Diana Kesselschmidt Makes Magic at Bryant Park Winter Ice Rink with Chauvet Professional
January 3, 2025
Magic happens when people put on a pair of ice skates. Gliding freely on frozen water, they fill their minds with endless possibilities as they skate, in sync with their dreams. This enchantment can happen anywhere, from a small country pond to an ice rink in Midtown Manhattan.
Diana Kesselschmidt is creating a captivating setting for just such moments at the Winter Village at Bryant Park this season with a richly colored lighting design at the popular attraction’s 17,000 sq. ft. ice skating rink. Seen from one of the skyscrapers around the park the rink glitters like a colourful gem. For the thousands who visit the Winter Village every day, it is a welcome sign of the season.
PRG supplied over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 95 COLORado 2-Quad Zoom LED Wash lights and eight Ovation E-260WW ellipsoidal, units for this transformative display.
“In addition to performance, weather resistance was key to selecting fixtures,” said Kesselschmidt, of Diana K studio. “The fixtures are out for an extended time in New York City. Also, all the cabling to the towers gets loaded in about a month ahead of time before the deck is put in, so there is no access to those cables once the deck is in place. Some years we focus outdoors during a hurricane. For many years I have focused on full weather gear with laminated magic sheets.
“This year, things went smoothly, not only because of the weather and lighting fixtures but also thanks to our great team, including Dan Fishman of Bryant Park’s urban management, Keith Romaine of PRG, and David Favorita the production electrician, as well as our electricians Yuriy Nayer and Brendan Quigley.”
Kesselschmidt used her Ovation ellipsoidal fixtures for projecting the snowflake gobos that decorated the ice rink around its perimeter enhancing its seasonal image. The 2-Quad Zoom fixtures were used to colorise the ice rink and an area called “The Overlook,” where public and private events are held.
Among Kessleschmidt’s favorite things about this project is the chance it gives her to transform the ice rink with different colors. There are six different colourized looks at the venue based on the night of the week. In addition, there are some override buttons to change things up for special occasions. “I particularly love this year's Wednesday night color and when we override and use 80s’ night look,” said Kesselschmidt.
The 80s’ night gives visitors a chance to travel back in time, providing them with a delightful escape. But anyone can feel this kind of magic any night as they glide across the ice in the middle of Manhattan.
