Beyond the Bamboo Forest

In 1970 Yung Yung arrives in New York City where it is rare to see a young Asian woman outside of Chinatown. Modern Dance icon Martha Graham has recruited Yung Yung while on a visit to Taipei where the brilliant young dancers journey begins. Yung Yung, who could not imagine life beyond the bamboo forest, is suddenly free of the political dictator Chiang Kai-shek and the backstage parents shed supported since early childhood.

In this memoir, we experience the fall and resurrection of a professional dancer/choreographer who, with the help of Martha Graham and an unconventional psychotherapist Shepard Hoodwin, escapes outer and inner tyranny Mark Sackeroff (Temple University).