This weekend, the Junventas New Music Ensemble and The People Movers dance troupe premiered Peter Van Zandt Lane's MFA '08, Ph.D. '13 ballet, HackPolitik, at the Boston University Dance Theater. This piece portrays the online relationships and actions of hackers from the 'hacktivist' group Anonymous. The story and its characters are based on real events, recounted in Parmy Olson's recent book-length expos?(c), We Are Anonymous. Lane and his collaborators capitalized on this story's latent potential for abstract representation, retelling the story of lives lived on the internet solely through music and dance.

While finishing his doctorate at Brandeis last May, he felt he had to come up with a big project to announce his arrival as a composer. After securing partnerships with Juventas New Music ensemble, a Boston-based group dedicated to performing the works of composers under 35, and People Movers, an up-and-coming dance troupe from New York City, Lane moved forward with composing this full-length ballet.

This performance interested me in a special way because it sought to be a new, meaningful and politically relevant work of art. As Lane said in a promotional video on his website, "it seems to me that the art of our time is uniquely suited to address the issues of our time. I think there are few issues as prevalent right now as how technology is reshaping the world."
In addition to influencing the story itself, technology also plays a big role in Lane's music. Lane works on the cutting edge of "electroacoustic music," a relatively new method for making music. This strategy combines acoustic sounds of traditional instruments (flute, piano, strings, etc.) with the enhanced possibilities of computer-generated sounds. In addition to pre-recorded soundscapes, Lane controlled the performance on his laptop, modifying the amplification of Juventas' instruments in real time. These echoing and ambient effects sounded in such a way that it was often difficult to tell where the sounds were coming from; are the sounds coming from the instruments or the electronics? These sounds bent the line of what's "real" and what is invented.

This idea of "real" versus invented was paralleled in the characters themselves. As these characters interacted only over the internet, they were free to fashion identities at their discretion. One character, "Lorelai," in real life a 28-year-old former military man, adopted the online identity of a 16-year-old girl. In real life, this person was transgender and the scene depicted the transformation of this character's identity from male to female. 

The grace of the soloist entranced me as the dancer's movements melted into the sounds of the music itself-a simply developed, largely repetitive viola solo with sparse electronic accompaniment. There was palpable intimacy as the scene ended; you could hear the crestfallen breaths of the soloist as his face and limbs drooped toward the ground in despondency. 

It's worth mentioning this was the first ballet I had ever seen. The control and possibilities of the dancers' movements amazed me at all times. Though I'm ignorant towards the canon of classical dance, I was able to, in modest amounts, connect with the communicative aspects of their art. Their gestures-face-making, sticking their tongues out, and telling people "where to shove it"-captured the flippancy of Anonymous, whose members occasionally carry out large-scale technological pranks "just for the lulz". Struggles for power and influence were represented by physical struggles, which involved lots of lifting and throws; it was very fun to watch and rather amazing when you think about the sort of control it takes.

Although it's difficult to quickly conclude to what extent any new work of art "succeeds" I feel no reservations in giving Lane and his collaborators congratulations on a touching and entirely fresh take on the world through his art. Lane's music is bizarre, wondrous and ethereal.However, this piece did truly succeed in that I, as an audience member, connected with the characters and appreciated the collection of effects presented. With the help of the program notes, I felt that I was able to follow the abstractions presented and understand the story.

On all fronts, HackPolitik was thoroughly thought out and carefully rendered. 

With this project a definite success, the audience was left to wonder, still reeling from the performance: what will Peter Van Zandt Lane do next?