We present a comprehensive review on the routing of self-confined light-beams in liquid crystals, i.e., generation, propagation and angular steering of self-induced waveguides or spatial solitons in a nonlinear non local dielectric with a large electro-optic response. We describe all-optical routing through soliton-soliton or soliton-beam interactions, as well as voltage-controlled steering in an anisotropic geometry via birefringence or refraction/reflection at a graded interface.
Modulation instability of structured-light beams in negative-index metamaterials