Degenerate Art Ensemble

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A performance company that through hyper-experimental music and dance transforms traditional genres into multi-dimensional explosive and expressive works. This hard-edged, delicate and complex visual music and dance performance company has earned rave reviews throughout the US and Europe. A performance company that reflects our multi-faceted and multi-dimensional culture today.

DAE’s work ranges from full theatrical stage productions to intimate concerts, always invading all of the senses and the depths of the imagination.

TransformationsEvolutions CollaborationsInventions

DAE is known to morph and transform – a dance company, punk/jazz band, a 45 piece orchestra - the group never losing its ability to electrify an audience and create experiences that bring audiences to new territories of perception. At its core DAE’s key artists are constantly in a state of invention and re-invention – always guided by a strong unified creative vision.

MusicDancePhysicalTheater
PerformanceArt

Degenerate Art Ensemble harnesses the forces of visionary choreography and rich, complex, visceral composed and improvised music – creating music driven dance theater and intensely visual music performance.

TheatersSpacesStages
FestivalsGalleries

All of DAE’s dance theater works, from small chamber versions, to full main-stage productions, are performed with rich live music – the musicians visually and theatrically integrated into the works. Many of DAE’s works are available in both chamber and main stage versions.

Organ Magazine (London)

“So, what is the Degenerate Art Ensemble? An orchestra? A live band? A dance troupe? An experimental theatre company? Forget even trying to pop the Degenerate Art Ensemble into any of those pigeonholes - yet they are all, and much more than the sum of those. It’s performance art that has broken out of the seclusion of the art house into that dirty real world of gigs... The Degenerate Art Ensemble have smeared together the styles called classical, experimental, world, jazz and rock music so completely that it seems pointless to ever untangle them again. Remember the time when there were such things as boundaries?”

Berliner Morgenpost (Berlin)

“This music and movement ensemble create work outside of all music and dance conventions... telling surreal stories filled with sweetness, power and humor. The unexpected is accomplished and a mysterious mythology emerges.”

Kultur Magazine (Prague)

“They entranced the audience... the secret of their performance is perfect drama, gradation and splendid visuals, indescribable costumes and a punk-symphonic-garage-big-band style. Dynamic upheavals were turning into relaxing passages and everything was falling into place like wheels in a post-modernist clock machine.”

Willamette Week (Portland)

“Prepare for some serious aesthetic bastinado... make way for a few conceptions about boundaries between theater, classical and rock music to melt... it leaves a huge chunk of the rule book tattered in the gutter.”

San Francisco Bay Guardian (San Francisco)

“(DAE’s dancer/choreographer) Haruko Nishimura gave a performance that sparkled with the looseness of an improvisation, all the while maintaining the control of a master.”

Nichibei Times (San Francisco)

“Low tones of bass and the creaking of DAE’s self made panthrastic harp zither created an exquisite and harmonious soundscape as the movement of Nishimura’s limbs stirred the audience into ecstasy. She captured internal emotions and sentiments awakening and arousing - her velvety smooth movement producing a supernatural and ghostly air.”

The Seattle Weekly (Seattle)

“Nishimura evoked Mothra, Marlene Dietrich, and a live-action cartoon character, captivating and surreal, proving that she’s one of Seattle’s most gifted performers.”

DAE ARTISTS:
dae

+ JOSHUA KOHL

Joshua has been battling the great seas of Degenerate Art Ensemble for over a decade (from the beginning!!). With the DAE he has been composing, conducting, organizing, acting in strange ways on stage, learning to build and play numerous instruments, stretching his abilities as far as they can go and into new territories as often as possible. He is constantly kept on his toes by working with scores of insanely and dangerously talented artists and figuring out how to distill all of their creative juices into a single 975-proof work of art. With the DAE he has toured to more than a dozen countries and shared the group's work with many thousands of art-hungry humans (and in the process has witnessed an always overwhelming stream of inspiring and brilliant artists everywhere - shared food, drink and ideas with them). Joshua is hungry for the next artistic challenge. He believes that creative energy may be the last frontier of goodness in this f**ked up world. more...

+ HARUKO NISHIMURA

Since adventuring into the Degenerate Art Ensemble in 1993, Haruko has been whirl winded into producing consistent streams of original and adventurous dynamic works involving physical theater, butoh dance and live experimental music. Many of the pieces are large scale projects up to 17piece orchestras to small performer ensembles to solo dances, always evolving and questioning the never satisfying hunger of metamorphosis of concepts and questioning and curiosity of how the art can evolve without static ness and into the challenging the viewers expectations for all performance media in the multi-dimensional, multifaceted culture today. She was always a melancholic girl who dreamed to be a chameleon , constantly in a state of invention, reinvention, and breaking and destroying it all over again to only start from a completely frightening place of helpless zero. more...

+ JEFFREY HUSTON

Has been working with DAE for the past year on Cuckoo Crow, and now Sonic Tales. Jeff creates music, sound design, instruments and music software for many of Seattle's leading dance performers.

+ POL ROSENTHAL

Pol Rosenthal is a writer, actor, dancer and performance artist. He has worked as performer and collaborator for DAE for the past five years.

+ LEO MAYBERRY

Leo Mayberry is a video wizard. Worked on Cuckoo Crow with DAE in 2007 and will be creating original video content and projection wizardry for Sonic Tales for the March 2008 premiere.

+ COLIN ERNST

Colin Ernst has been creating mechanical sculpture, sets and props for DAE since the very beginning.

+ JENNIFER ZEYL

Jennifer Zeyl will be creating the sets for SONIC TALES premiere March 09.

+ BRUCE TOM

Bruce is a photographer and designer whose many passions include music, theater, movies, travel, psychic surgery, mime bashing, and exotic cheeses. Bruce has been known to levitate and chant while sustaining himself on a diet consisting soley of bird seed and tofu.

+ STEVEN MILLER

Steven Miller is the main photographer for poster art for DAE.

+ IAN LUCERO

Ian Lucero has been the chief of video and web for DAE since the early days. He has created video art and documentation for all of DAE's work.

Bio Photos by Steven Miller Photography

{Click Here to Download PDF Brochure 240kb}

{Text Only Version}

HOME ABOUT SHOWS/PROJECTS MUSIC/LISTEN PHOTOS/VIDEOS PRESS MERCH MySPACE CONTACT

	Degenerate Art Ensemble A performance company that through hyper-experimental music and dance transforms traditional genres into multi-dimensional explosive and expressive works. This hard-edged, delicate and complex visual music and dance performance company has earned rave reviews throughout the US and Europe. A performance company that reflects our multi-faceted and multi-dimensional culture today. DAE’s work ranges from full theatrical stage productions to intimate concerts, always invading all of the senses and the depths of the imagination. TransformationsEvolutions CollaborationsInventions DAE is known to morph and transform – a dance company, punk/jazz band, a 45 piece orchestra - the group never losing its ability to electrify an audience and create experiences that bring audiences to new territories of perception. At its core DAE’s key artists are constantly in a state of invention and re-invention – always guided by a strong unified creative vision. MusicDancePhysicalTheater PerformanceArt Degenerate Art Ensemble harnesses the forces of visionary choreography and rich, complex, visceral composed and improvised music – creating music driven dance theater and intensely visual music performance. TheatersSpacesStages FestivalsGalleries All of DAE’s dance theater works, from small chamber versions, to full main-stage productions, are performed with rich live music – the musicians visually and theatrically integrated into the works. Many of DAE’s works are available in both chamber and main stage versions. Organ Magazine (London) “So, what is the Degenerate Art Ensemble? An orchestra? A live band? A dance troupe? An experimental theatre company? Forget even trying to pop the Degenerate Art Ensemble into any of those pigeonholes - yet they are all, and much more than the sum of those. It’s performance art that has broken out of the seclusion of the art house into that dirty real world of gigs... The Degenerate Art Ensemble have smeared together the styles called classical, experimental, world, jazz and rock music so completely that it seems pointless to ever untangle them again. Remember the time when there were such things as boundaries?” Berliner Morgenpost (Berlin) “This music and movement ensemble create work outside of all music and dance conventions... telling surreal stories filled with sweetness, power and humor. The unexpected is accomplished and a mysterious mythology emerges.” Kultur Magazine (Prague) “They entranced the audience... the secret of their performance is perfect drama, gradation and splendid visuals, indescribable costumes and a punk-symphonic-garage-big-band style. Dynamic upheavals were turning into relaxing passages and everything was falling into place like wheels in a post-modernist clock machine.” Willamette Week (Portland) “Prepare for some serious aesthetic bastinado... make way for a few conceptions about boundaries between theater, classical and rock music to melt... it leaves a huge chunk of the rule book tattered in the gutter.” San Francisco Bay Guardian (San Francisco) “(DAE’s dancer/choreographer) Haruko Nishimura gave a performance that sparkled with the looseness of an improvisation, all the while maintaining the control of a master.” Nichibei Times (San Francisco) “Low tones of bass and the creaking of DAE’s self made panthrastic harp zither created an exquisite and harmonious soundscape as the movement of Nishimura’s limbs stirred the audience into ecstasy. She captured internal emotions and sentiments awakening and arousing - her velvety smooth movement producing a supernatural and ghostly air.” The Seattle Weekly (Seattle) “Nishimura evoked Mothra, Marlene Dietrich, and a live-action cartoon character, captivating and surreal, proving that she’s one of Seattle’s most gifted performers.”
	DAE ARTISTS: + JOSHUA KOHL Joshua has been battling the great seas of Degenerate Art Ensemble for over a decade (from the beginning!!). With the DAE he has been composing, conducting, organizing, acting in strange ways on stage, learning to build and play numerous instruments, stretching his abilities as far as they can go and into new territories as often as possible. He is constantly kept on his toes by working with scores of insanely and dangerously talented artists and figuring out how to distill all of their creative juices into a single 975-proof work of art. With the DAE he has toured to more than a dozen countries and shared the group's work with many thousands of art-hungry humans (and in the process has witnessed an always overwhelming stream of inspiring and brilliant artists everywhere - shared food, drink and ideas with them). Joshua is hungry for the next artistic challenge. He believes that creative energy may be the last frontier of goodness in this fked up world. more... + HARUKO NISHIMURA Since adventuring into the Degenerate Art Ensemble in 1993, Haruko has been whirl winded into producing consistent streams of original and adventurous dynamic works involving physical theater, butoh dance and live experimental music. Many of the pieces are large scale projects up to 17piece orchestras to small performer ensembles to solo dances, always evolving and questioning the never satisfying hunger of metamorphosis of concepts and questioning and curiosity of how the art can evolve without static ness and into the challenging the viewers expectations for all performance media in the multi-dimensional, multifaceted culture today. She was always a melancholic girl who dreamed to be a chameleon , constantly in a state of invention, reinvention, and breaking and destroying it all over again to only start from a completely frightening place of helpless zero. more... + JEFFREY HUSTON Has been working with DAE for the past year on Cuckoo Crow, and now Sonic Tales. Jeff creates music, sound design, instruments and music software for many of Seattle's leading dance performers. + POL ROSENTHAL Pol Rosenthal is a writer, actor, dancer and performance artist. He has worked as performer and collaborator for DAE for the past five years. + LEO MAYBERRY Leo Mayberry is a video wizard. Worked on Cuckoo Crow with DAE in 2007 and will be creating original video content and projection wizardry for Sonic Tales for the March 2008 premiere. + COLIN ERNST Colin Ernst has been creating mechanical sculpture, sets and props for DAE since the very beginning. + JENNIFER ZEYL Jennifer Zeyl will be creating the sets for SONIC TALES premiere March 09. + BRUCE TOM Bruce is a photographer and designer whose many passions include music, theater, movies, travel, psychic surgery, mime bashing, and exotic cheeses. Bruce has been known to levitate and chant while sustaining himself on a diet consisting soley of bird seed and tofu. + STEVEN MILLER Steven Miller is the main photographer for poster art for DAE. + IAN LUCERO** Ian Lucero has been the chief of video and web for DAE since the early days. He has created video art and documentation for all of DAE's work. Bio Photos by Steven Miller Photography {Click Here to Download PDF Brochure 240kb} {Text Only Version} home \| about \| current \| listen \| archives \| press \| merch \| mySpace \| contact ©1998-2006 Degenerate Art Ensemble problems viewing this site? contact ian (at) ianlucero.com