ABOUT

With my physical landscape radically changed and my emotional being challenged, I began to think of how I might heal. Listening to many powerful personal narratives from many women, I heard similar metaphors and feelings but never heard the same story twice. Breast cancer has given us power in numbers, so to speak; it is finally an era where women can tell their stories and authenticate their experiences. This was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to “speak” through dancing and share both my verbal and physical stories with others.

For me to make such a sacrifice, the removal of my body parts in hope of eliminating breast cancer, made me realize that the most natural way for me to recreate balance was to continue my life as a dancer. Furthermore, my choice to not have reconstructive surgery because of the way I need to move as a dancer means that the stereotypical image of the dancing body changes. This performance, the Passion Flower Project, was created to bring wholeness back into life.

“For me, the Passion Flower Project is so important to understanding and coping with the physical and psychosocial effects of breast cancer. Through monologues, dances and a short film, this performance is about the journey of healing emotionally. Cancer never gives us an option, but the Passion Flower Project gives us an alternative way of feeling and looking. Every time I perform this piece, I heal. Dancing has always connected me to the here and now. That is another important element of Passion Flower Project, the connection of being completely here now. That is why I want to share it with as many people as we can!"

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