Visions and Voices’s annual arts extravaganza will kick off the new season with music, dance, performance art and spoken word. Audio/video artist Jesse Nikette will open the event with a hypnotizing pre-show performance blending dazzling visuals and sounds. National Poetry Slam champion Javon Johnson will energize the audience with his powerful spoken word. Multidisciplinary theatre artist Alison M. De La Cruz will present a provocative performance exploring gender, race and sexuality. The incredible Antics Performance, a hip hop dance/theatre company, will defy gravity with their innovative moves. The enchanting singer/songwriter Segun will grace the stage with a musical performance that embodies love, compassion and soul. The event will also include a welcome by USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett, a presentation by USC cinematic arts professor Tara McPherson and a post-show reception with live music and opportunities to meet the artists. Plus, attendees will receive free Visions and Voices T-shirts and bags!

Line up and get a wristband at the event check-in on Trousdale Parkway in front of Bovard Auditorium. Wristbands, shirts and bags will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Antics Performance is a Los Angeles–based hip hop dance/theatre company that performs under the artistic direction of Amy “Catfox” Campion. The Los Angeles Times says that Antics has reclaimed hip hop and expanded the idiom’s creative horizons. Antics creates multimedia urban performances that incorporate breaking, locking, popping, krumping, DJs, spoken word, theatre and film. They have performed at the B-Girl Be Festival in Minneapolis, the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, REDCAT, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center in Los Angeles and the Esalen International Arts Festival in Big Sur, among other venues. Antics’s dance films have been screened at the Dance on Camera Festival in New York and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. (Official website)

Alison M. De La Cruz is a multidisciplinary theatre artist whose solo work has been presented locally and nationally at venues such as the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the Northwest Asian American Theatre, Bindlestiff Studio and the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre. De La Cruz has also had several residencies working with emerging artists through Shakespeare Festival/LA’s Will Power to Youth, the HeArt Project, Asian Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health’s H.O.P.E. for Girls, About Productions’ Young Theaterworks Program and Cal Poly Pomona’s Asian Pacific Islander Student Center. De La Cruz is also an accomplished facilitator and has led trainings and workshops for over 40 Southern California nonprofit organizations, colleges, universities and community groups. (Blog)

Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Javon Johnson made second homes out of libraries, bookstores and any other place that harbored knowledge. Javon is a National Poetry Slam champion and only the second person in Slam National’s history to win back-to-back titles. He has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry and BET’s Lyric Café, and he cowrote poetic narration for the Showtime documentary Crossover. He received a PhD in performance studies at Northwestern University and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at USC, where he teaches in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity. With the hope that he will touch others in the same way that so many writers have influenced him, Johnson uses poetry to dismantle systems of oppression and inequality. (Twitter, YouTube)

Jesse Nikette is an audio/video and motion-graphic artist known for his custom-made midi guitar controller and unique visual style. Jesse has provided visuals for artists and DJs around the globe including Avicii, Dirty South, Skrillex, Feed Me, Bloody Beetroots and Pendulum. (Official website, YouTube, Twitter)

Singer/songwriter Segun is a magical force with the gift of succinct lyrical expression and incredible stage presence. His enchanting and soulful lyrics and melodies are embodied with love and compassion. At the age of 16, he began performing around the Dallas area with the support of Erykah Badu, who called him “a true blossoming artist.” He took home the gold at Central Texas Idol and began to hone his craft in a serious way. His music comes from a special place and when he graces the stage, he can bring the audience to tears. He writes and composes all of his work and is a self-taught guitarist and pianist. He is currently a student in USC Thornton’s popular music program. (Twitter, YouTube)

Photo credits

Antics Performance: Paul Antico

Javon Johnson: Steve Cohn