CASUAL

The Wasp Project // Ajani Brannum

The Wasp Project is an exercise in undisciplinary wayfinding. It centers storytelling as a tool for orienting in and to the world. Rooted in Afro-Diasporic cosmologies, and guided by an ongoing investigation into practices for doing selfhood, this project combines movement, text, sonic composition, and conversation to explore how we be in the ever-unfolding present. (The Wasp Project is an early iteration of a project to be presented at Human Resources Los Angeles in March 2023.)

Ajani Brannum (they/them) is an undisciplinary artist who works between movement, writing, sound, facilitation, and divination. Their practice is an animist investigation of practices for locating and relating in the world. Originally hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, Ajani is a graduate of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities; they hold an AB in English and a Certificate in Dance from Princeton University, and a PhD in Culture and Performance from UCLA.

https://www.barryabrannum.com/

Nycto-Eternity // Vanessa Hernández Cruz

Nycto-Eternity dives into the story of the Moon Goddess who longs to intertwine with the Sun. The Forbidden Solar Paradise is where the Moon Goddess finds herself in an array of blissful hope that quickly transforms into something unworldly. Nycto-Eternity will be adapted from film to stage performance. This Contemporary Ballet resembles the aesthetics of classical Ballet with disability dance; expanding the possibilities of what Ballet could be in the near future.

Vanessa Hernández Cruz (she, her, ella) is an emerging interdependent Chicana disabled dance artist & Disability Justice activist. She is from the unceded lands of the Tongva & Kizh territories colonially known as Los Angeles, California. She graduated from California State University Long Beach with her BA in Dance Science. In 2022, she was selected into the first national cohort for LatinXtentions year long Dance Mentorship Program led by David Herrera. She was also selected into The Box LA Pieter Parking Space Residency based in Los Angeles, CA where she produced her dance piece “Exit?”. In 2021 she was a part of the Arts Unchained International virtual residency where she developed a dance film titled “11th Hour”. Her dance film “DNA: Disability Not Ability” was selected by IKOUII to be exhibited in their virtual art show “Without Labels” and won the Honorable Mention award. In 2020, her contemporary ballet dance film “Nycto-Eternity” won The Dance Cinema Award from Frostbite International Film Festival and was recently screened for The Midnight Film Festival in New York. Vanessa’s choreographic work has received the award for Cultural Diplomacy for Innovation in Choreography from Ballet Beyond Borders in 2019. Through her dance films & choreographic work, Vanessa presents the audience with thought-provoking pieces that ignite the imagination & explores disability aesthetics in contemporary forms and experimentation. She is shifting the dance field away from the inspirational-porn perspective of disability into a humanistic perspective.

https://www.galaxiesdance.info

Dear Dolly // Jennifer Jonassen

Dear Dolly conceived and performed by Jennifer Jonassen who early in the pandemic realized she “did not want to die without knowing what it was like to dress like Dolly Parton.” Dear Dolly is part love letter, part exploration of beauty and body image as viewed through the filter of Jennifer’s childhood hero. Almost everyone has a relationship with what they see in Dolly Parton and Jennifer Jonassen shares hers.

Jennifer Jonassen was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY but has called L.A. her home for over a decade. She is a performance artist, dancer, writer, activist and clown. Jennifer is the founder of Intrepid Dance Project which is based in her belief that everyone can dance & is an initiative to promote diversity in dance and performance: www.intrepiddanceproject.com ​Most recently she appeared at REDCAT in Sara Lyons’ “This Emancipation Thing.” She also appeared in Lyons’ “I’m Very Into You” at Los Angeles Performance Practice’s LAX Festival 2018. Earlier this year, Jennifer collaborated with Deufert & Plischke’s “Worn World” project which examines our relationship with clothing at the L.A. Goethe Institut & Odyssey Theatre. She directed “Madame Chocolat’s Church of Chocolat” which was a finalist at the 2022 Brisk Festival. She also had the chance to study at SITI Company’s Finale Summer program. Jennifer’s solo work ” Winging It” has been performed at Bootleg Theatre as well as Electric Lodge. Other career highlights include appearing in Taylor Mac’s 24 Decades of Popular Music in Los Angeles at CAPUCLA. A regular in the L.A. cabaret and nightclub scene- Jennifer has performed prolifically at venues such as Scot Nery’s Boobietrap, Was Ist Das?, Wisdome, The Edwardian Ball, The Special Olympics among many more including the Gong Show. When Jennifer was in her 20’s she worked at the Lucille Lortel Theatre where she had the honor of assisting Uta Hagen- a fact that tickles her to this day! Jennifer wishes to thank her dear and talented friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) who helped brainstorm & co-created “Dear Dolly.”

https://jenniferjonassen.wixsite.com/jennifer-jonassen