Meinl Dance is a new club in Novy Jicin, Czech Republic, with a capacity of 600 – and is located in a former nuclear bunker dating back to the days of the ‘cold war’ and former Communist era, concealed behind 7.5 tonne front door and 2 metre thick concrete walls.
The club’s independent owners approached Robe lighting and asked the company to propose a ‘spectacular’ lighting and visuals design.
The brief was to maintain the high production values characteristic throughout the owners’ other clubs, and make Meinl Dance the must-go destination nightspot in the local area.
The final design incorporates Robe effects lighting, DigitalSpot projections, StageQube video effects and Anolis environmental lighting. It combines effects and architectural lighting, with the club’s different areas delineated by different lighting, while the dance floor fixtures were chosen to give the flexibility of also being used on stage.
The screen at the back of the stage is covered in a stereoscopic surface for 3D projections, and both 2D and 3D projections are provided from content beamed onto the screen by the two Robe DigitalSpot 3500 DT moving projectors. These are also ideally positioned to provide projection on to performers onstage and across the front of the DJ booth to stage left.
Above the dance floor are two Dominator 1200 XTs, while overhead in this area are eight Robe ColorSpot 170 moving lights, four around each Dominator.
Towards the back of the dancefloor are four Robe Scan 575s plus two clusters of four LEDForce 7 RGBWs, and a third above the stage, making twelve LEDForce 7 RGBWs in total.
Eight of the new ROBIN LEDBeam 100s are dotted over the dancefloor area, with the effects lighting package completed by two REDBlinder 248s on the stage. These fire into the dancefloor and seating areas and can back-light performers on stage.
The Anolis side of the installation includes nearly 50 ArcLine Optic 40MC fixtures with 27 degree lenses. These are combined with 18 Twin Wall MC fittings up/down lighters, which utilise two optical systems – in this case with a narrow beam angle shooting upwards and a 45 degrees radiating out of the bottom.
The long bar front on the left hand side of the venue is highlighted with 15 pieces of Anolis ArcLine Optic 40 fitted with special asymmetric optics.
The chill out zones in the sub rooms and ante-chambers of the main bunker are lit with Anolis in-ground 12s positioned between the main and dividing walls of the booths. These also have bespoke optics with both narrow and 23 degree angles.
The structural panels of a round space-station style bar near the entrance are lit with customised Anolis ArcLine Optic 40s, and the entrance tunnel features a series of wall panels back lit with 60 strips of Anolis ArcLink 4. The various stair and step edges throughout the club feature over 200 metres of RGB strip.
The Anolis and LED elements are powered by over 40 different types of drivers
The effects and mood lighting have two separate options for control – a grandMA Micro console or a PC controller running Robe’s CyberCue Control Pro 2 software. As the lighting operator will often be the DJ, it was important to offer a choice of systems depending on their style of show. The StageQubes also have their own stand-alone Media Fusion control.
This ios the latest in a string of recent projects in the Czech Republic for Anolis, including the recent install at the Euro Nova Karolina shopping centre.
