Celebratory story
too. That’s the blessing of business is over the years you develop friendships with these people that you have the opportunity to work with.”
For all its other offerings — from face painting and art making for youngsters to the Finale 5K run for athletic celebrants — Opening Night just wouldn’t be the same without the fireworks to ring in the New Year, said Arts Council OKC Communications Director Lindsey Pendleton.
“They pack 20 minutes of fireworks into eight minutes. They are explosive to say the least,” Pendleton said with a grin. “It’s almost like daylight there for the eight minutes, it’s so bright.”
For Caimano, the various effects and colors he has at his disposal are like characters on a stage, helping him tell the right kind of sparkling story for a particular occasion.
For instance, New Year’s Eve fireworks shows tend to be shorter than July 4 displays that might run 15 minutes, boast a three-act structure and convey a message about patriotism and liberty. The weather tends to be colder and less cooperative at the beginning of January, and the fireworks come later in the night and are intended to cap off or kick off a larger celebration.
While Christmas shows also are usually shorter, he said the tone is gentler and dreamier than a New Year’s Eve bombardment.
“You certainly wouldn’t use some of the stuff you use at New Year’s for a Christmas show because it’s just too raucous. … This show is a very highintensity show because it employs a different type of pyrotechnic. They are a low-level, close-proximity kind of cakes which are multiple-shot designs that appear in the sky,” he said. “There are hundreds of shots in them that are compressed, and they’re all timed. … They literally just layer an area, and it is so extraordinary.”
He said the Opening Night display deploys high-flying aerial shells along with the highintensity cakes.
“You have the lowlevel barrages going off from zero to, say, 150 feet, and right above it, on top of it, you have the layer of aerials. And they come up in volleys, and they actually are synced to the music. So, it is choreographed, and it is absolutely amazing,” Caimano said. “The aerials will always run a show. The aerials are what translate the music … and the lyrics tell me what to put in the sky, tell me what colors to use, what effects to use.”
Although he didn’t share the specific song selections for the Opening Night show, the choreographer said the fireworks will start with “Bombast,” a 22-second piece of music the company produces that mixes “Auld Lang Syne” with people cheering and thunder.
“That just sets the stage for the entire show. Once it starts there, you just keep going,” he said. “Of course, there’s thunder. Lots of thunder. … And I think it’s going to be extremely uplifting because the music is just perfect for New Year’s Eve.”
Although the sights and sounds are the focus of his work, Caimano said he believes fireworks shows are about more than just pretty lights and peppy music.
“Everybody’s in a great mood on New Year’s usually. It’s like, ‘Hey, it’s a chance to start all over again.’ I’m Italian, and the Italians believe that when you have fireworks, they cleanse the sky, they cleanse you, they clear out the bad spirits,” he said. “A lot of the cultures would do this because it’s a cleansing rite. Fire is a cleansing rite. And the crowd doesn’t know that, but indirectly they’re there for that purpose.
“It’s the start of something new, so the sky starts out in silver and noise because it’s cleansing, powerful and starting 2018. And then, bang, into the colors and everything else we do. It’ll be a lot of fun.”