LAZER EYES IS AN ORIGINAL ELECTRONIC DANCE OPERA WRITTEN BY VAN BROH AND PRODUCED BY AMANDA + JAMES. WEAVING TOGETHER THE OLD AND THE NEW, LAZER EYES IS BOTH A CLASSIC TALE OF AN OUTSIDER WHO BECOMES A HERO THROUGH EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND A TONGUE-IN-CHEEK SATIRE OF THE DIGITAL ERA.
Produced and Adapted by Amanda + James
Written and Composed by Van Bro
Choreographed and Directed by Amanda Hameline in Collaboration with Dancers
Assistant Directed and Video Design by Nicholas DiMichele
Art Direction by Shakeil Greeley
Illustrations by Anthony DiLonardo
Narrated by James Danner
Costume Design by Amanda Hameline
Premiered at National Sawdust February 2019
Set in a not too distant future, a young Appalachian miner strikes a meteor, whose sparks turn him into the hero we now know as LazerEyes. The plot tells the story of his journey towards his destiny: the discovery of his one true love, leila, champion of the citizens of Cityopolis, and his fight and ultimate victory over the evil Reflektor, the anthropomorphized super-human smart device.
LazerEyes was born of a desire to test the limits of Electronic Dance Music, exploring whether the musical and technical devices used in EDM can sustain an evening-length show. Juxtaposing an array of the often aggressively delineated subgenres of EDM, we demonstrate the artistic viability of the style when taken as a diverse whole.
The narrative grew out of a desire to explore EDM and its place in our culture as one of the touchstones of the Digital Era. Central to our plot are hallmarks of the EDM experience, lasers and smart-phones, and rounding it out is a healthy sense of Millennial anti-humor, creating a show both ironically referential and sincerely entertaining.
DANCERS:
Nick Alselmo (LAZER EYES) is a 2015 graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) with a BFA in contemporary dance. Nick’s passion for choreography has led him to show work throughout New York City for the past three years; In April 2017 he presented a new work “Mobile Sanctuaries” at New York Live Arts as a recipient of the New Choreographer’s Grant presented by Eryc Taylor Dance, Inc. He received the “Innovative Choreography Award” at Ballet Inc.’s “The Series, Vol. 1” in July 2016. He recently self-produced an even length production of his work “Igloo” in June 2018 at Arts on Site and premiered his new solo “Box Springs” at Mouthfull presented by Of Bones this past November. Nick freelances as well, and has performed with Abarukas, Chris Choreography, vessels, Spaces of Fontana, violetsound, Johnnie Cruise Mercer/The RED ProjectNYC and joined The Nash Conspiracy as a company member in September 2018.
Kristina Bermudez is a freelance modern dancer and choreographer based in New York City. She studied ballet at Walnut Hill School of the Arts and continued to earn her B.F.A Cum Laude from the Boston Conservatory @ Berklee School of Music, as a Jan Veen Scholar where she worked with Dwight Rhoden, Francesca Harper, Zoe Scofield, Danny Buraceski, Jodi Melnick, and Diane Arvanites. She has also worked with Katie Glasner and Jennifer Rawe on Twyla Tharp’s “Eight Jelly Rolls”. Current collaborative company projects include Robin Aren / TRAC, Hannah Q Dance, and Lauren Beirne Dance Works. Aside from creating her own independent work and curating pop-up performances in NYC, Kristina has recently worked as a freelance artist on projects including: “Transmissions” curated by artist Nick Mauss at The Whitney Museum, The Encore Musical Theater Company in “West Side Story”, The Philadelphia Opera House, Bill T. Jones, and most recently Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Ivo van Hove on the Broadway Developmental Lab of “West Side Story”.
Sara Ciampa (LEILA) is a New York City based performer, teacher and choreographer. She received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Kent State University. Sara has been a company member of the Amanda Hameline Dance Company since 2014. Sara appeared as a dancer in Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and has also performed for Sara Rodriguez, Rachel Hettinger, Lilleth Glimcher, Dream Tiger Productions, Leanne Schmidt, Leslie Guyton, and Barbie Diewald. She recently performed for Miami RAW and other performances include venues such as Raw Artists Queens, Peridance, Koresh Dance, Triskelion Arts, 92y, and Arts On Site. Sara has been on faculty with Bridge for Dance for 3 years and MA Dance as a choreographer, educator and judge for the past 12 years. In addition to performing, Sara is a trainer at Body by Simone and Pilates Trainer at Gramercy Pilates.
Kristi Cole is a freelance dance artist from Columbus, Ohio with a B.A. in Dance and Political Science from George Washington University (Cum Laude, 2013). At GWU, Kristi had the privilege of working with Maida Withers Dance Construction Company and Vicky Shick in addition to choreographing and performing in the Capital Fringe Festival (2011). For her excellence as a performer, Kristi received the Elizabeth Burtner Theatre & Dance Award. Additionally, she received a Luther Rice Fellowship to conduct independent dance research, for which she was awarded first prize in the creative arts. In New York, Kristi has collaborated on site specific and proscenium works, as well as film. She has had the pleasure of working with Donofrio Dance Company (2014-present), Lauren Beirne Dance Works (2015-2017), Georgina Bates’, Brick by Brick Dance Projects (2017-present) and Spaces of Fontana (2018-present). Kristi began collaborating with Amanda + James in October 2017 for the creation of Lazer Eyes. Aside from freelancing, Kristi is currently pursuing her own choreographic endeavors in addition to teaching private Pilates sessions.
Anna Hull is a dance and movement artist, currently based in New York. She received her early training in her hometown of Prescott, Arizona. In 2014, she graduated as a Bella Lewitsky award winner from Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. Anna graduated with a BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts in 2017. Over the past few years, Anna has trained at various programs, including Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Multiplex Dance Company, and Ate9. In 2016, she studied at the American Dance Festival and performed in a new work by LeeSaar. Most recently Anna had the opportunity to travel to Tel Aviv to participate in the Gaga intensive. Anna is currently freelancing in New York, as well as indulging in her own movement based studies and projects.
Michael Parmelee (REFLEKTOR) is a Brooklyn-based dance artist. He received a B.A. Dance Performance & Choreography from Hope College (Holland, MI) and an M.F.A. Dance Choreography from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), where he was a Graduate Student Instructor, a Rackham Merit Fellow, and a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Scholar. Michael values improvisation, process over product, and is interested in the relationship between pleasure and identity. He has been a guest performance and teaching artist at Universidad Autónomo de Querétaro (Querétaro, Mexico) and was recently dance faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Twin Lake, MI). His work has been shown in HOT! Festival at Dixon Place, JACK, and Westfest Dance Festival. Michael currently performs with Queens-based company Project 44 and recently performed with Ishmael Houston-Jones, Chris Cochrane, and Dennis Cooper in Performance Space New York’s revival of THEM (1986).
All photos by Brigid Marz