Ma Valse

I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember. However, the toxicity of the industry, the negative effects on self-image, and the seriousness of it all made me quit dance school at the age of sixteen. After not dancing for three years, I decided to detach myself from this intangible thing that was holding me back and break free from the hardships that I had faced when it came to dancing. Accompanied by my favorite piano piece, La Valse d’Amélie by Yann Tiersen, I improvised a choreography — as it is a natural reaction that I developed growing up. As I gave my body the permission to move, I captured some stills of the choreography I came up with and proceeded to draw these figures abstractly, as I wanted them to resonate with this feeling of nostalgia and passions that once were. In an animation, I attempted to convey the feelings that arise when I think about dancing, music and this part of my identity.