Professional Lighting & Production - Winter 2019 | Page 18

18 PL&P
ABSOLUTE IMPACT
Designing The Next Step – Absolute Dance Live on Stage
By Andrew King
It
was in 2015 that Colin Moore was first tapped
to design lighting and video for a tour with
The Next Step. Simply dubbed The Next Step:
Live on Stage, the trek took dancers from the
hit Canadian teen drama to dozens of cities
across the country – some big, some small –
and Moore was overseeing a humble lighting
kit that packed into a single bus trailer.
But as a sign of what was to come for the hugely successful
franchise, when he got the call the next year, it was for a much
bigger outing that would cover larger venues throughout eight
countries with a correspondingly upscaled rig.
In the few years since, The Next Step has maintained that im-
pressive trajectory of popularity to the point that, for their latest
collaboration, Moore was designing the lighting and visuals for
a production that would hit large theatres and arenas in several
countries across two continents.
18 | Winter 2019
The Next Step – Absolute Dance Live on Stage began its run
in mid-September 2019, hitting 11 cities in Australia before
heading to the U.K. in mid-October for an additional 13 dates in
Scotland, England, and the Republic of Ireland.
This latest production, which follows incredibly successful
international runs in 2016 and 2017, finds The Next Step veterans
Victoria Baldesarra and Briar Nolet joining eight of the other
original cast members for a brand-new spectacle. Over the
course of its 90-minute runtime, the show features a variety of
solos, duets, trios, and group numbers choreographed to pop-
ular hits and original music from the series spliced with video
segments and dialogue that offer dedicated fans a chance to get
“up close and personal” with the cast.
Moore recently spoke with Professional Lighting & Production
from across the Atlantic amidst the U.K. leg to discuss the show’s
design, day-to-day operation, and more.