SPARK! 14th Annual Visions and Voices Kickoff
Box of Hope Performed by Versa-Style Dance Company
Opening Performance by National Poetry Slam Champion Javon Johnson 

Reception and post-show dance party with DJ duo Urban Assault to follow.

ADMISSION:
Admission is free and open to USC students only. 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. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Arrive early!

DESCRIPTION:
Kick off the 2019–20 academic year and the 14th season of Visions and Voices, and pick up a free Visions and Voices T-shirt and bag, at SPARK!

The evening will open with an electrifying spoken word performance by three-time National Poetry Slam champion Javon Johnson. Then, Versa-Style Dance Company will mash up the vintage sounds of R&B and Motown with exuberant hip hop dance to explore the roots of inequalities and hardships in today’s volatile social climate in their powerful show, Box of Hope. The award-winning dance company will push the boundaries of traditional hip hop dance, explore the complex realities and personal landscapes of Los Angeles, and, above all, bring a sense of understanding and hope for all people.

After the show, stick around for a dance party and reception featuring DJs Urban Assault (aka Faust and Shortee).

Bios:
Javon Johnson is an award-winning spoken word/slam poet and author of Killing Poetry: Blackness and the Making of Slam and Spoken Word Communities. Formerly a postdoctoral fellow in American studies and ethnicity at USC, Johnson is currently a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)

Versa-Style Dance Company has promoted the empowerment, artistry, and value of hip hop dance culture through full-length street-dance theatre productions, educational performances, and deeply rooted social-justice work in the community of Los Angeles for over fourteen years. They have also played prestigious hip hop dance festivals such as the J.U.i.C.E. Hip Hop Dance Festival, San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest, and Illadelph Legends Festival, in addition to stages in India, Israel, Italy, Colombia, and the Fringe Festival in Scotland. (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube)

Urban Assault (aka Faust and Shortee) specializes in dubstep, drum and bass, drumstep, electro house, and much more. Faust was ranked as one of the top five turntablists in the world by SPIN, and Shortee has been described as “the world’s premiere female DJ” by the Grammy Foundation. (Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitter, YouTube)

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Co-sponsored by USC Residential Education.

Photo: George Simian