Dramatic video clip showing footbinding in ancient China – from “Snow Flower and The Secret Fan”

August 8, 2014August 3, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

“Only through pain will you find beauty,” says Snow Flower’s mother as she makes her daughter walk with her feet bound.

In my research for Bound Feet Blues, I’ve been looking into what it was like for young girls to have their feet bound. I came across the movie Snow Flower and The Secret Fan – see my blog post from earlier this week “Beaches” with Bound Feet – footbinding and female friendship – which is all about footbinding.

Here is a clip showing the sequence where one of the girls has to endure footbinding:

It is painful to watch and is a moving dramatisation of what it must have been like for little girls who had to endure this brutal process.

The one comment I would have, however, is that from my research, footbinding is a process and not just a one-off as the film suggests.

As a girl grow up, her feet keep growing so Continue reading →

“Beaches” with Bound Feet – footbinding and female friendship

August 6, 2014August 11, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In Chinese tradition, where marriages were made for social or business reasons and where women – especially those with tiny bound feet – were seen as trophies, there was a recognition that women would not find much emotional comfort, love or meaningful human connection with their husbands.

So as part of this tradition, girls were given “sworn sisters” who would be their emotional partner – rather like the “blood brothers” relationship that boys would have. These formally sanctioned and socially accepted partnerships were known as “laotongs”.

I learnt about this intriguing custom from the film Snow Flower and The Secret Fan which I discovered over the weekend, based on the novel by Lisa See. How had I not known about this touching tradition before now!

Here is the official movie trailer:

The movie is about two female friendships, one set in modern Shanghai and the other in 19th century China, during the Boxer Rebellion. The same two actresses portray the two pairs of friends. The arc of the story has echoes Continue reading →

Bound Feet Blues secures Arts Council Funding

August 4, 2014July 31, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I am so excited that the Arts Council has granted funding for the development of Bound Feet Blues!

The funding enables us – my director Jessica Higgs and me – to work on the creation of the performance and explore the most meaningful way that the story can be brought to life on stage. Our work in progress will culminate in the showcase performance at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Oct – show details below.

One condition of the funding is that the Arts Council logo or an acknowledgement to the public funding they are giving us must appear wherever Bound Feet Blues is mentioned. For me, it feels a privilege to be able to display their logo alongside this project – their support is a public recognition of my transition as Continue reading →

What gorgeous barefoot sandals!

July 25, 2014July 24, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I had never heard of barefoot sandals before until my pal Vincent posted a photo on Facebook. As I am obsessing about feet and shoes and all things pedial these days due to Bound Feet Blues, I set off into the web universe to find out more.

There are some amazing and gorgeous foot adornments that can be found – here is an example. Isn’t it just gorgeous?

With this current rare heatwave in the UK, this summer might Continue reading →

Why I love this pair of battered biker boots

July 20, 2014July 19, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / 5 Comments

I’ve been blogging a lot about high heels recently and in particular, my efforts to recreate a swaying, high heeled walk for a scene in Bound Feet Blues.

To give you a contrast – and especially to show you who I am now, here is a photo of the kind of footwear that I stride around in these days.

This is the pair of biker boots that I wear most often in my daily life. They are now a bit beaten up and grungy looking. But I love them because they are the most comfortable pair of boots I have at the moment.

I love the way that they make me feel a bit tough, especially with the two strapped buckles on the side. If you know me, you know that I’m really a softy and not much of a hard-ass biker chick at all – but it gives me a kick (ha ha) to stomp around in these boots that make me feel as if I could win any bar brawl…

For me, the shoes or boots that I wear can really affect Continue reading →

The Last Bound Feet Women of China [video]

July 13, 2014August 11, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Photographer Jo Farell is documenting the last women in China with bound feet. This timely and important project tells the stories of these last remaining women who suffered the brutal practice of footbinding through intimate and respectful black and white photos.

This video gives an overview of the project and also outlines some the history and reasons for this ancient Chinese social tradition.

She funded this project via Continue reading →

Running Barefoot on the Beach like a Child

July 11, 2014July 11, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a keen (though very slow!) runner. I usually trot along my neighbourhood pavements or round my local park in my cushioned running shoes. I love the feeling of speed (well, compared to a walking pace anyway) that running gives me and the challenge of the effort that it takes, as well as being outside in the fresh air and among leafy, pretty scenery.

Last month, I was down in Devon and had the chance to run on a number of long, sprawling beaches at low tide. One of my favourite stretches was along Saunton Sands where the sand is firm and fairly smooth. In contrast to city streets or parks there was no hard tarmac and no landmines of dog poo or rusty cans or broken glass. I took the chance to whip off my shoes and set off on my run barefoot.

What a sense of freedom to feel the warm sand underfoot and the cool air around my toes! It was like being a child again, running for the joy of running. Without the line of the pavement or the footpath I was used to in the park, I ran in any direction and in a tangle of routes. And all the while I could feel Continue reading →

Bound Feet Blues strides into London’s West End

June 26, 2014June 25, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I am super excited to report that we are taking Bound Feet Blues to London’s West End for a showcase performance in October!

I will be performing the full 75 mins version – for one night only – as a work-in-progress showcase at the Tristan Bates Theatre on Mon 13 Oct 2014 @8pm. This will present the full story, building on the draft extract that I tried out at Conway Hall in March and will take the piece to its full conclusion.

If you came along Conway Hall, you saw the piece end with me on my knees in defeat, with my heart as Continue reading →

Would you get naked in front of a hundred people? Ten Women did

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In the finale of the theatre piece Ten Women, the women on stage tried an experiment. What would it be like to show our ordinary, un-Photoshopped bodies in all their frailty and glory to the world?

The all female cast asked themselves that and also invited any members of the audience to join them. Some of the performers stripped naked, others left their underwear on and still others remained fully clothed. No-one in the audience joined them apart from the writer/director and producer who were sitting among us.

It was a powerful, uncomfortable and also celebratory end to the work in progress show exploring what being a real woman with a real body means in a society where “the image of a hyper-sexualised, grossly exaggerated, objectified woman’s body is used to sell pretty much anything”.

TEN WOMEN smaller

Written and directed by Bethan Dear and produced by Amy Clamp from true stories drawn from the other women in the ensemble, Ten Women is a thought provoking piece that tells … Continue reading →

Come and see my TEDx style talk inspired by Bound Feet Blues – Breaking Tradition: How to Live Unbound

May 28, 2014May 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I will be giving a TEDx style talk inspired by my research for my solo show Bound Feet Blues at the Inspiring Speakers Gala on Wed 9th July. The talk is called Breaking Tradition: How to Live Unbound and looks at the life lessons that I learnt from exploring the story of my great gandmother who had bound feet.

Yang-May Ooi talking about bound feet – her left hand stands in for a crippled bound foot

If you enjoyed the work in progress performance of Bound Feet Blues on 26 March, my talk will look behind the show at my personal crisis that led me to find out the story of my family heritage. I also talk about the life lessons that I was able to draw from the courage and spirit I saw in my great grandmother who was able to transcend the brutal limitation imposed on her by her cultural tradition.

If you haven’t managed to see the show but would like to get a flavour of what is in store when the full length performance of Bound Feet Blues is showcased later this year, Breaking Tradition will give you a feel for what lies ahead. Someone who saw me do a snippet of the talk said: “I feel as if I’ve just seen a feature film in 4 minutes!”