Ghostly Labor by Vanessa Sanchez and La Mezcla
A Visions and Voices Signature Event 

ADMISSION & CAMPUS ACCESS:
Admission is free. Reservations are required. Campus access is limited to registered guests and USC students, staff, and faculty with current USC ID.

RSVP

DESCRIPTION: 
“Defiantly joyous.”—Rachel Howard, SF Chronicle 

Visions and Voices is thrilled to present the Los Angeles premiere of Ghostly Labor, which was first performed at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco in December 2023. The newest work by the groundbreaking San Francisco–based dance and music ensemble La Mezcla explores the history of labor in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands through movement and live music, bringing together polyrhythmic movement and an original score to provide a new look at the ongoing, systemic exploitation of labor while highlighting the power and joy of collective resistance.

Rooted in Chicana, Latina, and Indigenous traditions and social justice, La Mezcla was founded by Dance/USA fellow Vanessa Sanchez in 2015. Through tap dance, Mexican zapateado, son jarocho, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, La Mezcla brings the often-unseen histories and experiences of communities of color to stages, streets, and fields.  

Following the performance, USC Vice Provost for the Arts Josh Kun will facilitate a Q&A with Vanessa Sanchez and members of the company.

Excerpt of Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film.
 

About La Mezcla.

Bios: 

Vanessa Sanchez is a Chicana dancer, choreographer, educator, and producer who focuses on community arts and traditional dance forms to emphasize voices and experiences of Latina, Chicana, and Indigenous womxn and youth. Based in San Francisco, CA, she is a 2019 Dance/USA Artist fellow and the founding artistic director of La Mezcla. Sanchez’s work has been featured on local and international stages including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), The Lincoln Center (New York), and Teatro Maria Matos (Portugal). Her work with La Mezcla has received the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Production, Best Sound, and Original Score Award at the WILD Sound Film Festival, and project funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts, National Performance Network, and the Hewlett Foundation. She has been a featured guest artist with UC Berkeley, Arizona State University, and the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, and a dance lecturer at UC Santa Cruz. Sanchez is currently an artist in residence at Brava! For Women in the Arts. 

 
La Mezcla is a polyrhythmic, San Francisco–based dance and music ensemble rooted in Chicana, Latina, and Indigenous traditions and social justice. Founded in 2015 by Dance/USA fellow Vanessa Sanchez, their work brings together tap dance, son jarocho and Afro-Caribbean rhythms to bring the often-unseen histories and experiences of communities of color to stages, streets, and fields. Their production Pachuquísmo, an all-womxn tap dance and son jarocho performance about pachucas and the Zoot Suit Riots, received the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Production. The show has toured nationally to venues including Dance Place (Washington, DC), Jacob’s Pillow (Becket, MA), and the Lincoln Center (New York, NY), and made its international debut at Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico, in October 2023. Ghostly Labor, La Mezcla’s new work, explores the legacy of labor in the US-Mexico borderlands and the joy of collective resistance, and will tour the U.S. through 2025. The associated film, Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film, has been screened internationally at film festivals, and was named Best Short Documentary at the Los Angeles Dance Camera West Festival. 

Organized by USC Visions and Voices. Co-sponsored by the USC Kaufman School of Dance, La CASA, and KCRW. 

Photo: Domonique Washington