Mom & Me: The Warrior Heart
This 20 minute film was created during the shelter in place and premiered on June 27, 2020 in association with the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center. It is an ode to spirit of mothers and serves as a salve for our times.
We hope it inspires your Warrior Heart.
Director
Claudine Naganuma
Assistant Director
Ellie Kerwin
Dancers
Ceressa Allen, Yael Berrol, Shosi Black, Rhiannon Cogley, Martha Friedberg, Jhia Jackson, Lucie Jerome, Ellie Kerwin, Erin Landers, Holly Lavender, Kathy Liang, Janey Madamba, Leila Massoudi, Micah Morris, Riss Myung, Claudine Naganuma, Pei Yi Tam Peng, Cathy Wake Quides, Harriette Ray, Shaunnah Ray and Kiddos, Denice Simpson, Annabella Ventresco, and Hamida Yusufzai.
Musical Director
Joel Davel
Photos: Courtesy of the families
Painting of Yuri Kochiyama: Shuji Nishimura
Interviews Conducted by: Claudine Naganuma
Interviews of: Yuri Kochiyama, Kathy Liang, Carissa Myung, Shaunnah Ray, and Hamida Yusufzai
“Navigate” By Indigo Mateo, Arranged by Joel Davel, Performed by Indigo Mateo, Ana Eye, and Joel Davel
“Ha Ha Ha Haaaaaa” By Joel Davel
Video Editor: Marie Santos Fontejon
Riss Myung is an Indonesian Korean young womxn born in Northern California and raised in Southern California. She studies Public Health and Global Poverty and Practice at UC Berkeley. Serving as a Youth Consultant at Banteay Srei, an anti-sex trafficking and anti-sexual assault organization that provides culturally competent resources and programs for at-risk youth, her path crossed with dNaga. Having no prior dance experience, she enjoyed the opportunity to explore and reflect upon her relationship with her mother through modern art. Through the Mom & Me project, Riss has continued her journey in finding healing – especially by learning different mediums to express her intersectional identity, specifically the love and wisdom passed down through generations from womxn in her community.
Pei Yi Tam Peng moved to California when she was 11 years old, following four years of traveling to different countries. She is preparing at the College of Alameda to transfer as a biology or public health major. She is working as a young consultant at Banteay Srei, an anti-sex trafficking and sex-assaulted organization that intends to heal and empower young womxn at risk of trafficking by providing accessible community resources to meet their needs. The goal of dNaga’s project Mom & Me; The Warrior Heart empowers young womxn and their mothers by exploring their relationship while building a sense of connection and support to each other; this goal overlapped with the core of Banteay Srei. With the guidance of Claudine and the inspiration of other dancers, Pei Yi had learned to express her winding relationship with her mother via modern art moves. The winding caused by some disparity between her and her mother in the aspects of age, immigration, language, and overall cultural environment often caused a lot of conflicts between them. She is still in the process of adjusting herself to have the best relationship she could have with her mom.
For a short excerpt celebrating mother-daughter relationships, check out Navigate:
Thank you
The CA$H Grant, A program of Dancers’ Group;
Clorox Foundation;
and The East Bay Fund for Artist, a program of The East Bay Community Foundation
We especially thank our individual donors for making this project a reality.
dNaga is fiscally sponsored by Dancers’ Group and is in residence at Danspace.
