Record-Breaking Christmas Drone Show Recreates ‘The Nutcracker’

Sky Elements, a drone show company, brought record-breaking holiday cheer to Texas on December 21 with its latest show. According to its website, the show featured 1,499 drones to recreate the classic Nutcracker ballet.

The video above shows some behind-the-scenes footage of the show, which is quite interesting. It also highlights elements from the show itself, so everyone is able to check out the epic holiday event.

Sky Elements is a drone show company based in Fort Worth, Texas, though it has put on shows nationwide, including a record-breaking Fourth of July show earlier this year. It creates immersive and creative displays that are an alternative to fireworks shows. Drone shows create zero waste, and Sky Elements even brings solar panels to show locations to power equipment when necessary. And, of course, there’s much less noise associated with drones compared to fireworks, which many locals appreciate.

Sky Elements’ latest show took place at Birdville FAAC football stadium in North Richland Hills, Texas. The drone version of The Nutcracker was much like a drive-in movie displayed over the stadium. Audience members filled the parking lot and could tune their radios to hear the narration and soundtrack. The drones flew to create pictures of memorable points in the story, including the opening living room scene, the clash between the toy soldier and the Mouse King, and the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Sky Elements tackled two Guinness World Records with this show: The “Largest Fictional Character made with multi-rotors or drones” and “Largest Aerial Image made with multi-rotors or drones.” Both record attempts were successful, bringing the company’s total Guinness World Records count to five. It also set a state record for the tallest drone show ever performed in Texas, with the tallest scene topping out at a whopping 700 feet.

The company has also earned a pair of records from a show in Orlando, Florida, last month at the annual IAAPA Expo. Those records were for the largest flag flown with multi-rotors or drones and the largest logo flown with multi-rotors or drones (the Sky Elements logo). Sky Elements crafted an American flag using 1,592 drones, which smashed the previous record of 988 drones.


Image credits: Photographs by Sky Elements

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