ETC’s Portuguese dealer Luzeiro has supplied ETC Eos control desks to the country’s National Ballet Company for use at the Camões Theatre in Lisbon and on tour.
Vitor Paiva, Luzeiro’s sales technician, explains: “The company’s previous system failed on a regular basis, and they asked us for information about replacements. We showed them both Congo and Eos, and they tried each for a week. While they would have been more comfortable with Congo, since they understood its programming syntax already, they felt they wanted to really push themselves and get the Eos, which proved itself to have the power to do absolutely everything they wanted to do.
“Eos is ETC’s biggest control desk and was specifically designed with theatre use in mind. The product developers talked to designers, programmers and electricians in order to design a product that is already familiar to them, with common problems solved in ingenious ways, and the technicians could really see that dedication to customer satisfaction shine through.
“In the end, they got an Eos, two Ion desks and an additional fader wing, as well as a remote focus unit. They told us they particularly liked the ease with which they could select colours and operate moving lights with the desk.”
A week before the desks arrived at the theatre, ETC field service technician Luke Delwiche went to train the three operators, spending a day and a half with them to ensure they had the best possible start when it was delivered. “One of the challenges we had with the staff was simply finding a gap in their incredibly busy schedule,” he says. “They have a very busy season and had trouble finding enough time to see us.”
Ion is Eos’s smaller sibling, offering the same ease, power and operational style of Eos in a small, affordable package – it sits on a 19” footprint, which makes it perfect for touring.
“We’ve worked with both the ballet company and ETC a lot over the course of the years,” continues Paiva, “and we’re delighted to continue the relationship with the delivery of this equipment.”
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