vinntec Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hi - my tiny theatre in Winchester (UK) will be hosting a ballet for the first time with three performances in July. The company said they will bring their Harlequin vinyl floor with them, but this is wide (2m I think) and very long (10m strips) compared to our stage width. It is also very heavy and I suspect they underestimate the costs of transporting it (and we have the problem of having it rolled when in use as it is double our s). I am therefore looking at the option of hiring something more local that might fit our tiny theatre better; The useful stage area is 6.5m wide x 5m deep. Anyone got any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Talk to harlequin about acquiring roll ends of the right material. Ask the company whether there are alternatives. Apparently the Russian companies like to dance on bare wood floorboards as that's what they rehearse on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 What is down there at the moment? Talk to the company and be open about any difficulties as I used to get dance companies moaning about dragging their rolls along when what we had was more than adequate. Most reputable companies are used to using their own floor so I have also had Harlequin, all neatly laid, washed and fixed, rolled up and replaced by precisely the same stuff, but their own. Talk to them before doing anything, would be my two pennorth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinntec Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 What is down there at the moment? Talk to the company and be open about any difficulties as I used to get dance companies moaning about dragging their rolls along when what we had was more than adequate. Most reputable companies are used to using their own floor so I have also had Harlequin, all neatly laid, washed and fixed, rolled up and replaced by precisely the same stuff, but their own. Talk to them before doing anything, would be my two pennorth.Hi Kerry - as we have never had ballet before, we have no dance surface. Our stage is made up of decking pieces which is fine for theatre, but NBG for dance due to the noise. So they will dance on the floor of the theatre which runs flat to the first row of audience and made up of wooden blocks and has been used for theatre performances in the past, but not suitable for ballet (which includes a lot of point work). So a dance floor will be essential. However I have checked with our bigger brother theatre nearby and there is a possibility we can borrow a floor from them if it is free during our performance week, which might help. It is also possible that if the company gets the right vehicle they might be able to bring everything including floor and production team in that (I think hire companies call these "crew vans"?) So there are lots of possibilities to consider. Harlequin no longer hire vinyl floors and we don't want to buy something we will use once (although you never know what this spark might cause!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Only if necessary, but do check your nearer venues for hire possibility then ring round the dance companies in ever increasing circles. Most will hire any they have if they trust you and I got one from the Custard Factory in Brum in an emergency festival scenario. If they are using a splitter/crew van anyway they may as well bring their own floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardingbob Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 If you want to go really low fi, there's no reason why you can't lay 3 rolls of their floor running up/down stage and leave the unused 5m on the roll upstage. This can be covered up, or left bare. We've had to do this out of necessity a couple of times, and whilst it's best hidden by a cloth, it gives you a floor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinntec Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 And when the choreographer visited us a few weeks ago, we measured the exact space and came to the same conclusion. 3 x 2m wide rolls is slightly less than the pros width (6.25m) but by laying them lengthways means the floor goes all the way to the cyc (and a bit more) without any overlaps being necessary. So this is how I plan to lay it out on Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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