The Enchantress of Bioluminosity has always been captivated by synesthesia, a phenomenon where one type of artistic stimulation evokes another. The Enchantress (aka Andrea Beeman) received her BA from Georgetown University, where she immersed herself in art historical studies of the Renaissance as well as the fundamentals of painting and sculpture. Lured to New York City, her paintings became three dimensional, but she was still searching for more. At New York University, she found the ephemeral medium of film and began to make Super 8mm shorts while continuing to paint, sculpt and create performance art. During her last semester at New York University, Andrea took an internship with artist William Wegman.
While learning more about photography and video at the Wegman studio, Andrea continued her studies of movement, first exploring Japanese butoh dance. Yokio Waguri of Nakajima influenced her profoundly by comparing her instinctual movement to that of Salome, a suggestion that led her to the discovery of Middle Eastern (belly) dance. She began to study with Anahid Sofian, and then discovered Jajouka, Ibrahim Farrah, Yousry Sharif, Gamila el Masri, Ghassan Fadlallah and Elena Lentini as well. Although her focus had now shifted to Middle Eastern dance, Andrea continued to supplement her training with flamenco, ballet, yoga, and classical Indian Odissi & Bollywood dance studies.
Andrea began making short dance related films in 1987. Her films have been screened in New York at Anthology Film Archives, Millennium, P.S. 122, and in France at the Grand Prix International Video Danse. She worked as Ibrahim Farrah's videographer from 1993-94, and finally embraced video as a means for her own personal expression during its recent digital revolution. While working with William Wegman, she helped create his videos for children which have aired on Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, and the Comedy Channel, as well as in galleries and museums worldwide.
Andrea (aka Andrea Anwar) began performing Middle Eastern dance at New York's cabarets, clubs and cultural events in 1990. She has taught weekly dance classes since 1993, and has performed Middle Eastern dance as a soloist and company member with Elena Lentini's Caravanserai, Anahid Sofian & Dancers, Jehan Kamal's Ballet Exotiqa, and SaZ Dance Theatre. In 1997 Andrea opened for Ricky Lee Jones' GHoSTYhead tour in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
Andrea's choreography has been presented at New York City's Town Hall, the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, DNA, Merce Cunningham Studio, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and at Buffalo's Pfeifer and Flickinger Theaters. Andrea has also performed in the NYC public schools as part of the New York Performing Artist Company.
Christened the Enchantress of Bioluminosity by the Minister of Lamination to the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland, Andrea is now working on projects which express dance's spirit, the body's luminance and projected images' ephemerality.