Choreographer/Dancer/Filmmaker: Carmen Yih
Title of work: 一 层一层/Layer by Layer
I am a product of the millions of coincidences, decisions and sacrifices my predecessors have made. 一 层一层/Layer by Layer is a filmic homage to the forgone artistic dreams of my maternal lineage. Growing up, my mother and grandmother would often reminisce about the artistic ambitions they had in their youth – teaching me my first dance steps and showing me their old film footage from their performances. I struggled to understand why they abandoned their artistic careers so early on, letting me only live vicariously in these distant alternate lives. As I grew older, I became soberly aware of all the sacrificed dreams of my predecessors. Each choice – to sacrifice, to abandon, to forgo, has enabled me to reach this point. As I pursue my artistic ambitions, I experience these echoes of forgone dreams layered upon me.
