Studio La Mer

Studio la Mer is the home studio for Eric Larsen Dance and the workshop space devoted to exploring perennial questions and current dilemmas through dance. The studio features collaborative creation and explorations. Work at Studio la Mer has been inspired by, and indebted to Hiroko Tamano, Kayo and Yukio Mikami, Natsu Nakajima, and others.

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“…the body is the vessel…” Kayo Mikami

Explorations with Amareya Dance Company, an invitation to listen.

 Babylon Tokyo Theatre,  Tokyo, Japan 2019,

INTERVIEW WITH KOICHI TAMANO

Eric Larsen starts to talk with Koichi-san at about minute 43.

STUDIO LA MER ASSOCIATES

Eric Larsen studied dance in Berkeley with Ruth Botchan and in New York City with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company. Subsequently, Eric lived for many years in communities of the San Francisco Zen Center, and then did scientific research related to the flow of rivers at the University of California in Davis. Recently, Eric has studied butoh dance with Hiroko Tamano in California, and with a number of butoh teachers and dancers in Japan. He has performed butoh dances in the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and throughout Japan. In early 2020, he performed with the Torifune Butoh Sha (dance company) in Japan.

Dmitry Shemetov is a musician and composer living in Davis California. He is currently a candidate for a PhD in mathematics at UC Davis. He has composed and performed music for Studio la Mer productions.

Evan Samuel is a composer of electronic music. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where, in addition to composing music, he works in the film industry. He has composed music for Studio la Mer productions. His Soundcloud site is https://soundcloud.com/evan-samuel-music

Ashton Wolgast is a performing artist from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was formerly a cheerleader for 10 years. Since then Ashton has experimented with different forms of performance arts. This is her first production as a choreographer. At the turn of the new decade, Ashton began collaboration with Eric, and together they have explored butoh dance as a way to examine critical social and human themes.  With butoh dance, she has gained a newfound expression for her passion for communicating through performance. Ashton has been a guest performer for Studio la Mer and created the role in ASHES | PIKADON.