Grand Performances’ rich, decades-long partnership with the City of LA’s Artist Fellows program continues to inspire, thanks to this past Friday’s performances by Chris Wabich (experimental drums), Gina Loring (poetry), Sehba Sarwar (documentary and spoken word), Jay Carlon (choreography), and Dorian Wood (vocalist & piano). These were five very different types of artists, but a unified theme began to emerge over the course of the evening.

Many of these works centered around the concept of identity, and how malleable that can be. From musical explorations around non-binary sexual identity, to spoken word pieces about feminism and a Middle East conflict that is hitting close to home, to the struggles of being a refugee and an immigrant - these works sought to build cultural bridges that link us to our shared humanity while dismantling barriers and preconceptions.

Even Jay’s balletic rope descent down our amphitheater stairs was evocative of inner struggle and the act of birth and being tethered by an umbilical cord. It was raw, powerful and thought provoking. We cannot wait for what next year’s COLA Artist Fellows brings.