are four scaff poles approximately 8ft high, onto which are mounted four PixelLine LED battens, covered with two different grades of diffusion filter. These are pixel mapped and also have video run through them.

Four half mirror balls are dotted around the stage - in a randomly organised fashion - used during the grand finale of Guilty, so when they are hit by a number of narrow beamed fixtures from the floor and the air

India - The country's first permanent full moving image son et lumière - ISHQ-e-DILLI - The Love of Delhi, installed at Purana Quila, a 16th century fort founded by Mughal Emperor Humayun in 1533 - was officially opened by India's Vice President, Shri M Hamid Ansari.

Ross Ashton's UK-based The Projection Studio were technical, design and installation consultants for the projection hardware and control elements, and for the creation of the project's show material. Ashton collaborated closely with ISHQ-e-DILLI's creative director and initiator Himanshu Sabharwal of Delhi-based Two's A Film Company.

Ashton specified the first Christie 20K video projectors used in India for a son et lumière application, which are controlled by a Watchout system. The three projectors are housed in special hides and create an image 50m wide by 20m tall on the building. A major tec

UK - Communications and events managements specialists the drpgroup has hosted a seminar and networking event in conjunction with the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) to help build ties between the UK corporate visual comms industry and its Chinese counterparts.

The event, held in early January, saw professionals from UK businesses and representatives from Chinese companies XL Stobo, China Guanghua Science and Technology Foundation and Cultural and Creative Industry Foundation and the China Image Film Festival come together at the drplondon offices for presentations on the future collaboration of the two nation's industries.

Speakers included the IVCA's CEO Marco Forgione and China Guanghua Foundation's Zheng Wenjun who spoke about the immense potential for collaboration between the UK and Chinese comms industries and the benefits of partnerships in one o

UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of Clear-Com in the United Arab Emirates for the live sound market segment has recently supplied rental firm Artes with the new Tempest wireless intercom system. The deal includes the 2.4GHz 4-channel base station, 4-channel belt stations and a number of CC-95 and CC-260 headsets.

"Artes already use a two-wire wired intercom system for their various events, however a wireless intercom system offers a number of benefits for both the production crew and especially the client," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing manager. "After analysing the options available, the Tempest system from ClearCom was the best solution for a wireless intercom system due to its features and use of the 2.4GHz frequency band."

(Jim Evans)

Czech Republic - A new multicultural congress centre has provided the Czech city of Zlin with a new purpose built facility for staging concerts, conferences, exhibitions, symposiums and more.

Designed by noted architect Eva Jiricna - with an overall construction budget of CZK 650 million (£22.75m) - the contract to design and install the audio at the Congress Center Zlin was undertaken by Inton SRO. After winning a competitive bid, they recommended a Martin Audio line array solution for the 837-seat Great Hall.

Two separate Martin Audio line array systems were detailed, with eight W8LMI and a WMX sub (biamped) installed each side as a main PA system, and a further eight LE1200's provided for stage monitoring. Forming the second zone is a Martin Audio OmniLine Micro Line Array system, eight modules per side - reinforced by ceiling speakers for conference purposes.

Said

The Netherlands - Tannoy has unveiled at ISE 2011 its "most significant new product range in several years", in the form of VX Series.

VX Series heralds a number of advances in Tannoy's core offering to the pro sound reinforcement market, says the company, as well as marking the dawn of a collaboration with Lab.gruppen on the self-powered 'VXP' versions - the first product of its type to feature both Tannoy and Lab.gruppen technologies.

With an expanded range of enclosures and transducer compliments, the new VX Series combines Dual Concentric driver technology with smart, ergonomic, portable and install-friendly new cabinet designs, enhanced build quality, and "carefully thought-out functionality".

In addition to an extensive passive range, there are also self-powered loudspeakers, the VXP Series.

With 10 passive models in the range (nine of which are a

UK - At its annual general meeting last week, Ken Bennett-Hunter was voted in as the new chair of Skillscene.

On acceptance of this strategically significant national role, Bennett-Hunter said, "I am pleased to have been elected as Chair of Skillscene. Representing, as it does, theatre managements, unions, trade associations and trainers it is uniquely placed to influence the future of training and qualifications, particularly in the area of technical theatre. I look forward to working with Creative and Cultural Skills, the National Skills Academy and others to ensure that training and qualifications meet the needs of the industry."

Outgoing Chair, Anamaria Wills, who also led its forerunner, Theatre Technical Training Serves, as well chairing Skillscene since its inception in 2005, warmly congratulated Ken on his appointment. A vote of thanks was given to her in rec

UK - At its recent Annual General Meeting, Ken Bennett-Hunter was voted in as the new Chair of Skillscene.

On acceptance of this strategically significant national role, Ken said: "I am pleased to have been elected as Chair of Skillscene. Representing, as it does, theatre managements, unions, trade associations and trainers it is uniquely placed to influence the future of training and qualifications, particularly in the area of technical theatre. I look forward to working with Creative and Cultural Skills, the National Skills Academy and others to ensure that training and qualifications meet the needs of the industry."

Outgoing Chair, Anamaria Wills, who also led its forerunner Theatre Technical Training Serves as well chairing Skillscene since its inception in 2005, warmly congratulated Ken on his appointment. A vote of thanks was given to her in recognition of her

The Netherlands - D-Tools has announced that D-Tools has joined the Control4 Solution Provider Programme to provide Control4 dealers worldwide with their l comprehensive system design, documentation and project management software package.

"Control4 is a leading provider of intelligent operating systems, and we are pleased to be selected as a participant in the Solution Provider Programme," says Adam Stone, president and CEO of D-Tools. "We are like-minded in our goal to provide our customers with a platform to fuel their growth, and we look forward to assisting Control4 dealers in expanding their businesses and maximizing their bottom line."

"We are committed to providing Control4 dealers with the best project solutions in the industry and the D-Tools software package is no exception. Their comprehensive software package is an excellent tool for syste

World - PLASA is pleased to announce the launch of its Facebook pages. Visitors to PLASA Focus, The PLASA Show, members of PLASA and anyone interested in the industry can join (or "like") the Facebook pages from today.

Members of the pages will be the first to find out about industry news, PLASA news and show news and content Plus, PLASA 2011 is offering the first 1000 members the chance to win a pair of Sennheiser HD 380 Pro collapsible high end headphones! To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is "like" the PLASA 2011 page, then a winner will be picked at random.

To view the PLASA Facebook page, click here.

For the PLASA Focus page,

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies underlined its commitment to ongoing training when its Leeds office staged a Training Open Day for students on the BTEC Extended Diploma in Production Arts (Technical) at Oldham College.

Adam Beaumont, head of AC-ET's rigging sales division, James Bawn from the lighting division and Stuart Moots from the audio division co-ordinated the event, which involved their collective skills, experience and resources, plus some of the industry's leading rigging, lighting and audio products. The equipment was taken to the college for the day and set up a series of live interactive demonstrations in the purpose built Grange Arts Centre performance facility. Both Moots and Bawn are former students of the college.

The courses being studied are for Entertainment Technician and Stage Technician qualifications, and include modules on lighting & sound enginee

Australia - Sydney Opera House has offered its facilities to the family, friends and colleagues of the late Bruce Jackson for a public memorial. The event will take place on 25 February in the Concert Hall, beginning at 10.00am.

The veteran sound engineer and technical innovator was killed in January when his plane crashed in southern California. He was 62. His career included sound engineering duties for Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and many other leading artists. In addition to his live sound mixing experience, Jackson was a skilled technical innovator and entrepreneur: among his achievements, he co-founded Australian production house Jands, founded Apogee Electronics, and co-developed the ground-breaking Lake Technology DSP loudspeaker processor.

A native Australian, Jackson worked closely with Opera House technical director David Claringbold on the 20

Olivier Awards - Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies leads the way at the Laurence Olivier awards with seven nominations. The Andrew Lloyd Webber show is up for best new musical, while its stars Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess and Summer Strallen are in line for acting prizes. The National's revival of Terence Rattigan's After the Dance has six nods, while the Donmar's King Lear and the musical Legally Blonde have five. The awards will be held at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 13 March.

Love Never Dies, which received mixed reviews when it opened in March last year, is also nominated for best lighting, set and costume design. Its nominations follow a four-day closure in November, during which some changes were made to the show. Love Never Dies and Legally Blonde will compete against Fela! and Love Sto

Denmark - Matrix Group has set its mission to "become one of the most important players in the market segment of product supply to the entertainment industry".

"An important part of the mission for Matrix Group is to become a facility house with the right people, the best product lines and be market leader with high skills and knowledge about the things that we work with," says chairman of Matrix Group, Claus Reher-Langberg. "The investment behind Matrix Group is on a solid capital base, and we will become a major player in the industry. We have worked on this for a long time and the companies that are brought in to the group are a future investment, and we look forward to growing further."

He continues, "Our organisation is up and running and we are proud to announce that Moto Audio Sales, Nordic Sales & Staging and Signal Audio are now part

UK - The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is recruiting for creative, production, operational and IT staff for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Last summer, LOCOG announced the appointment of Danny Boyle as artistic director of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, and a team of executive producers led by Steven Daldry to oversee the Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies in 2012.

Now roles within the London 2012 Ceremonies Team working at Three Mills Studios in East London are being advertised on the London 2012 website.

Creative roles include producer of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, head of audio visual, head of costume, head of casting and design studio manager. Applications must be made by 23 February 2011 for these roles.

Bill Morris, LOCOG directo

UK - StageHand has been chosen as the new 'public facing' name for the Production Services Association (PSA) Welfare & Benevolent Fund after a PSA Conference call for ideas by the Fund's chairman, Mike Lowe of Britannia Row Productions. It comes with a new logo depicting a helping hand.

The new name is registered with the UK Charity Commission in addition to the name 'PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund', and donations can be made in either name. The charity is also registered with JustGiving.com, which allows the tax value of donations to be reclaimed under the Gift Aid scheme, boosting the value of individual donations significantly at no extra cost to the donor.

"We felt it was time to have a punchier and more memorable handle for the charity," explained Mike Lowe. "We've recently seen a surge in donations, largely thanks to the efforts and generosity of PSA member

Glastonbury 2011 - Coldplay have been confirmed as one of the three headliners at this year's Glastonbury Festival in Somerset. The band will play the main Pyramid Stage on Saturday 25 June. Organiser Michael Eavis said, "Coldplay have played such a major part in the festival over the last 10 years or so. This is the triumphant return of a band that everyone here feels part of. They're one of the greatest phenomena to grow from these fields." Coldplay last headlined Glastonbury in 2005 and also topped the bill in 2002, three years after first appearing at the festival. Beyonce has also been announced as a headliner and will perform on the Pyramid Stage on the last day of the event, Sunday 26 June.

Eurovision Latest - X Factor twins Jedward have become Ireland's next Eurovision entrants with the song Lipstick. The duo beat four other acts on RTE's Late

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