The first time I saw Vanessa Hernández Cruz perform was in August of 2023 at the NOW Festival at REDCAT. In my review I wrote, “Cruz depends on leg braces and a walker to be mobile, but this has not prevented her from becoming a performance artist, a poet, a visual artist, and an activist for Disability Justice. Perhaps her struggle against immobility is what produces the fumes of creativity.” After viewing her two works at Highways Performance Space on November 2nd under the title of Void Decryption ERROR, I am even more impressed by her immense talent, imagination and courage.
Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in “Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
As is always the case, the second viewing of Cruz’s Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes revealed details missed at REDCAT. How Cruz uses her back to instigate expressive arm movements that speak volumes, how she uses her hips to not only walk but to roll her body rapidly across the stage and the subtlety of her facial expression as she displays the meaning behind the numerous colorful plexiglass plaques lined up across the front of the stage.
Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in “Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
There is a lot going on in this solo: anger, distress, fear, love, memories that both heal and harm are only a few of what Cruz expressed with her many talents that include being a dancer, filmmaker, visual artist, poet and an Intersectional Disability Justice activist. The recorded spoken words help reveal some of what she experiences on a daily basis but one phrase stood out for me, “I’m tired of always being in survival mode!”
Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in “Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes is a visual memoir that captures and treats you to a host of sensations.
Credits for Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes include: Choreographer, dancer, and Visual Artist: Vanessa Hernández Cruz; Sound Designer: Keilan Stafford; Costume by Robert Hueta; Lighting Designer: Chu-hsuan Chang; and Audio Description: Nohely Gomez.
Although Cruz is alone onstage, Rain Glass Vortex is actually a quintet made possible by the use of video and projection. Two women artists are on screen embedded in a photo projection of computer boards and wiring debris and two appear on mobile screens on either side of the stage. The BIPOC Disabled artists are Black writer, creator, and mover Em Waters; “Black Queer Disabled and chronically ill, NeuroExpansive being” Ande Diedjomahor; African American, femme queer, disabled, performance artist and disability justice activist India Harville; and professional illustrator Lu Chen.
Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in “Rain Glass Vortex” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
Dressed in an extremely bright colored hooded dress, Cruz performed with her walker which was not adorned with coiled plastic tubing that again became her dance partner as Cruz displayed an even wider movement vocabulary acquired by diverse dance training at CSU, Long Beach and Santa Monica College and taking part in dance intensives that included BODYTRAFFIC Dance Company, Gaga Home Lab, LINES Ballet workshop, and AXIS Dance Company: Choreography & performance module.
Rain Glass Vortex is about the importance of human connection and the effects of that relationship being limited have on people with disabilities. The four artists who appeared on video performed in their own home environment, much like what everyone experienced during the Covid pandemic. Much of their movement was limited to the upper body, facial, hands and arms, but occasionally they performed express movements while standing or on the floor. It always reflected what Cruz was demonstrating onstage and occasionally the five were in unison or performing the same movement on their own time.
Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in “Rain Glass Vortex” – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
I am making a guess here but the appearance of the word ERROR in the title reflects when the human contact or connection is disrupted either by technical problems or by someone’s personal choice to break it off, or to not engage, due to discrimination or a lack of empathy.
Cruz’s use of multimedia was intriguing because of its simplicity. Technology did not overwhelm the work. It allowed the piece to exist and for Cruz’s vision to be realized. She is an artist whose work must be seen and supported more often.
The choreographer and Visual Artist for Rain Glass Vortex: Vanessa Hernández Cruz; Dancers: Vanessa Hernández Cruz, Em Waters, Ande Diedjomahor, India Harville, and Lu Chen; Creative Technologist: Álvaro Cáceres; Sound Designer: Keilan Stafford; Costume by Mary Leopo, Lighting Designer: Chu-hsuan Chang; and Audio Description: Nohely Gomez.
Cruz’s Stage Crew included Romeo Talavera and Raymundo Garcia.
For more information about Vanessa Hernández Cruz, please visit her website.
To learn more about Highways Performance Space, please visit their website.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Void Decryption ERROR – Vanessa Hernández Cruz in Rain Glass Vortex – Photo by Patrick Kennelly.
