Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games - Opening Ceremonies - The UpStream

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games - Opening Ceremonies

posted Sunday Feb 14, 2010 by Scott Ertz

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games - Opening Ceremonies

Everyone in the world is probably now aware that the winter Olympics have begun in Vancouver, Canada. They opened Friday night at BC Place with one of the most interesting winter games opening ceremonies ever. After the Beijing Summer games and their opening ceremonies, which was the most expensive and elaborate in history, Canada had a lot to live up to. They hired a great executive producer, David Atkins, who is not afraid to think a little crazy to produce an unmatched presentation.

Atkins decided that thousands of participants, like the Beijing ceremonies, was not the way to show off Canada. Instead, he wowed the audience with the inclusion of A LOT of technology, including more than 100 projectors, and unique stage effects.

We will start with the stage effects. A lot of the ground was either movable, removable or had some sort of trick associated with it. Above the stage was a representation of the Aurora which moved and expanded to become mountains, tree tops and more throughout the presentation. Speaking of the mountains, they came complete with skiers and snowboarders suspended from above simulating skiing down the fabric mountains. The center of the stage rose and fell, becoming a native drum, a stepped stage (almost like a cake) and more. Everything from a first nation drum beat to a punk fiddle/tap dance show happened there. And, we can't talk about the moving stage without talking about the indoor Olympic cauldron. Despite technical difficulties that prevented the 4th pillar from raising out of the stage, the entirely hidden, almost magically appearing cauldron was one of the highlights of the show.

Of course, the above mentioned drum was a combination of technology and staging, but the best example of where the stage met the technology was in an interpretive dance performed by a teenage boy suspended from the ceiling for whom the ground responded to his touch. Things would happen that he would watch in amazement from above and as he touched the ground, they would change. A beautiful example of the possibility of combining live action with technology in theatre. My favorite use of technology in the show, however, was the whales. For a minute there were whales in the stadium, and if you didn't know better, you would have thought they were real. Projected on the floor with the many projectors available, every time one would surface, the stage would spray, enhancing the illusion.

The end of the ceremonies, like always, was the lighting of the cauldron. It is never known who will do it, but we all assumed and were correct that it would be The Great One, Wayne Gretsky. After lighting the indoor he was taken to the Olympic Village to light the real one, which went off without a hitch.

Keep checking back with us every few days where we will keep you up to date on what is happened in Vancouver.

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