PERFORMING PARENTHOOD 2017 OFFICIAL SELECTION:
Yvonne Montoya (USA, Arizona)
Caroline’s Story: Le beau plus jour de ma vie (2012)
Filmed Dance Performance
ARTIST STATEMENT:
“This dance piece was inspired by my struggles with post-partum depression after the birth of my son and my desire to share my stories with the hope that presenting these topics in the public sphere will not only shed some light on the intimate experiences and stresses of motherhood, such as high levels of expectations society places on mothers, but also lessen social stigmas associated with postpartum depression in particular. My goal is to begin an ongoing dialogue about the needs of mothers, parents, caregivers, and working artist mothers.
Motherhood is a core part of my identity. As such, my perspective as a parent informs my artistic vision and practice both directly and indirectly. Since 2012, I have created three pieces of choreography that specifically focus on motherhood and/or parenting. I choose to include pieces about motherhood as an important part of my larger body of work/wider artistic practice because I believe there needs to be more art created by those of us who give and nurture life as parenting can provide unique artistic perspectives and worldviews.”
Yvonne Montoya is a choreographer, dancer and dance consultant. In addition to holding a Master of Science in Mexican American Studies and a BA in Arts, she obtained degrees in Modern and Jazz Dance at the University of Arizona School of Dance. She is the Director of Safos Dance Theatre, Tucson, Arizona.