Thirty One Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs were specified by Dancing on Ice Live lighting designer Mark Cunniffe and lighting director Svend Pedersen.

These are a major element of the lighting scheme for the sold out arena tour which follows the second hugely successful "Dancing On Ice" TV series.

The 2500s were chosen for their power and intensity and also their reliability - Robe is fast gaining a reputation for being one of the most robust moving light brands currently available.

Twenty one of the CS 2500E ATs are rigged onto the main trussing structure above the ice, consisting of a circle in the centre, with 8 spines radiating outwards towards the edges of the ice. There are 6 units on the circle and then either one or two on each of the 8 spine trusses. There’s another 4 above the judge’s panel at the end of the ice rink, and 6 on the floor directly behind them.

Pedersen, who's currently out operating the tour, loves the Robes. It's the first time he's used the 2500s, but he and LD Tom Kinane used over 30 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs on the first TV series in 2006, and he’s used Robe on numerous other shows.

The CS 2500E ATs are used pretty universally throughout the show for a multiplicity of different effects including framing the edge of the video projections going onto the ice, and for all the set texturing (behind the judges).

They're also used for illuminating the audience which Pedersen is using for another layer of background colour and general texturing of the visual picture.

As mentioned, Pedersen has been a Robe advocate ever since the first time he used ColorSpot 1200 ATs two years ago on a TV special. “It's the sheer quality of the engineering and the fact that the units are virtually maintenance free that impresses me” he declares. The fixtures arrived absolutely brand new at lighting contractors Neg Earth just before the tour commenced. “They came out of the boxes and have worked and continued working ever since” says Pedersen “They are completely rock solid”.

He has also been keen to explore some of the more esoteric creative potential of the units. He comments that the focal plane of the lenses allows you to go from either side of the focus point of the gobo on all 3 wheels, in the process creating some great aberration effects - from diffused to sharp, past sharp to diffused.

He likes the fast colour bumps, the speedy head movement and the super quick iris that can be slimmed right down to an intensely accurate thin beam.

Best of all on the Robe front he thinks is the fact that they listen to and act on the feedback from designers and users, “I've had several discussions with the team back at Robe HQ” concludes Pedersen, “During the course of which I have given them some very forthright feedback. Each time they've acted on it and made improvements and tweaks - they are really keen to give us what we want and need for our work”.

Dancing On Ice live continues touring until early May. Video is being supplied by XL Video (directed by Paul Eggerton), audio by Sonalyst and the tour is being production managed by Andy Gibbs.