MEDIA RELEASE

CSUN Dance Student Awarded Top Honor

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., June 2, 2008) — A sea of dance veterans sat anxiously at the Lester Horton Awards ceremony in April for the announcement of "Outstanding Achievement in Performance—Company."

Sitting among the nominees was a young man, Jacob ‘Kujo’ Lyons, a 31-year-old student of Cal State Northridge and a hearing-impaired break-dancer. Lyons was stunned to hear the company he founded, Lux Aeterna, named the top dance troupe in Southern California.

"The list of nominees for this particular award was long and filled with many names who I have acquired great respect for," said Lyons. "It was a huge honor just to be included among them. We had no illusions about how slight our chance of winning was, and I was genuinely shocked to hear our name called."

"Underwater/Beached," by Lyon’s seven-member Lux Aeterna, was performed in October of 2007 as part of a larger performance, "Breaking the Cypher." It was during this time that the Horton Viewing Committee, scouts for the Lester Horton Awards, judged his work, critiquing every aspect of the performance, including choreography, lighting, design and overall company performance. The committee took special notice of his work.

Amidst the excitement of being nominated for the Lester Horton honor, Lyons noted the challenges presented throughout the creation and execution of the piece. He admitted he was not as fond of it as members of the committee were.

"‘Underwater/Beached’ wasn’t my favorite piece," he said. "There were a lot of flaws because it had too much potential. It drove me crazy that I couldn’t fix everything, but they liked it."

During formation of the piece, Lyons came up with the idea of involving opera singers who would "spontaneously and collectively create sound for stage." With the help of CSUN opera coordinators David Aks and Ann Baltz, a unique, improvisational performance was born in what evolved into "Underwater/Beached."

The award-winning show combined filmed dance depicting underwater "creatures" that segued into a live performance of them venturing to the stage surface. As the “creatures” evolved, they learned to adapt to their surroundings while helping those less enabled.

Los Angeles Times critic Lewis Segal claimed the performance to be "enlightening... Lyons’ ‘Beached’ attempted to cool and slow hip-hop virtuosity to something like lyricism."

Lyons’ success did not come easy. As a young child, he was very active but was not adept at sports. "I always wanted to move," he said. "I never had the aptitude for sports and my parents couldn’t afford to put me through gymnastics. But I used to spin around on the monkey bars and come up with some really good moves."

It wasn’t until high school that Lyons was approached by several break-dancers who mistook his clothing for that of a fellow break-dancer.

"They asked me if I knew how to dance," said Lyons. "I said ‘No, but I want to learn.’ It wasn’t what I expected. I could do the acrobatic part but my rhythm wasn’t good. Over time, I figured out how to transpose rhythms into moves that corresponded with the music."

While rhythm and dance coordination were difficult, it was not his biggest challenge. Lyon was born deaf in his right ear and lost partial hearing in his left.

"Other dancers can hear all these little details in the music that I can’t hear, which can be seen as a disadvantage," said Lyons. "But I want to dance and I’m going to."

And dance he did! After mastering break-dance, Lyons continued to explore the world of dance, searching for more artistic and beautiful forms. While pursuing a kinesiology degree at Cal State Northridge, he came up with the idea of combining ballet with "breaking," by slowing down break-dance while elongating the movements and adding lifts.

"There are certain qualities of art that make it beautiful and I am simply trying to figure out those qualities, and in turn, make break-dancing a beautiful art form," said Lyons.

Lyons’ ideas fueled the creation of his current dance company, Lux Aeterna, with the help and support of kinesiology professor Paula Thomson.

"I knew that I had a good idea, I just needed the gusto to do it," said Lyons. "Dr. Thomson really pushed me to do it and so I did."

With past challenges met and overcome, Lyons is set for any obstacles that come his way. His constant quest for aesthetic dance only serves as a platform for a successful career, said Thomson.

"Jacob is an intelligent and intuitive artist," she said. "He is inspiring and easily engages all that cross his path. He is breaking conventions while adding dynamic beauty to the dances that he is creating. I am not surprised that he is rising to the top of the dance field."