Halifax-based J&C Joel, drapes and fabrics specialist, has supplied Riverdance’s Far Eastern troupe, the Corrib, with over 30 drapes for their new tour, which opens this week in Tokyo.
The supply features a full set of black velvet and filled cloth masking drapes, including legs, truss, and screen borders. Some of the drapes were made from a special velvet material compliant to the German DIN flame retardant requirements.
The project also included a number of fiber optic cloths. To create the cloths, J&C Joel used printed fabric supplied by Riverdance and then wired fiber optic elements into them. The cloths are gridded with 1mm and 1.5mm fiber cables. J&C Joel arranged the fiber optics as random and un-regimented as possible to produce authentic starfield effects. Once completed, the fiber cloths were backed with commando cloth, known for its toughness and therefore ideal for the touring environment.
J&C Joel’s international business development manager Fiona Blackett acted as project manager. Blackett worked closely with Riverdance’s line producer Ciaràn Walsh and their German-based technical manger Tobias Botzenhardt.
