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UN(forgiving) Pasts

By Tayah Owens

This work is a dance film based on themes of understanding past childhood experiences in order to practice the act of forgiveness. These themes are important to my thesis because of the struggle I have experienced with building a relationship with my mother due to past events. At the beginning of my process, I listened to a lot of R&B music, read books on forgiveness, improvised in my room and journaled to release my feelings. Different artists that have inspired me while creating are Frank Ocean, Samoht, Beyonce, Giveon and Snoh Aalegra. While moving and creating to these artists’ music, I felt free and connected with my body in the world as it allowed me to be comfortable with who I am. These songs have really helped me to find myself and get through hard times. My goal for this project is to be able to share my story as a way to cope and move on from my past experiences while demonstrating different ways of forgiveness, so that others with similar situations have tools to let go of grudges and past indiscretions. With this public presentation, I hope to engage with others in meaningful dialogue about the different acts of forgiveness.

This work is dedicated to my mother

To my mother:

This is my oath to you that my arms are always open and I'm willing to put the past aside in order to grow together and build the strongest bond possible. I am here for you as you are for me, we are in this together. To a new beginning.<3

I want to thank my parents for always supporting me, my siblings for being there for me no matter what, my family for always believing in me and my mentors for the continuous guidance. Thank you to my beautiful cast for the dedication and for helping to bring my vision to life. Thank you to Meredith and my professors for your creative brilliance. And thank you Uarts School of Dance for building this home and allowing me to share my work.

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