Lighting design for dance: how a choreographer designs light
What lighting design does for a dance or theatre performance, how cues are built like choreography, and what to prepare — by choreographer and light designer Filip Stoica.
Lighting design is the craft of deciding what the audience sees, when and how. In dance it does more than make performers visible: it sculpts bodies, changes the size of the space and sets the rhythm of a piece. Filip Stoica is a Bucharest choreographer who also designs lighting, for his own work and for other artists — including Camera din Cameră, Litoral and In Between at MINA.
What does a lighting designer do?
- Reads the piece: the dramaturgy, the music and the key images
- Chooses the angles, colours and quality of light, and draws the lighting plot
- Builds the cues — every change of light — and programmes them on the desk
- Times the cues with the performers in technical rehearsals
- Adapts the design to each venue when the show tours
Why does light matter more in dance?
Dancers are seen whole and in motion. Side light, coming from the wings at body height, sculpts arms and legs in a way front light cannot, which is why it is the backbone of most dance rigs. Light from above isolates a body; light from behind turns it into a silhouette. The same movement reads as intimate, monumental or threatening depending on these choices.
Cues as choreography
A choreographer who designs light thinks of cues as movement phrases: they have tempo, accents and silences. A fade can breathe with a dancer; a snap can land on a step. In Lux, which Filip choreographed at MINA in Bucharest, light was the main choreographic material — the performers moved through luminous spaces instead of being lit on a stage.
Why design movement and light together?
When one person designs both, the light is planned from the first rehearsal instead of added in the last week. That saves technical time and gives the piece a single visual language. Filip designs the lighting for his company, Scuze Noi, in this way.
What should you prepare for a lighting designer?
- A video of a run-through, even filmed on a phone
- The venue's technical rider and lighting plot
- The music and a rough list of scenes
- The number of technical rehearsal hours available
Training
Filip holds an MA in Sound & Light Design from UNATC Bucharest (2025) and is a PhD candidate in Theatre and Performing Arts at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.
Questions
What is the difference between a lighting designer and a lighting technician?
The designer decides what the light does and creates the cues; the technician rigs, focuses and operates the equipment. On small productions one person may do both.
Can Filip design lighting for a show he did not choreograph?
Yes. He designs lighting for theatre, dance and installations, on its own or together with the choreography.