Sennheiser Digital 6000 Wireless helps Cirque du Soleil return to the scene

After the inactivity forced by the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil (Cirque du Soleil) has taken advantage of this time to update its shows to the Digital system 6000 Wireless Sennheiser, that are already in production.

Since its foundation, in the year 1984 in Quebec (Canada), the Cirque du Soleil has delighted and captivated audiences of all ages. The company's theatrical and acrobatic touring performances, known worldwide for their dramatic creativity, imaginative stories and audience engagement, they are also recognized for their production values: from sound and lighting, to costumes and scenery.

A trajectory of successful shows and tours that in March of 2020 stopped abruptly with the onset of the pandemic. A long downtime that the production team has spent testing, evaluate and verify your entire arsenal of equipment for set-up or renovation.

"When all the shows closed, most of the technical equipment that was in North America was trucked to our warehouse and placed on shelves," recalls Matthew Steuart, sound specialist of the Cirque du Soleil-. In May 2021 we started with a show called Kooza and we got a list of projects to do it".

After testing and evaluating the needs of sound equipment for the show, which combines the two classic circus traditions of clowns and acrobatics, "upgraded to the system Digital 6000 wireless of Sennheiser because of the benefits it presented", Ensures.

Another Cirque du Soleil show that opened in Houston in November 2021 has been Joy. Joy, which features many of the entertainment ingredients that Cirque du Soleil fans and admirers expect: amazing stunts, fine performing arts and a poetic history.

An unwanted pause

The recent and long pause due to the pandemic gave the sound equipment the opportunity to closely examine each part of the sound chain.: "We were able to observe everything more closely., including the RF," Steuart continues.. You can have what appears to be a working system, but if you have the possibility to improve two or three links in an audio chain, in the end a higher performance is achieved. While we are on tour, we usually only have one day in each city to do all our maintenance".

In the case of the Sennheiser Digital wireless system 6000, which was already used in the show Joy, the computer did not have to do anything but perform a recommended firmware update. "We tried it and everything worked", says this expert.

One of the reasons why Cirque du Soleil chose the Digital system 6000 by Sennheiser, brand that markets in Spain magnetron, was for its ability to identify and block frequencies in an increasingly congested RF environment..

"The spectrum is getting more and more crowded," Steuart observes.. When we ship Joy to Miami a year and a half ago, if we hadn't had Digital 6000, it just couldn't have been done because there was no RF space. With the latest firmware updates, including the new Link Density mode, it's much easier. Sometimes we have to include all our wireless channels in a block of 6 or 8 mhz, so working with such a narrow bandwidth has been key".

Before the start of the pandemic, cirque du Soleil's traveling tour had more than a dozen active shows, each with its own set of artistic and technical challenges. now, in the midst of its relaunch period, the company is rapidly scaling up to its previous performance level.

"Before COVID 19 we were in twelve shows, which was a lot. now, with Joy and at least four more productions, Including Kooza, Luzia, Kurius-Cabinet of Curiosities and Ovo, that will come in the present 2022, we are on the right track. There are many more shows in the works.", Steuart points out.

In the show Joy, for which trials were conducted in Houston (Us.), eighteen channels of the Digital system were deployed 6000, along with several body transmitters and a pair of handheld transmitters SKM 6000.

"The pouch transmitters are hidden and quite well protected in the costumes," explains Steuart.. Our costume department is fantastic: add these sachets in any part of the costume that works best for the artist: inside the thigh, in the lower back, behind the neck or under the arm. Having these really small transmitters is amazing and we can place them anywhere., and your battery levels, silences and so on are excellent".

for Kooza, which is scheduled to open in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) later this year, the Cirque du Soleil production team is using ten channels of the Digital system 6000, including some challenging scenic applications.

"We have a guy in a big furry dog costume using a wireless microphone and, in another scene, to a large confetti blower that also uses it to pick up noise, he continues.. Everything we run through Digital 6000 wireless has excellent sound. It's also very easy to connect instruments to our pouches and it always sounds great.".

While Steuart is delighted with the relaunch of Cirque du Soleil's touring productions, is also grateful for the training and support provided by Sennheiser over the course of the past twenty months.

"When the pandemic started, Jamie Criswell, Business Development Manager at Sennheiser, he was on the phone with us the next day offering training classes, he recalls.. It was fantastic., from Sennheiser they made sure we had what we needed for the programs to be developed.. This level of support was invaluable and appreciated by the entire team.".

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