artists creating mardi gras
The ACE team loves a creative challenge and our first Mardi Gras themed event was no exception. Filled with the energy, drama and hype of the real deal.
A Mardi Gras themed event six months in the making, step behind the scenes of the ACE process from ideation to showtime as Artists Creating Entertainment create Mardi Gras.
Let´s start with the theme. Mardi Gras. No, not the yearly festivities on Bourbon Street. The event is a black tie affair in Costa Mesa. The venue is a hotel ballroom. We´re talking carpets, table rounds, and definitely no space for a proper parade float.
Our first challenge is clear - how do you bring to life the energy, spirit and excitement of Mardi Gras to a location so different from the streets of New Orleans. An elevated Mardi Gras performance during a four course plated dinner. Elegant. Classy. Mardi Gras.
We start by breaking down the core elements of Mardi Gras, deconstructing the experience and reassembling it within the provided guidelines.
Once deconstructed, the ACE team gets to work, putting together a mood board of ideas, potential types of performances, costuming ideas, and of course the feature talent. The final verdict? A marching band, majorettes and an aerialist centerpiece to take the (King) cake.
Once approved, our talent scouts get to work. The biggest challenge? Assembling the marching band. It´s not a high school football game, this is Mardi Gras. Black tie Mardi Gras. We need the right combination of instruments and talent that is as comfortable with pop as they are the classics. We contact local bands, universities, high school in the quest to put together the perfect musical ensemble.
With two weeks to go the band is finally assembled.
Which means two weeks to rehearse and get the routine just right.
Two weeks to practice the procession.
Two weeks to nail the choreography.
It´s times like this that having a creative director who also happens to be professional choreographer on your team makes the difference between two weeks is not enough to two weeks is plenty.
Two weeks to find the right performers for a new routine could have been an issue. But not when your creative director also happens to teach some of the best dancers in Los Angeles.
Two weeks to source and tailor wardrobe could also pose a challenge. That is unless you happen to have an Emmy winning costume and prop designer on your team.
That´s why it always pays to have an ACE up your sleeve (or on your event production team).
We organize and run the band rehearsals with our choreographer who pulls inspiration from what he hears into the dance routine he has created for the majorettes. Our costume designer attends rehearsal to check for potential wardrobe malfunctions throughout the duration of the show. She´s also there the day of the event to ensure not a single dazzling detail is out of place. The behind the scenes team works in unison with talent to create a show stopping, head turning, vibrant performance because that is what the spirit of Mardi Gras is all about.
The band takes their places. We hear the cue. And just like that, Mardi Gras appears in Costa Mesa.