Scoring USITT awardee Zach Young's "An Exploration of Movement, Structure, and Integrated Design", Behnam Arzaghi premiered "Levitations I" this past month at the B. Iden Payne Theater Scene Shop in collaboration with Alyssa Johnson. From Behnam: "If you were to ask any classical musician what their favorite part of playing is, I think that nine times out of ten you’ll hear ‘playing chamber music.’ Chamber music (playing in a string quartet, for example) is an intensely collaborative, rich, and rewarding format: unlike in an orchestra, no two musicians play the same part. Each person’s contribution is essential and unique, and yet incomplete until integrated with the others. It has the powerful effect of changing how you think about your playing. You stop asking 'how can I sound better,' and start asking 'what does my part need to be doing to make us sound better?' At times the answer is to 'play out,' move into the foreground and take up space. At other times it’s to move into the background, be the invisible fabric that keeps the other parts stitched together. Other times still it’s to find synchronicity, to be in lock-step with everyone. The most important thing in chamber music is to keep asking, because the answer is constantly changing. Composing music for a multi-modal, collaborative piece where the dimensions of dance, lighting, set, and sound were each so deeply considered and artfully rendered felt just like playing chamber music. When I’d meet with Alyssa we’d discuss what her choreography needed at key points, what narrative shapes the piece would take, what logistical elements she’d be navigating (carabiners, fabric, being literally upside down in a ten foot tall steel structure we affectionately referred to as The Egg), what worlds and spaces Zach’s structure seemed to source from, and how the music could immerse us deeper into them. Fitting together all these pieces while bringing my own ideas of what I wanted to compose felt like playing musical Legos (those who know me will recognize this as an analogy of the highest order). And in the vein of chamber music I would keep asking, 'what does the music need to do here so the other elements are elevated?' Which had a strange effect of, by de-centering my contribution, freeing my mind from some of the inhibitions and self-consciousness that I find often creeps in when I write a piece of music in isolation. And I couldn’t have been more excited to see all the elements converge: Alyssa’s artistry, Zach's lighting, the presence of the steel structure - they had the exact same effect of elevating the score."

World Premiere: Inspired Dance Film Festival 2024, Australia — Featuring Alyssa Johnson and Zane Cooke — —Produced by Paracosm Dance —Created, Directed, and Edited by Alyssa Johnson —Lighting and Cinematography by Camera Clay’s Eric Hunter with Sean Price —Score and Sound Design by Behnam Arzaghi —Costumes by Dustyn Shehane —Set Design by Alyssa Johnson with Eric Hunter —Technical Direction by Solomon Masala —Filmed at Paracosm’s first home base Blue Lapis Light

Enjoy the first few moments of Behnam Arzaghi's score for Zach Young's "An Exploration of Movement, Structure, and Integrated Design" alongside footage from Alyssa Johnson's early exploratory moments finding vocabulary on the structure

Stream of consciousness behind the scenes footage featuring Amy Myers and Alyssa Johnson, with moments from John Gable's original score

CREATING TEMPORARY REALITIES THROUGH FIERCE MOVEMENT Paracosm Dance is dedicated to a deep exploration of movement development, expression, and performance. We push choreographic and performative boundaries within our evolving multimedia field, celebrating the continuous conversation between classical forms and contemporary vocabularies. Working to create conscientious and captivating works for unconventional stages, Paracosm Dance prioritizes art accessibility. Actively engaging audiences in revolutionary spaces and exploring new ways to bring dance education and experiences to our community, we provide financially and physically accessible performances around our city. We strive to hold space for outside artists, allowing those in our community to bring their work to wider audiences. (And yes, we stan ARCANE)

A momentary glimpse into building LIMINA's world

Honoring our in-house composer's birthday, enjoy this quick behind the scenes look ft Behnam's artistry as both a composer and performer in Paracosm's A Christmas Carol

A quiet moment between Artistic Director Alyssa Johnson and her wife, Dustyn Shehane, before the world premiere of Zach Young's "An Exploration of Movement, Structure, and Integrated Design". Heard in the video is composer and violinist Behnam Arzaghi. Footage captured by Eric Hunter.