Shut Up and Dance

“Shut Up and Dance” concerns the complex relationship between inherited passion and suffocating expectations. This piece comes from an individual who inherited a pair of ballet shoes and a love of dance from her mother, but she also inherits and internalizes her mother’s criticism. This piece shows a ballerina dancing on a stage formed by her mother’s hand, supported and controlled by the weight of her mother’s gaze. The piece reflects how the daughter inherits her mother’s love for ballet and the intense scrutiny that comes with it. This constant criticism transforms a liberating passion into a source of stress as the daughter internalizes these standards and begins to mirror the self-criticism of the woman who shaped her. This symbolizes the loss of experiences that result from resisting change. In contrast, the background features free butterflies, representing the opportunities for growth and freedom that fear of change prevents one from embracing.