Dan Norman lights up the tour 2025 of Shakira with more than 200 Proteus Hybrid Max de Elation

For their world tour 'Women no longer cry', Colombian superstar Shakira opted for an elegant design in the staging, trusting lighting designer Dan Norman, from the design company Silent House, who made a great show 202 luminaries Elation Proteus Hybrid Max, supplied by PRG.

Dan Norman reviews that “The general idea was to make it as big as possible to fill the stadium and give Shakira fans the best show possible.. She doesn't like overly complex setups., but prefers a very clean design, with an imposing appearance and a minimum of scenic elements. The complexity lies in the programming. We arrange the lighting fixtures in a large, cohesive system that is activated by music, and Proteus Hybrid Max played an important role in it”.

Norman joined the project at the end of 2024 for production, and the stadium tour began in Rio de Janeiro on 11 February. The tour has traveled through South America, North America, Mexico and Latin America, and is scheduled to conclude 11 December in Argentina. The creative direction was carried out by The Squared Division, in close collaboration with Shakira, and the production design was the work of Yellow Studio.

Impressive stage design features hydraulic platforms, a catwalk 25 meters and an LED wall of 50 meters wide, all this complemented with some 800 lighting devices. Los 202 Proteus Hybrid Max, that constitute a significant visual element, They are placed on the top and sides of the LED screen, They surround the edge of the stage and line the catwalk that extends into the audience, creating dramatic lines of light that cut through the intensity of the screen and connect the images on stage with the audience.

It is the first time that Norman uses this multifunctional device, which he chose as the main light of the show after a test organized by PRG. PRG has worked with Shakira since her album release event 2024 Times Square and provides the lighting systems, video and cameras for the current tour.

For PRG, the ideal device had to have the right size and power, in addition to having the IP65 rating. The PRG Account Executive, Burton Tenenbein, highlights that “un elemento importante era su clasificación IP: todo el sistema de trusses del portal se encuentra en la parte delantera del techo, expuesto a los elementos, por lo que necesitábamos algo que pudiera soportar las inclemencias del tiempo. El Proteus Hybrid Max es un foco bastante pequeño, pero potente, y su fuente de arco le da esa definición extra que se necesita para situaciones de estadio de largo alcance”.

Haces y más

Norman se aseguró de tener suficientes focos para garantizar una producción súper enérgica, pero como también había baladas más lentas en el repertorio, necesitaba un equipo que pudiera ser más pequeño e íntimo cuando fuera necesario. “I knew Shakira loves beams and wanted a great IP device that could beam, but also had a good zoom range for bright gobos and other zoom-pop effects”, states, “I didn't just want a beam device that could only do one thing, but something with a wider range. It offered enough functionality to achieve the effects we wanted”.

Shakira was very involved in the lighting design, dice Norman, and timing was everything, so it was essential to have a fast and agile device. «I wanted to use the same type of device in all cases, to have consistent colors and uniform synchronization in terms of intensities and color strokes, etc.», explained. «When we have beams in the sky, I want everything to be the same color temperature for the camera, and when we turn it all on at once, it has to be precise and exact. The color, the intensity, "Movement and zoom were faster with the Hybrid Max than some of the other options I had seen".

The power of more than 22.000 device lumens It was also important. “Pure power in beam mode surpassed all other options we tested”, recognizes the designer. “It was the brightest and fastest option, with super fast pan and tilt”. Since the large LED wall and automation limited the mounting capacity, The Proteus Hybrid Max provided a compact yet powerful solution that balanced size and power.

Norman, who was also in charge of part of the programming, offers visual effects that fit perfectly with the music, creating a unique atmosphere for each song. Use the Hybrid Max primarily as a beam light, but you can switch to softer accent effects to suit the mood of each song. For the classic Shakira Hips Don’t Lie, created a rich beam effect using layers of CTO and amber, opening the zoom slightly to create a background that extended the content of the screen into the air.

In general, the lighting effects were kept clean and a bit futuristic. “Many of his songs are happy, electronic dance numbers, and the key to this was to use all the beams or all the strobes around the screen”, Norman analysis. “Much of the screen content is IMAG with clean lighting effects projected from the stage. For moments that required less intensity, we opened the zoom to spread the gobos among the public”.

smart ballast

Tenenbein, the PRG, also highlighted the variable lamp technology of the Proteus Hybrid Max, that allows adjust the intensity of the arc lamp for different applications without compromising output quality, which improves the versatility of the device for various production needs and saves energy.

“One technically good thing about the light is its smart ballast”, points out. “For example, when recorded with a television camera, you don't need all the power you need at a stadium show. Con el Hybrid Max, You can use the smart ballast to change the output based on the application, but you still get all the features of the device. That versatility works well for our different business units.”.