STRICTLY BHANGRA, 2008
Organised by Imperial College’s Punjabi Society since 2007, the Bhangra Showdown sees students across the UK train for months each year to compete in front of a 3,000-capacity crowd. Devised to showcase the colour and energy of Punjabi dance styles, with eight of the best university Bhangra dance teams in the UK battling for the title, the event received a production boost in its second year when Entec came onboard to provide its services for the first time.
Every year, the Bhangra Showdown has gained a higher profile along with greater sophistication, fielding a slightly different look each time. One year in particular saw Simon Tutchener create an eye-catching lighting scheme that included five columns of upstage LED screen, bringing a modern and elegant feel to the stage.
To complement this, Entec installed six Reutlinger steel rope rigging ladders hung between the five strips of video, so that Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 300s could be rigged in the gaps between – and frame the outside two columns – of the video feature.
Entec also supplied three flown trusses containing 2K fresnels, Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots, VL2000 Washes, a single Martin MAC 700 profile with a custom gobo, follow spots and four CO2 confetti cannons for the finale. The show was programmed and operated by Brendan Albrey on a grandMA2 light console, and he was joined on the lighting crew by Steve Major and Sven Jolly.
The company also provided a complete audio service, with James Kerridge tuning a d&b V-Series rig to perfection. The system comprised eight V8 and two V12 speakers, with four ground-stacked V-SUBs, two Q7s for front fills per side and a centre fill of two E8s. Kevin Smith mixed the proceedings on a Yamaha PM5D.
Entec’s Ed Shackleton mixed monitors on a Yamaha CL5 desk, sending his feeds to eight d&b M4 wedges were distributed around the stage together with C7 side fills, while Giorgio Chiosso co-ordinated Entec’s package of wireless mics and belt packs.
A model for cultural enterprise, the Bhangra Showdown has raised considerable sums for charitable causes over the years.
