Exponential Festival: Braiding Water by Xiaoyue Zhang

Braiding Water is a tender dialogue with grief, an imagined mourning ritual that has been lost or forcibly erased for losses that could not be named.

“Drawing loosely on historical tragedies in China from the 1950s to the present, I trace the experiences of loss and silence across four generations in my family through this solo performance. Honoring the family tradition – Traditional Chinese Massage therapy practices, I delve into the somatic relics of grief, seeking to understand the rituals and physical actions that accompany emotional processing.”

Braiding Water examines the unreliability of memory and the interplay between individual and historical narratives, all while attempting to digitize the otherworldly presence of those we’ve lost.

“This project for me is a perpetual practice that connects me to my family – as a daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. History and trauma may have stripped away many storytelling forms and traditions through which we could remember, but we always have our bodies to return to. The pain and tension that grow beneath our skin might be an invitation for us to look inward to connect with our lineage.”

Special thanks to LA Performance Practice and Theater MITU for supporting the development of this piece.

Performance Dates & Times
Friday January 17th at 7:30pm
Saturday January 18th at 3pm
Saturday January 18th at 7:30pm