Multi-disciplinary artist Paige Hernandez is a true multi-hyphenate as a performer, director, choreographer and playwright.
She’s also Michigan State University's Womxn of Color Initiatives artist-in-residence for this year. The annual campus program organizes events for women and non-binary people of color in the greater Lansing area.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Hernandez about her work and how she brings her identity into performances.
Interview Highlights
On her performance style
I live at the center of an intersection, I like to say, which means you'll see a variety of things when you see me perform. It may look like poetry or dance or monologue or theater. But almost always, it's based and grounded in hip-hop. So, it really is a multi-sensory approach to performance, and I do it in a way to stay fresh and relevant, but also because it's the best way to express myself.
On bringing her identity to her work
One journey that I've been on my entire life, which is hopefully not unfamiliar to many, is the journey of identity and just what it means to have different ways to identify but also to proclaim it and to own it and to embrace it. The most obvious intersection that I'd like to talk about is my cultural identity which is that I am Black, Cuban and Chinese. So, I like to think about works that, again, look at those different kinds of cultural backgrounds, what's important or significant to them at that moment, but then also how it informs me.
On why hip-hop is so important to her
I always come back to hip-hop because, ultimately, it's where I belong. So, at times, when I didn't feel Black enough or Latina enough, or Asian enough, hip-hop, I was always enough from the jump. And then I just grew up in a hip-hop household. I had young parents. It was during the 80s. It's just a place where, again, I've always mattered, and I've always belonged. And you know, I do a lot of international travel with my shows, and no matter where I go in the world, there's always a hip-hop community. So, even if I don't find something culturally that I can connect to, hip-hop is always there.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Multi-disciplinary artist Paige Hernandez is a true multi-hyphenate as a performer, director, choreographer and playwright.
She’s also Michigan State University's Womxn of Color Initiatives artist-in-residence this year. The annual campus program organizes events for women and non-binary people of color in the greater Lansing area.
She joins me now to talk about her work and how she brings her identity into performances. Thank you for being here
Paige Hernandez: Yes, of course. Thank you for having me, Sophia.
Saliby: Most of your work involves being on stage with elements of dance and spoken word. So, for our listeners that may be unfamiliar with you, can you talk a little bit more about your performance style?
I live at the center of an intersection, I like to say, which means you'll see a variety of things when you see me perform. It may look like poetry or dance or monologue or theater. But almost always, it's based and grounded in hip-hop.
Hernandez: Sure. I live at the center of an intersection, I like to say, which means you'll see a variety of things when you see me perform. It may look like poetry or dance or monologue or theater. But almost always, it's based and grounded in hip-hop.
So, it really is a multi-sensory approach to performance, and I do it in a way to stay fresh and relevant, but also because it's the best way to express myself. But it's been kind of my claim to fame, and I've been very fortunate.
Saliby: Is this something you maybe learned from something else? Or did you kind of develop this style on your own? Because I was watching videos, and it's quite unique kind of everything that you bring together into performance.
Hernandez: Yeah, I think I just sought out to create things that I hadn't seen before. I was always, as an audience member, looking for that thing that could truly represent me, which looked like a hodgepodge, a buffet, a mix of different things.
So, I think when I set out to create, I usually, you know, start with what it is that I want to say, but then think about what's the best way to convey it. And it usually looks like a mix of things.
Saliby: Can you talk about how you use your background or identity to tell stories?
One journey that I've been on my entire life, which is hopefully not unfamiliar to many, is the journey of identity and just what it means to have different ways to identify but also to proclaim it and to own it and to embrace it.
Hernandez: Sure. One journey that I've been on my entire life, which is hopefully not unfamiliar to many, is the journey of identity and just what it means to have different ways to identify but also to proclaim it and to own it and to embrace it. The most obvious intersection that I'd like to talk about is my cultural identity which is that I am Black, Cuban and Chinese.
So, I like to think about works that, again, look at those different kinds of cultural backgrounds, what's important or significant to them at that moment, but then also how it informs me. Am I good enough? Am I enough of any one thing? Does that make me unique and how? But also just wanting to belong and wanting to be accepted, and then ultimately understanding that it's really in my own self acceptance where it lies.
Saliby: I think about storytellers who tell stories about themselves, and a lot of that work is personal and a little bit vulnerable. So, do you ever hold back and keep some parts of your life off stage?
Hernandez: Oh, yeah, and absolutely. This type of work is extremely brave, and it does require a lot of vulnerability. But then it's so rewarding when someone comes up to you and says that they can relate or you're a part of their healing journey or that they saw something represented in my show that they hadn't seen before. So the payoff there, you know, really is kind of triple-folded sometimes because it's so fulfilling.
Saliby: Can you talk about why you always come back to hip-hop as kind of a centerpiece of your performances?
I always come back to hip-hop because, ultimately, it's where I belong. So, at times, when I didn't feel Black enough or Latina enough, or Asian enough, hip-hop, I was always enough from the jump.
Hernandez: Yeah, I always come back to hip-hop because, ultimately, it's where I belong. So, at times, when I didn't feel Black enough or Latina enough, or Asian enough, hip-hop, I was always enough from the jump. And then I just grew up in a hip-hop household. I had young parents. It was during the 80s.
It's just a place where, again, I've always mattered, and I've always belonged. And you know, I do a lot of international travel with my shows, and no matter where I go in the world, there's always a hip-hop community. So, even if I don't find something culturally that I can connect to, hip-hop is always there.
Saliby: And you've created works for both young children as well as adults, people of various ages, so can you talk about how you think about your audience when you create these performance pieces?
Hernandez: Yeah, everything that I create really goes back to the mission statement of my company B-FLY Entertainment which looks at multicultural and multigenerational works of hip-hop. So, it's really important to me that a grandmother can come to my show with her grandchild but also be with her sister and her daughter.
Everyone can enjoy the same show. There's going to be references for both. There's a lot of intentionality involved. And again, it's got that just infectiousness that hip-hop brings. It just keeps it kind of uplifted.
Saliby: Most of us probably aren't maybe brave enough or out there enough to put our own stories on stage, but can you maybe share some advice for people about how to kind of bring that vulnerability into their regular lives?
The minute you meet someone's need, it becomes authentic. And for me, that's the prime reason to share your story.
Hernandez: Yeah, I think it comes from just the want and the need to share, but also there is such a void for authenticity. I think so often now we're looking for that thing that just feels real and not like it's put on.
And so, I just encourage anyone to just share their story, even if it's about cooking, or that Irish jig that you did just last, you know, weekend or during St. Patrick's Day. There's something in there where someone can connect to it, and then immediately it becomes authentic.
The minute you meet someone's need, it becomes authentic. And for me, that's the prime reason to share your story.
Saliby: Paige Hernandez is MSU's Womxn of Color Initiatives artist-in-residence this year. Thank you for joining me.
Hernandez: Yes, thank you. Thanks for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
