“Underscoring their dance is the mesmerizing soundscape of designer D’Lo. His layered sounds of breath, water, birds, rattling and the didgeridoo suggest a profusion of nature’s elements rising in concert to welcome the spirits.”
On April 2, D’Lo joined Bao Phi and Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai at the University of Southern California for a workshop and performance titled “State of the Word: Asian American Spoken-Word Artists.” Performing a combination of stand-up, theater, and spoken word, D’Lo took a relaxed and comical tone as he entertained the audience with stories about his experience growing up Sri Lankan in the US, the difficulties of meeting women on MySpace, and the complications with being addressed as male or female when one is transgender.
“D’Lo bravely dives into personal conflictions, humorously (and convincingly) dons female drag to play several characters, and even gives us a slide-show documentation of a her/his childhood evolution from short-haired tomboy to a long-haired feminization under Southern Californian peer pressure to the bouncing, boyish, hip hop-styled persona that first greets us.”
“Rarely will you find an artist with such polymorphous skill at storytelling and performance, one who understands the gentle, quiet rhythms of masterfully drawing a moment out and bringing it back in without being overly self-indulgent.”