ABOUT DEXO

Deseret Experimental Opera was founded in 2013. We produce unconventional operas across and about the Wasatch Front that foster a cross-disciplinary community of artists. We received nonprofit status in April 2019. Please consider donating to support the artists you saw tonight, and to help us continue our work. Thank you!

Author

A.M. Luzzader is a full-time author living in northern Utah who has published 17 books for children including Hannah Saves the World, A Mermaid in Middle Grade, and Arthur Blackwood’s Scary Stories for Kids who like Scary Stories. Her books are appropriate for children ages 5-12. She has also published four books for adults under the name Amanda Luzzader including the post-apocalyptic series Among These Bones and Creep Factor, a collection of short horror stories. A.M. has sold the foreign translation rights to A Mermaid in Middle Grade to AST and the audiobook rights to Tantor Media. A.M.'s books are frequently listed as best sellers on Amazon. She was selected as the Utah Writer of the Year for 2019-2020 by the League of Utah Writers. A.M. is married to Chadd VanZanten, who assists her by editing her work and drawing illustrations for some of her books. She has two sons, who are the light of her life, and a cat named Cosette who distracts A.M. from working on a daily basis. You can find more information about A.M. Luzzader on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website at www.amluzzader.com.

Stage Director, Secondary Composer, and Librettist

Allison Shir is a dance artist originally from the East Coast and currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is thrilled to be working with Deseret Experimental Opera again! Presently, Allison is a professor with the Dance Department at Westminster College. From 2008 - 2013, Allison lived in Holland and Israel where she co-founded, performed, and created for both the interdisciplinary performance group CorpComposition (Amsterdam/Den Haag) and the Ouroboros Dance Collective (Tel Aviv). She also was a performing member with the Israeli-based Aluminum Show on domestic and international tours. Allison relocated to Salt Lake City in 2013 to pursue her MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. She has danced and made work with DEXO and DanceBand BandDance, and has been a performing member with And Artists and Dance Balletti. She continues to create new work and perform in freelance projects as an independent artist. Her choreography has been shown in Holland, Germany, Cyprus, Israel, Japan, and the US. Allison holds an MFA from the University of Utah and BFA from Florida State University. She is also a GYROTONIC® trainer and Stott Pilates instructor, and is currently in training for Feldenkrais: Awareness Through Movement (2021-2023).

Favorite Moment: This is hard to choose, but I am going to go with the Halloween dance, because the costumes are awesome and the dance is super fun!!!

Composer, Musical Director, and Librettist

Jacob Rosenzweig is a musician and composer from Salt Lake City. This is his second time collaborating with DEXO.

jakejake.bandcamp.com

myallowance.bandcamp.com

Favorite Moment: My favorite parts of the show include aliens learning how to play fetch with an Earth-dog, and the fervent worship of GagaGooey candy bars.

Librettist, Assistant Director, Tertiary Composer, Costumer, and Set Designer

Carly Schaub is originally from Benson, UT and graduated with an M.F.A. in Modern Dance from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and a B.F.A. in Theatre and Dance, from the University of Wyoming. She has performed in numerous dance and musical theatre productions, studied many dance forms, including Baroque and Renaissance dance, addition to spending time studying in London.  She has worked with many choreographers including Bill Evans, Peter Pucci, Yoav Kaddar, Keith Saunders, Patricia Tate, Marsha Knight, Thomas Shoemaker, and Netta Yerushalmy to name a few.

Prior to attending graduate school Carly worked with Northern Plains Ballet, in Bismarck, ND, serving as Education Coordinator as well as teaching Ballet, Modern Dance, choreographing, and performing in their season. She also taught and performed as a guest artist around the ND, MN areas including Grand Forks, Jamestown, and Fargo/Moorhead. Her favorite role she performed was “Lise” in La Fille Mal Gardée, with North Dakota Ballet. She choreographed numerous musicals for Bismarck State College, and Sleepy Hollow Summer Theatre, and some of her favorites were Mary Poppins, Chicago, Cabaret, and Urinetown.

Carly’s research while at the University of Utah encompassed dance technique theory and practice, and Dance for Parkinson’s Disease. She has also continued historical dance research and reconstruction on her own spending several summers at the International Baroque Institute at Longy, Boston. Carly currently wanders as a guest artist in a variety of places, runs an early Ballet group called Dance Balletti in Salt Lake City, teaches Ballet and Modern on the staff of Wasatch Arts Center, costumes small dance productions, and teaches Dance for Parkinson’s in partnership with the University of Utah and Repertory Dance Theatre.

Hannah

Haleigh Larmer Born in Colorado and raised in Montana, Haleigh's early dance education included competitive dance in: jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, and contemporary. Upon acceptance into Sarah Lawrence College for the Liberal Arts, Haleigh moved to Bronxville, New York to continue her studies and dance training. Soon after she was accepted into Pushing Progress Contemporary Dance Company's two-year training program under the direction of Chris Hale and Calen J. Kurka in New York City. Following graduation, Haleigh participated in a variety of programs to further her training including: Northwest Dance Project's Launch9 directed by Sarah Slipper, New Dialect’s Summer Intensives directed by Banning Bouldin, and Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's international five-month training program in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel. This culturally and artistically immersive experience pushed Haleigh to dive further into contemporary dance, floorwork, composition, and improvisational techniques. Haleigh moved to Salt Lake City in 2016 to work for SALT II Contemporary Dance Company for two seasons. Currently, Haleigh works as a freelance artist with Salt Lake City based, And Artists, directed by Rebecca Aneloski, and continues her own movement research as an independent choreographer, dancer, teacher, and director.

Favorite moment: Any and all hilariously ridiculous chants/songs that are accompanied by equally hilariously ridiculous dance sequences.

Mia

Bailey Sill is an interdisciplinary artist based in Salt Lake City.

Favorite moment: There is a moment in the show where Hannah, Mia, and Mr. Norris are dancing at a Halloween party. Allison crafted a sort of line dance that is extremely intricate and complex and it is so much fun to do. The rehearsals creating that were full of laughs and being able to perform it brings the biggest smile to my face.

Aaxtchu

Elijah Hancock Bio: Having graduated from Snow College with a degree in commercial music, Elijah has performed in a varied range of musical contexts. From interpreting the spitfire valet to the Roman Empress Octavia in Monteverdi’s early baroque masterpiece “L’incoronazione di Poppea” at the Festivale Voci nel Montefeltro, to singing backup for nationally touring pop artists at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he seeks always to find the worth inherent in the beautifully diverse landscape music represents today. Elijah believes ardently in the importance of new operatic works and is ecstatic to be returning for a third show with Deseret Experimental Opera, having previously performed in “Open House”, and “A Parking Lot for Hyacinths”.

Favorite moment: One of my favorite parts of the show is watching the hilarious devastation the heroines feel at the sight of a vandalized playground. I chuckle no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

Brian

Emily Nelson's passion for music of all kinds has led her down diverse paths. In 2009, she co-founded Utopia Early Music, a group that presents concerts of medieval, renaissance and baroque music. Apart from early music, Emily's favorite use for her "clear, pure soprano" is in the portrayal of coloratura sidekicks and supernatural beings. Emily holds degrees in voice, music history, and early music performance from Indiana University and the University of Utah, where she completed her doctorate in vocal performance. She teaches at The University of Utah and Westminster College.

Favorite moment: I love Jake's music for the Alien Plot duet. You just can't help but dance to it!

Everyone Else

Florian Alberge is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally from the North of France, he has worked & studied in Czech Republic, Japan, Russia & the US. From puppetry to video projection to pedaling on his bike, Florian has deep knowledge for the many facets of his fascinations.

Favorite moment: For me it is the very beginning; I can’t wait to address my first line and meet my fellow characters on stage. As soon as the music starts, we are onto another reality to unravel a mystery and most importantly, to save the world!

Tacocat

Jasmine Stack is a dance and video artist based out of SLC, and has performed and choreographed with DEXO since 2016.