Mama Dancers follows a diverse group of six professional dancers as they navigate the rhythms of motherhood and their demanding careers, neogitiating with what it means to care for their children while continuing to make space for their own bodies, ambitions, and creative lives.

Their stories also reveal how deeply our understanding of motherhood is shaped by who we are and where we come from. Culture, race, family history, and personal experience inform not only the choices these women make as mothers but also what they hope to carry forward—and what they hope to pass on to their children. Together, their stories remind us that there is no single way to be a mother.

Mama Dancers is about more than dance or motherhood. It asks each one of us to ponder: As we take on new roles and responsibilities, how do we continue to make room for who we are? How do we care deeply for others without losing touch with our own desires, our creativity, and the person we are still becoming?

Directors’ Statement
As dancers and mothers ourselves, we found co-directing this film extremely meaningful and enlightening. Both of us deeply relate to these mothers’ experiences and aim to tell a story that paints an honest and intimate group portrait of their lives without either dramatizing or romanticizing motherhood. We hope this film can spark dialogue about necessary changes that would provide more support, inclusivity, and accommodation for artists who are or who desire to become mothers in the performing arts industry.

DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon (Mar 8, 2025)
World Premiere

University of Arizona, School of Dance (Apr 5, 2025)

Beijing Dance Festival (July, 2025)
Outsanding Documentary Film Award

Manifest Dance-Film Festival, India (August 1-3, 2025)
Asian Premiere & Outstanding Documentary Award

Silicon Beach Film Festival (Sep 9, 2025)
West Coast Premiere

Rubenstein Film Theater, Duke University (Sep 18, 2025)

MUST International Youth Film Festival & Golden Rooster Film Exhibition, Macao (Nov 13, 2025)
Best Editing Award

33rd University Film Festival (Zejiang University), Zejiang, China (2026)

Dance on Camera Festival, Symphony Space, NYC (Feb 8, 2026)

Restive Movement Festival, University of California, Irvine (May 3, 2026)

10th Jia Village Short Film Festival, Shanxi, China (2026)

China Broadcast Association Cross-Strait Youth Online Film Festival (2026)
 Best Short Documentary Award

AMUR Arts Festival, Inner Mongolia (2026)

FEATURING
Xin Ying & Frances Xin-Livinghouse
Lauren Cox & Josiah Orion Dent
DaEun Jung & Devin Young
Darrian O'Reilly & Owen Smith
Surong Na & Andrew Xue
Stacie Webster & Jordan Mills Webster

Directors: Jingqiu Guan & Yang Tao
Producer: Selena Leoni
Cinematographer: J.J. Guan
Editors: J.J. Guan & Yang Tao
Music: Karam Salem
Sound Design: Brian Ortiz
Coloring: Teodora Totoiu