Void Decryption ERROR at Highways Performance Space

Access Info: 

Masked Event 

Audio Description for both evenings 

Tactile Art Displays 

Descriptor Program via QR Code 

ADA accessible space & restroom

Void Decryption ERROR brings you into a reality that flickers like a glitch—a cryptic blend of dance, visual art, live-streaming, and film where the boundaries between worlds blur and dissolve, revealing a hidden map of human connection in a hyper-digital age. This experimental evening length interwoven into two works dives into the complexities of our digital existence, where community is sought in unexpected places and technology both bridges and breaks the spaces between us. 

The show opens with "Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes", a solo dance work that premiered at the REDCAT NOW Festival in 2023. This work examines the paradox of over-consuming social media to the point of feeling isolated and disconnected.

The program culminates with the world premiere of "Rain Glass Vortex" which introduces a new performance modality by live-streaming four Queer BIPOC Disabled artists on stage alongside Vanessa. This piece is a dystopian exploration of the human desire for liberation within a digitally mediated world, navigating the complexities of our present-day reliance on technology. 

Together, these pieces create a dynamic narrative that reflects on the intersection of digital and physical worlds, capturing the tension between isolation and connection and the evolving nature of community in contemporary society. 

Cast: 

Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes 

Vanessa Hernández Cruz 

Rain Glass Vortex 

Vanessa Hernández Cruz 

Em Waters 

Ande Diedjomahor 

India Harville 

Lu Chen 

About Vanessa 

Vanessa Hernández Cruz (she, her, ella) is an interdependent & interdisciplinary Chicana Disabled dance artist, filmmaker, visual artist, poet, & a Disability Justice activist. She is from the unceded lands of the Tongva & Kizh lands colonially known as Los Angeles, California. She recently premiered her new experimental contemporary dance solo titled ‘Soul Seeker' for the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition show 'Abundance' that is set to premiere for the new Disabled Art’s Mouthwater Festival this fall at On The Boards. Also slated for Fall 2024, Vanessa will premiere an evening length at Highways Performance Space titled: Void Decryption ERROR. 

Over the past few years Vanessa’s work has been shown nationally & internationally. She is currently the recipient of the 2023 California Arts Council x The Center of Cultural Power Artist Disruptor Award. This year she has performed an excerpt of Jérôme Bel’s work ‘GALA’ at REDCAT, performed with Good Troublemakers, and she has finished her Pieter Performance Space residency with a showing of a duration dance performance ‘Cyber Realms’. In 2023, she had two exciting dance solos that premiered in the summer: “Metal, Plastic, Skin” debuting at The Odyssey Theatre’s Dance Festival and “Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes” with her debut at The REDCAT’s NOW Festival. 

Her performances transcends through time, space, energy, and most importantly through her ancestors. Through dance, community, and interdependence she believes that collective liberation can be achieved. 

[Image Description: A poster with a frosty wavy glass background hiding a white LED cube with rain drops falling. In front of the glass is an abstract photo of Vanessa who is a Chicana woman that has caramel skin. Vanessa is looking back wearing a black holographic dress and a leather trench coat where her purple walker, Pluto is meshed with the backward image of Vanessa in an action shot of her flipping her hair back with the same dress but with out the jacket. The red & white glitchy text in front of the images reads: Center: VDE: 'Void Decryption ERROR’ 'Exhale Static, Inhale Fumes' Vanessa Hernández Cruz & 'Rain Glass Vortex’ Vanessa Hernández Cruz, Emily Waters Ande Diedjomahor, India Harville, Lu Chen] 

Graphic Design by: Kianna Peppers

Photography by: Maya Umemoto Gorman