The Qlimax Festival 2023, known as one of the most spectacular indoor hardstyle events to this date, took place on 18 November in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Themed "Enter the Void", the festival offered a unique mix of laser and light effects paired with magical electronic sounds that created an almost mystical atmosphere. Visitors were treated to a night of intense musical performances from top acts such as Deepack, Blademasterz, Showtek and TNT, as well as first-time appearances from Hard Driver, Warface and Deadly Guns. Returning acts Devin Wild and Vertile were also part of the line-up, as well as the premiere of new live act 'The Enlightenment' by B-Front x Phuture Noize. As the voice of this ritual, Villain led the night and contributed to the unforgettable experience, where around 27.000 people attended.
At the centre of the design process was the young yet highly experienced company Happy Technology, which handled the pre-programming for the festival by using our Multimedia Show Design & Visualization Software Depence. The team around Robbert-Jan Vernooij relied above all on the realism of the visualisation and the particularly strong performance in live mode, while using lighting consoles from the grandMA brand. The lighting design was intended to tell a story that played with the contrast between light and darkness. To this end, an imaginary narrative figure was devised to guide the audience through the evening and set the visual guidelines. The "illusionist" was to lead the audience into the so-called "void", where the boundaries between reality and fantasy become blurred and a unique collective show experience takes place.
Credits
Jonas Schmidt: Creative Director Q-dance
Daan Jansen: Show Creator Q-dance
Tamiel van Draanen en Dennis van Harten: Set Design Q-dance
Robbert-Jan Vernooij: Lighting Designer
Thijs Brouwers: Lighting Programmer
Micky Dordtrechter: Lighting Programmer
Niels Kieboom: Depence Master
Jari van Leerdam: Technical Producer
Teun Schilders & Joost van Straten: Technical producer Q-dance
Jenno Roelofs: Technical Producer
Stan van Winden: CAD Master
Lennart Lindhout: Project manager Lighting and Rigging
Kevin van Setten: System Tech lighting
Kevin Walenciak: VJ 250K
Chris Hoogwerf : VJ 250K
Jeroen Winnubst: Laser Designer
Robin van der Linde: Creative Producer Q-dance
Joshua Dutrieux: Audio Composer Aepic platform
Lucas Gerritsen: Pyro Designer Pyro 4
