Sabtu, 30 Mei 2020

Ballet dancer turned filmmaker Sophia Bender gives a voice to women with endometriosis - ABC News

Sophia Bender knew from a young age she wanted to be ballerina.

"I started dancing at the age of three at the Barbara Todd Ballet School and I just loved it right from the beginning," she said.

At 16, Ms Bender moved to Sydney to study at prestigious performing arts school McDonald College.

She was later accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

But in her third year of an Advanced Diploma of Dance, things started to unravel.

Former ballet dancer Sophia Bender does the splits on a balustrade in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sophia's dreams of a ballet career were dashed by endometriosis.(Supplied: Sophia Bender)

"Towards the end of my third year at WAAPA, when I was getting a lot of injuries and slowing down a bit, I started to get a lot of really bizarre symptoms," she said.

"I was really bloated, I was really tired all of the time and I was just getting all of these really strange pains."

Ms Bender was diagnosed with endometriosis, a debilitating condition in which tissue that is similar to the lining of the womb grows outside of it, in other parts of the body.

Her mother, Deborah Bender, said the disease was not even on her radar.

Deborah Bender looks at her daughter Sophia Bender
Sophia Bender's mum Deborah says she felt helpless after her daughter's endometriosis diagnosis.(ABC News: Tony King)

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"It was actually a very big shock when the diagnosis came through, and heartbreaking to see the suffering that went on and actually feeling very helpless a lot of the time," she said.

With her dream of becoming a ballerina on hold, the head of dance at WAAPA suggested Ms Bender transition into film making.

"I remember laughing and thinking it was really absurd because I was so tunnel-visioned with ballet my entire life," she said.

But she followed the advice and found a way to combine both passions.

After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, she landed a job as the film content coordinator for the Australian Ballet.

In her spare time, the 27-year-old decided to make a film to raise awareness about the disease that changed her life.

"Really struggling with my own endometriosis at the time after my surgery and coming to terms with it, I thought 'I've got to make a film about this because I've got to raise awareness and I really want to get the word out there'."

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The faces of 12 women involved in the Endo Girl film
Endo Girl tells the very personal stories of women who suffer from endometriosis.(Supplied: Instagram)

Ms Bender's 20-minute film, Endo Girl, tells the stories of 13 women from all different backgrounds struggling with endometriosis.

As well as writing and directing the film, Ms Bender shares her own deeply personal experiences.

The women range in age from 13 to 50 and their stories are brought to life through dance.

"The women's stories are just so empowering and I felt like to do them justice, I wanted to really bring them to light in a way that was really captivating and really memorable," Ms Bender said.

"With my passion for dance and dance film I decided there had to be dance in it."

Actor and composer Tomas Parrish said the film was unique.

"The dance is used as a vehicle to assist in storytelling in the same way that the music is … so I have never seen anything like it," he said.

Premiere on hold due to COVID-19

Former ballet dancer Sophie Bender holds a camera
Ms Bender is using her skills as a film content coordinator to raise awareness of endometriosis.(ABC News)

The film, which Ms Bender describes as a "docu-dance drama", was due to be released in March but with film festivals cancelled due to COVID-19, everything is on hold.

"Most of the film festivals all around the world have really been affected by COVID19 and so it's been really hard," she said.

Seventy-five people were involved in the making of Endo Girl, which cost about $50,000 and was almost entirely self funded.

Ms Bender is keen to release the film and start raising awareness.

"I'm ready to show it to the world and I'm hoping that I'm able find some kind of platform where I can show the film to a wider audience," she said.

"The story is just so important and I really want to get it out there."

Cameraman films dancers in a forest for a short film
Tomas Parrish believes the film will have a huge impact.(Supplied: Pippa Samaya)

Tomas Parrish said the delay was incredibly frustrating.

"It's just put a halt on the entire film, some film festivals are now going online which is a great hope but there are no guarantees."

Mr Parrish believes it will have a huge impact.

It is estimated one in 10 women are affected by endometriosis.

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2020-05-30 23:17:59Z
CAIiEPd6CLlXlk6tll59mxHYF9UqFggEKg4IACoGCAow3vI9MPeaCDDc2g4

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