This performance at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center was part of CAP UCLA’s Mapping Los Angeles, a series of relationship-building collaborations and new, artist-led engagements across the city that expand its reach and cultural impact. This is particularly important in this age of defunding the Arts. d. Sabela grimes explained the work best in his program notes as an homage to Octavia E. Butler,
“‘Parable of Portals’ ain’t nothin but an obnoxious love letter to Octavia E. Butler. A trans-media movement manuscript. An imagining; where Butler’s Radio Imagination aligns with our Kinetic Vision. A deep groove, a real-time reckoning, an embodied shout of praise, a glimpse into and through worlds of wonder. We speaking in tongues. We turning ourselves inside out. We be. In the continuity of refusal. We embrace GOD as change, change as a divine force.
We be/lieve
Motion is change.
Change is motion.
We still.
Forging a collective path through the nowness of recurring
futures.
For we, too, are Earthseed and our bodies are the books of the
living.
d. Sabela grimes”
“Parable of Portals” by d. Sabela grimes – Photo by Jason Williams.
And there you have it. This particular “portal” into the mind and work and thoughts of Butler was all of these things and more. The show was poetic and quite humorous in keeping with this summary by its creator. It was a stunning kinetic vision and was effective in the use of multiplatform storytelling to be sure. And because of this transmedia narrative our senses were shocked out of their standard positions. Synesthesia notwithstanding, we absorb the show as much as listen to it or watch it. Grimes’ partner in Creative Direction was Meena Murugesan who was responsible for the video design. As that was a constant presence on the back scrim upstage, it was a powerful mode of communication of Time, Space, and interconnected relationships. The images ran from geometric designs encapsulating space and thereby defining it, to AI heads and entities morphing from one thought to another. Much has been written already about grimes’ process and intent in producing this work. I refer to the review of Leah Bass-Baylis of September 30th 2025 in the Los Angeles Dance Chronicle, as well as an interview conducted by Jessica Koslow from August 25th, 2025 in the same.
“Parable of Portals” by d. Sabela grimes – Photo by Jason Williams.
The performers in this latest incarnation represented a few of Butler’s characters in hybrid. Leroy Olamina Butler played by Brianna Mims was an instigator and catalyst. Quantum aka Quan portrayed by d. Sabela grimes wore a glittering covering of shimmering material which looked active in its own right. I wondered if it was truly a suit of quarks, bosons and neutrinos? There was a very funny scenario where he interacts with people in a neighborhood wearing the suit. It seems the public is indeed ready for the extraterrestrials to make themselves known. The String Theory Twins played by G’bari GQ Gilliam and Shantel Urena were forces affected by Brianna Mims during the piece. They also worked with the Olamina Oversouls, played by Janae Holster, Ambar Matos Ortiz, Andrea Rodriguez and Leeann (Godlee) Ross who are collectively known as RootedXChange. They entered through the audience first and got the crowd looking and searching for what was to happen next. Then grimes entered and addressed the audience, asking questions, expecting answers and loosening everyone up.
“Parable of Portals” by d. Sabela grimes – Photo by Jason Williams.
The first visual was a surreal setting with the String Theory Twins bookending Brianna Mims who danced with her head enveloped in a massive white balloon. Apart from the fear of asphyxiation, it was a brilliant image alluding to not just alien morphology, but also to the augmentation of Homo Sapiens in order to survive in alien environments. The evening was full of such visuals. Each section represents a portal; from the String Theory Twins acting as doulas with dense veils for Brianna Mims, to the entire cast facing the upstage screen where Butler exclaims, “God is change”. There is an anthropological aspect as well as a philosophical one infusing what happens onstage. It is a sort of translation of Butler’s ideas and writing onto the physical plane made manifest. There is an improvisational aspect to the choreography, even when a section becomes unison movement. The movement is a means of expression separated from the performance of dance moves. On screen avatars change shape making those onstage change theirs. The interaction between the two dimensions was satisfying.
“Parable of Portals” by d. Sabela grimes – Photo by Jason Williams.
Mr. grimes had many to thank at the bows and spoke of his “labor of love” in creating this homage to Octavia E. Butler over the course of eight years. His voice and hers was heard and seen in a harmonious whole. d. Sabela grimes handled the creative design, poetry, original music, animation, costumes with Kia McCormick, and choreography in collaboration with the performers. Lighting design by Miranda Richards was clean and impactful without disturbing the screen videos.
For more information about d. Sabela grimes, please visit his website.
To learn more about CAP UCLA, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: “Parable of Portals” by d. Sabela grimes – Photo by Jason Williams.
