Hi, it’s Dalton from MindWorks. This fall has been one of our busiest yet, so here’s a quick look at what we’ve been building, where I’m headed next, and one thing about booking drone shows that one of our clients learned the hard way this month.

01  /  LUMA Festival × Ouchhh

30 LED drones inside a projection-mapped church

In September we brought Singularity, our LED drone circus act, to the LUMA Projection Arts Festival in Binghamton, New York, in collaboration with Istanbul studio Ouchhh. Ouchhh mapped a data-driven AI painting across the arches and ceiling of the United Presbyterian Church, and then 30 of our LED drones flew through that light around a live performer in an LED costume with an LED Leviwand.

We performed six shows over two nights at a festival that drew an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 people, and Spectrum News 1 opened its festival recap with our drone dance. The whole collaboration came together in about two weeks.

02  /  On tour · Nov–Dec 2026

On the road with Cirque Musica

From mid-November to mid-December I’m touring with Cirque Musica’s Wonderland show, performing an act with an LED Leviwand, an aerial harness and 10 or more drones planned at every stop. If the tour comes to your city, come say hi.

TENTATIVE ROUTE

This route is tentative. Dates, cities and venues are set by the tour presenter and may change, and some stops are still being confirmed. MindWorks appears as a featured act and does not sell tickets, so please check with Cirque Musica or the venue for show times and tickets. While I’m on the road I’m still answering email and planning 2027 shows.

03  /  Booking a drone show

The detail most planners miss: venue approval

Indoor drone shows don’t need permits or FAA waivers, but they do need the venue owner’s permission, and some venues ban drones outright no matter how small, caged or carefully planned the show is.

This month our team arrived at an event to perform Singularity, and while we were setting up, venue management told us the building has a strict no-drone policy. The client hadn’t asked the venue before booking us. We switched to a version of the act without drones, with the same music, LED costume and LED prop, and the crowd still had a great time. A few people were disappointed, though, and because our terms require full payment for a drone show canceled within 30 days of the event for reasons outside our control, the client paid for drones that never flew.

Personally, I’d like to see more venues judge a drone show by its safety plan, but it’s the owner’s call. That client learned it the hard way, and hopefully their mistake saves you the same headache: get the venue’s approval in writing before you book. We wrote up the other things worth checking, from ceiling height to insurance.

Planning something for 2027?

Reply to this email or grab a time to talk. Tell us the date, the room and the feeling you want, and we’ll tell you what we’d build.

WE TURN IMAGINATION INTO REALITY.