Nick Gillard at our 10th anniversary

Dances with lightsabers.
About an extraordinary meeting with his role model. 

Saberproject was founded ten years ago. What was started as a simple website by four Star Wars fans has grown into something big since 2006. Today, Team Saberproject travels across Germany and Europe as a club, thrilling Star Wars fans young and old with an extensive lightsaber exhibition, workshops and a half-hour show.

In the show, the lightsabers whoosh through the air while unique stories are told. The light side of the Force faces off against evil, which in the current stage program is personified by the sinister figure of Kylo Ren and his Knights of Ren. Luke Skywalker, who appears in the show as a hologram and is voiced by his original German voice actor Hans-Georg Panczak, sends his last Jedi in search of an old ally on Jakku.

Ever since we came up with our first lightsaber tricks and choreographies, the making-ofs on the DVDs back then were our inspiration, especially those for the prequels, where the lightsaber duels look fast and elegant. Even back then, NICK GILLARD was a role model for us. His description of the fights and movements, "the moves are so natural or so correct… it’s the only place they can be" [in his own words], quickly became a credo when it came to creating our own choreographies.

Without much hope, we tried to get in touch with him while planning our anniversary party. But a reaction wasn't long in coming, and the incredible answer was that he would love to visit us and was very excited about our activities. Luckily for us, his work as a stunt coordinator, which takes him all over the world, didn't get in the way, so we were able to celebrate our first ten years not only with many good friends, partners and supporters, but also with our great role model. Surreal and fantastic at the same time.

Equipped with a large supply of black tea (Nick is typically British in that respect), it was one of the most interesting weekends for us. Not only did we get a private "master class" in handling a lightsaber, but we also heard great anecdotes and stories firsthand. Nick is such an open and friendly person that we'd rather not have let him go. So we used the time for an in-depth interview with him, because he didn't only work on Star Wars, but also on Superman, Indiana Jones, Alien, Wanted and much more.

How do you become a stunt coordinator? What is Nick doing now? What has he experienced? How did the lightsaber choreographies of the prequels come about? What's his favorite lightsaber, and why did he turn down job offers for Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter? All these questions and many more exciting stories can be seen in our interview about the life, career and lightsabers of Nick Gillard, who is our great role model and whom we can now call a friend.

---

Star Wars connects people, and Star Wars writes the best stories!
The Force is with the fans, always.

Yours,
Team Saberproject

Many thanks to Daniel Dornhöfer of Dornhöfer Photography for some of the great photos!