Please post your reviews of the Chinese display here!

Trav.

Dancing Fireworks made some bold choices with its debut display “The Butterfly Lovers.” First, its Chinese competitor Sunny International did one segment on that music in “Dragons and Butterflies” in 2004, as well as a full show on that specific story in 2008 (click here for the advertising poster which decorates a wall in my office!), which was awarded with a Bronze Jupiter. Second, La Ronde has announced that the whole show focuses on a single piece of music, The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto from Zhanhao He and Gang Chen. Extensive diggings in my archives lead me to find only two potential 1-piece cases in the competition history, both designed by Eric Tucker : the American shows in 1990 on Les Misérables and in 1996 on a Yanni’s music. (In the latter case, the information comes from personal notes which were very basic at that time, and it is not confirmed by other written sources, so I am not even 100% confident about a such second case.) To revisit this story and to focus on a single musical performance during 30 minutes were bold choices in my opinion. I would say they led to a good show.

The pyromusical design was very good but it had its limitations. The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto features different paces and, except a couple of minor firing problems, the fireworks followed the beat. For instance, the adagio cantabile which characterizes the start of the composition was combined with nautical green flares, red strobes, shells of falling leaves, as well as fans of tourbillons which turned into falling leaves. In contrast, during the subsequent allegro, shells of crossettes, fast sequences of comets along the third ramp, cakes shooting stars, and crackling effects went along with the faster tempo. Towards the mid-point of the performance, the piu mosso movement, which was better known for me (likely from aforementioned Sunny’s shows), led to a mini-finale which made the audience vocal. Later, those who were familiar with the storyline could make connections with the heart-shaped shells, the smiley faces, as well as the butterfly-shaped shells which appeared just before the finale. That being said, the storyline was so abstract, that it was difficult to make more connections between it and the pyrotechnic exhibition, even after a careful reading of the story account on various websites, including the Wikipedia page devoted to this story, as well as this other Wikipedia entry about the violon concerto.

I have to say that “Forever Love” of Sunny International in 2008 had been much more effective to convey the story and to engage the audience. Very short and selective narratives had been added to the soundtrack to provide the audience critical cues about the main aspects of the story. Also, Sunny designer Jim Shih had told the story by combining a couple of segments from the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with other musics, including some well-known songs which were more likely to engage the audience. With the Dancing Fireworks version, I am afraid that many people didn’t connect with neither the storyline, nor the music played during this show. It is also difficult to assess the quality of that 1-piece soundtrack when we compare with other shows, as the mixing between the segments is usually an important component of this criterion.

I suspect that the off-site audience, which does not necessarily hear the music, had more fun tonight than during the Austrian display. The Chinese show seemed to me better balanced between the low- and high-level effects. Dancing Fireworks displayed some nautical products on the lake, as well as a 90-seconds waterfall around the fourth ramp. Around the 20th minute of the show, a couple of large shells exhibited quarters with distinct colour patterns. The quality of the pyrotechnic material was very good, but the range of effects and colours were somewhat limited : we saw many shells of crossettes and falling leaves ; white, red, and green were pretty predominant through the display. The synchronization was very good. However because the violin, there were few parts to assess how precise it could be during very rhythmic segments.

My ranking so far :

1. steyrFire (Austria)
2. Dancing Fireworks (China)

***

That was the 300th display in the history of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition. Unfortunately, in contrast with the 100th and 200th displays, this significant milestone went totally unnoticed by the organizers. There was not a single mention of the event during the protocolar ceremony. I didn’t expect any major celebration, but I was surprised not to hear anything about it.

Fred

I couldnt attend the show since I was in a national park this past weekend. But for what i see the show was very classical and clean. I would have enjoyed it a lot. A bit more low effects would have been great. It was too simple sometimes and I expected more special chinese shells. Anyway some segments were really beautiful. Since the chinese show looks the opposite to the austrian show i cant say which one have more opportunities to get a jupiter, its really hard to say. I think I would pick up the chinese show, love classical music and classic design when mixed with more technical parts. None of the shows looks like a gold jupiter to me.
At this point I am quite sure the war will be between dragon and pyrotecnico.

My report:

http://montreal-fireworks.com/ReportBlog/?p=1410

Paul.

@Rovira "....None of the shows looks like a gold jupiter to me...."

That's a daring statement.

If at a ski race 2 racers have finished well, then the otherat the start must first come down well.

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched!


;-)

René

The highest humidity levels (so far) and somewhat breezy Southerly winds (13-17 km/h) were the backdrop for the Chinese display. Late-evening temperatures of 24-25 C were also present (24 C during display time). Distant clusters of convective clouds were also graced the skies to the West and NW, but skies were largely clear overhead, and Venus and the crescent moon phase conjunction could be seen prior to the commencing of the display (later Jupiter could be seen to the South). Eventually, occasional lightning did illuminate the Northern skies by the early-overnight period, but luckily convection did, indeed, remain rather sparse throughout the night.

This was actually a very enjoyable display and was well received by the Notre-Dame/de Lorimier (and likely elsewhere) audience due to the sharp contrast in activity at high-level relative to the Austrian show. Indeed, we had several more opportunities to indulge in barrages of massive, chest-thumping shells that often led to frequent roars of approval from the large attendance. Colors were, furthermore, very rich and vibrant, and we were treated to sometimes an interesting mixture of color and range of pyrotechnics used to creatively augment the balance of the display at all altitudes. We were also able to witness some interesting effects, including intricate shell patterns, and even a golden waterfall structure that made an appearance later in the show. The burst of “jelly-fish” shells at low-level near the very end of the display, which caught many people off guard. The synchronization featured in this display, much like during the Austria show, was frequently tight and worked well with the variations in rhythm and pace throughout the show – the fans of comets and z-firing style being especially memorable. Although the display adhered to mostly a large single piece, it had a very traditional feel to it, and there long period of tranquility that would suddenly be followed by extensive periods of robust activity. The quality of the shells was also good, and the symmetry of the display was often well retained.

On the more technical side, it is a little difficult to systematically dissect and evaluate this display in the traditional manner, as compared to most other displays, due to the unconventional approach of using a single ~30-minute piece to convey the theme of “The Butterfly Lovers”. Although I am familiar with the story that follows Romeo and Juliet, presumably the essence behind this show, I would have initially expected a distinct approach to utilize transitions that effectively evoke key emotions of love, sadness, jealousy, passion, and unity to tell the story. While the display was very colorful, as mentioned previously, and used appropriate effects (such as shells of smiley faces, hearts, and horsetails), I did not necessarily find the emotional delivery in this display to always be obvious. As Fred wrote above, I, too, found the portrayal and elements of the theme often elusive through the pyrotechnics, and I, therefore, strongly believe that the display might have benefitted from a brief narration (not that I am a fan of narrations, either, but if it becomes necessary to increase clarity beforehand, then it should be introduced briefly to guide viewers). The choice of effects, too, was not always clear in terms of how they reflect the theme. For example, the appearance of the waterfall, was quite breathtaking, but its symbolic reference, in relation to other aspects of the display, was vague.

At the same time, I think that because the show relied on a single large piece, the rhythmic feel became sometimes monotonous, despite clear movements from active and quieter segments. In particular, the moments of tranquility, in my opinion, endured for much too long, such as during the waterfall segment about exactly half-way into the display, and I found the drooping effects, notably the horsetails and fireflies, to be a little overused to represent those moments. In a sense, this display exhibited high variability – when it was quiet, it was a little too quiet, and when it was active, it was a little too active (though the more active parts are received better by the crowd, of course!). This gave the impression of a somewhat more simplistic design in terms of how the display was organized, as well as sometimes repetitive firing patterns. The finale started rather well with the correct intensity, but it collapsed far too quickly!

Overall, this was an interesting display, and the choice of using a singular, large piece as the foundation for a pyromusical was different, but it did invite some tighter boundaries. I would have personally preferred more of a musical selection to illustrate the emotions that might have defined the theme, since the theme itself certainly encouraged it. The transitions, however, were very apparent, just that the variations in representation could have probably been more complex than they realistically were. Nevertheless, we were treated to fantastic choreography throughout this display, especially at low-level, interesting effects and firing patterns, and the variations in pace were still often enjoyable. This display may earn a Jupiter, but there are still three displays remaining.

Trav.