Northern Ballet looks to the future with Yamaha Rivage PM3

With the resumption of tours, the company Northern Ballet has invested in two digital mixing systems Yamaha Shore PM3. These were first used in the world premiere of the ballet Merlin, which began its tour at the Nottingham Theater Royal.

Northern Ballet, which defines itself as “the UK's leading narrative ballet company”, performs a repertoire that ranges from the most traditional to the most contemporary. A fundamental part of his job is taking shows on tour, performing for audiences outside their Leeds headquarters. With the resumption of tours, the ballet has looked to the future by investing in two digital mixing systems Honda Rivage PM3. These systems were used for the first time in the world premiere of the ballet Merlin, who began his tour in Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Founded in 1969, dance company has used Yamaha digital mixers for several years, starting with him M7CL.

“As a touring company, reliability is paramount and we have always been very happy with Yamaha in that regard”, states Steve Wilkins, ballet technical director. “We have only lost one fader and one power outlet due to tour damage., while experience with consoles from other manufacturers showed that they were less reliable. That's why, When we had to update we opted again for Yamaha”.

Steve asked the ballet systems designer, Alastair West, specifying a future-proof system to support the ballet's growing touring repertoire. The system had to cover a wide range of bases, including venues ranging from studio theaters to large stadiums. Besides, had to adapt to any type of production, allow on-site recording and be used with any number of musicians.

Alastair initially considered digital mixers Yamaha CL but in the end he opted for Rivage PM3, given the advantages it offered.

“Apart from the public address system - we use in-house systems or rent them for larger productions -, As a company we are completely autonomous for tours. Keeping the box size of the mixing system as small as possible for transport was as important as keeping the control surfaces taking up minimal space in smaller premises.. Having state-of-the-art mixing systems that take up no more space than an M7CL made the Rivage PM3 a very attractive solution.”, the technician comments Sam Day.

The ballet invested in two Rivage PM3 systems to make their Front of House and monitor setups as flexible as possible. In small venues it is not always possible to place a control surface in the traditional FoH position, so here the surface can be placed in a room backstage and controlled by the app StageMix de Yamaha.

In addition to providing the main mix, The system provides foldback for the dancers and feeds for the musicians' personal monitors. “All instruments have microphones to facilitate both recording and personal monitoring. We can place Perspex screens between the musicians and control the noise levels for them, allowing them to mix their own monitors and reducing the chance of hearing damage”, adds Alastair.

In addition, It also explains how you can record performances or do virtual sound checks at any time., “in places where the orchestra has to settle far from the stage, away from the dancers. With this technique, The conductor can come forward to listen to the music and make any changes he needs.”.

With all instruments miked, “Northern Ballet is also a leader in what the sound team calls orchestral enhancement. It is not amplification in the sense that most of the public would know it.”, dice Steve. “It is more about bringing the sound closer to the audience in a more contemporary way than is usual in a ballet.. It's the way composers tend to view audio, especially with more modern works. It gives them the flexibility to use more modern arrangements alongside traditional ones without the orchestra sounding amplified.”.