Wilhelm Disbergen - The Nutcracker | B Sharp Entertainment

Joburg Ballet have produced incredible shows throughout the years, but it takes a team to pull off the high standard that audiences have become accustomed to. Amongst these unsung heroes, are the creative team of choreographers, lighting designers, backstage crew…

William Disbergen is a lighting and stage designer and has created a name for himself in his extravagant and memorable lighting and stage design experiences. This year he has embarked on a very different stage production, The Nutcracker which opens at Joburg Theatre this month.

Not only did Disbergen take me through his process, but I was fortunate enough to see his renderings of the set for this ballet.

The Nutcracker is something so incredibly different to your usual body of work – why did you decide to take this project on?
Wilhelm:
“This is so far removed from what I usually do, but Esther Nasser trusted me to do this. I have immense respect for her. She puts on good, quality dance and she gives choreographers such great opportunities. If Esther gives you a stamp of approval, that is a huge compliment and you take it. So it is very important for me not to disappoint her. The projects I usually do are more dramatic works, so I decided to take the challenge.”

How did you approach this then?
Wilhelm:
“What I started with, was a minimalist ballet, so that I could make ballet more contemporary. But then the budget increased, so now I have added print sets. I have never done this before, but I think it will work. With a print set there is no manual labour, no scenic artists involved, so it is cost effective and it is easier to tour and travel with. You can roll it up, store it, unroll it. There are beautiful sets being made.”

“Because I can make the set in a digital environment, I can make the set into a 360, and then you can feel like you are standing on the stage. This is a virtual world that I create.”

“With creating the sets in 3D, you have to light them as well – I have this in scale in this virtual world. I can already figure out what lighting I need, what colours work, before I event get there…
The whole thing is created on my computer. Then I have a great idea of what works or what doesn’t and then I can give it to the choreographer who can then work around this. This is me, my time and my computer. I have to give the builders the exact plans, exact measurements, perfectly accurate. I do everything. You have to be an engineer, an architect, an artist, a colour expert, a fabric expert, a carpenter, a steel worker….You have to do everything.”