See the great article written by Bronwen Largier from Australasian Special Events on the AeroSphere and our discussions on the  Future of Corporate entertainment on the following link!
https://www.specialevents.com.au/news/entertainment-innovation-lumiere-acrobatics-and-the-giant-mirror-ball

Is Aerial Acrobatics performance still among the most prestigious and sought after Corporate Entertainment in the world? Is it still relevant here in Australia and abroad? YES it is and it continues to evolve and adapt to ever more sophisticated audiences. Over exposed performance like Tissu, or Russian Ring are being replaced by works  that are more sophisticated and nuanced.
​
These days it’s not just a matter of showing off some skills or flexibility, it is also much more about great choreography and audience engagement. The events that I have been involved in as a Creative Director and performer over the last few years have been about mixing it up, and choreographing a show using a variety of aerial and ground based performers, and getting the technical team on board so the lighting is dynamic and punchy which adds hugely to the whole visual experience for the audience.

Aerial Performance seems to be a lot more themed these days and you can chart the progression of acts over the years that have struck a chord with event managers and audiences alike from the chandelier aerial performers 10 years ago to the champagne pourers of more recent times.

My passion and experience in choreography has given me the ability to create a variety of unique shows with laser lighting, projected video, unique aerial apparatus and much more, keeping us at the forefront of high end Corporate Entertainment. We specialize it fine tuning performance to match the theme of the event and if called for we bring together a variety of performers to create a show.

Our recent show this year at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center for 1000+ people was another opportunity to bring together talented performers and our unique wow factor aerial apparatus that audiences love. The 2-meter diameter “AeroSphere” was perfect for the huge space necessary for a sit down dinner for over 1000 people and there is nothing like highly skilled aerial performance to get a crowd buzzing.

​Corporate Entertainment is a great way for circus performers, dancers and artists of all kinds to get paid for what they do so well while bringing spectacular entertainment to the event. Lumiere Acrobatics performers like other professional artists regularly perform at many large scale events and the thing that is often overlooked by performers and event organizers alike is the lighting.

Lighting has such a powerful impact that it can make or break your performance, especially aerial performance. You can create a wonderful dynamic evocative aerial performance and if the lighting does not adequately show your performance as unfortunately I have experienced and seen on numerous occasions then the audience can’t see the performers properly and this is such a waste of time money and resources for all parties involved.

For those of us who work in the theater, predominantly on stage shows this almost never happens, or if it does it is intentional to serve some narrative. We make time to get the lighting right, and over the course of a season we are able to fine tune the lighting to best serve the performance. What is somewhat ironic is that generally the corporate events have all the latest and greatest lighting and technology, but what they don’t have is “TIME” and this is often why the end result does not fulfill it’s potential.

There is so much going on setting up large scale corporate events like gala dinners, awards ceremonies and product launches of all kinds. The entertainment is most often one small part of an entire evening often with speeches, awards, bands, guest MC’s and much more. There is generally very little time for plotting lighting, and on many occasions the lighting guy just wings it.

My advice to my fellow performers is to have a video of your performance, perhaps a link to a video online that you can send the technical event producer who can pass it on to the lighting operator. Often the operator won’t get to look at it till the day of the performance, but at least they will have a reference. On the big gigs, where your performance is the main entertainment event you may get to make some suggestions as to how the lights are rigged so the performance has the most impact which serves the event company and the guests well, but not often.
​
 As Eduard Manet said – “the principal person in a picture is light” 

The creative juices are flowing in cold and wintery Melbourne and I am working on my newest creative project, a stage show. Lumiere Acrobatics is known for delivering innovative and beautiful aerial performance in Melbourne and throughout Australia, so yes the stage show will have dazzling aerial duo performance, but also solo aerial acts, acrobatics and jazz dance. My new show is called THE LOUNGE – A Circus Cabaret and will be performed at Gas Works Theatre. THE LOUNGE is an unforgettable fusion of circus, dance and jazz.

It is always fun getting to tailor make an event for a client. In October 2013 Lumiere Acrobatics created a gorgeous themed choreography for the St George Bank Foundation Ball in Sydney. The Black tie ball was a charity event with all proceeds donated to children’s charities. Evoking childhood memories and with the theme of Carousel our unique entertainment featured beautiful dancers, a striking adagio couple and a spectacular aerial performance. The music and costumes were crafted specifically for the occasion by Lumiere Acrobatics.

There is nothing better than the feeling of being on stage and nailing some challenging aerial acrobatics moves! You put the hard work into training day after day and then that performance opportunity comes along. You get out there on the stage and it is such a buzz to feel that strength and control.

Late October 2013 saw Lumiere Acrobatics launch the world first AeroSphere in Melbourne, Australia to event managers, entertainment producers and professional conference organisers. This exciting new aerial apparatus is a two metre diameter mirror ball that opens in four petals like a flower. It is absolutely unique, wonderfully inventive and very versatile.

Hi, and welcome to the first blog. My name is Glenn Birchall, the founder of Lumiere Acrobatics. The idea of this first blog is to give you a bit of background about me and Lumiere Acrobatics. Future blogs will focus on different shows, acts and performances I have been involved in over the years and some learning outcomes I have experienced.