A lamp technician solders a plug, polishes his lamp for testing, and goes to turn on his latest project. It’s unclear if this is a fixer lamp or not, but when the circuit blows all of that is quickly forgotten and replaced by the need for light. A fitting metaphor for an entertainment company whose name translates to “Circus of the Sun.”

Cirque du Soleil recently partnered with the university ETC Zurich and Verity Studios to produce SPARKED, “a short film featuring 10 quadcopters in a flying dance performance.” That dance was choreographed and then executed with “precise computer control” to turn otherwise inanimate lampshades into anthropomorphic beings with their own personalities.

The result is pretty fantastic:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C8OJsHfmpI&w=620&h=349]

Cirque du Soleil have been working with this art for some time, as shown in this making-of video that includes some rich behind-the-scenes footage of SPARKED and additional documentary segments. You can see how their idea of “autonomous flying machines” has already undergone several iterations, the DJI Phantom is a preferred testing drone, and how a mere comment eventually turned into a beautiful video.

[h/t Huffington Post]