The 2012 National Arts Festival (NAF) lived up to its pay-off line by once again delivering “11 days of Amazing’. The 39th annual NAF drew more participants and more visitors than 2011 by continuing to pursue its goals of stimulating debate, seeking social cohesion and championing human rights through the arts.
The Main Festival features artists that have been invited by or have submitted proposals to the Festival Committee and have been deemed to meet the criteria of innovation and excellence. These artists then receive funding to produce their art and are marketed and publicized by the Festival. Stand-out shows on the Main this year were Michael Richard in Red, the ballet Giselle, and the performance art piece Cradle of Humankind featuring Steven Cohen and his 90-year-old co-performer Nomsa Dlamini.
The Fringe on the other hand is open to anyone. The only barrier to entry is the fee to book a venue. This year’s Fringe had 350 productions. Even if one wanted to it is impossible to attend every show on the Fringe at the maximum rate of 10 per day over 11 days one would only be able to attend 110 shows – not even one third on offer! Shows that caught the eye were: the King of Old Trafford, Risiko, Kaput, Tender (student production) and London Road.
Electrosonic SA proudly supported the National Arts Festival 2012 held in Grahamstown by contributing a sponsorship which included clothing, high tech lighting equipment and training for up-and-coming lighting technicians in the Entertainment Industry. Preparations were made months before the festival was due to start on 28 June.
Electrosonic SA worked closely with the National Arts Festival’s technical department to train up the technicians. They who would be using over 1.5million Rand’s worth of Intelligent Lighting Equipment supplied by Electrosonic, for the 11 Days of the Festival. Training was provided at Electrosonic SA’s head office in Johannesburg prior to the equipment being shipped to Grahamstown.
The Equipment included:
*12 x Martin Mac Aura’s (10-60 Degree Zoom LED Wash Moving Heads)
*8 x Martin Mac 101’s (10Degree Beam LED Moving Heads ALC Effect)
*2 x Martin Mac700 Washes
*2 x Martin Mac700 Profiles
*2 x Martin Mac250 Entours
*2 x ADB ALC4’s (Absolutely Stunning Cyc Lights)
*12 x High Powered RGB LED Parcans (Bright Color Changing LED Parcans)
*1 x Martin M2GO Controller (Powerful Lighting Control)
*1 x Martin M1 Controller
*1 x Martin MPC Controller (Powerful Lighting Control, Electrosonic supplies the PC)
*1 x ADB Mikado 24 Preset Controller (Simple Lighting Control)
ALL DMX Cables (Supplied by Electrosonic)
Electrosonic SA’s Robbi Nassi and Renier Smit spent 7 Days at the festival providing technical assistance and advice. “It was a pleasure working with the Lighting Team of the National Arts Festival, Nicci Spalding, Alex Farmer and Tumisang Sebogo’, said Nassi. “The logistical challenges were huge but not insurmountable. We didn’t get much sleep and there were many challenges to solve, but everyone pulled through and made a huge success of it. It was a great opportunity for the Electrosonic SA team to network with valued customers and re-establish ties with the following industry friends and legends.’
