Still Moving

Adds to growing literature of overcoming ageism in dance. Highlights the achievements of remarkable senior professional dancers and through conversations with them provides an inspiring account of human potential and resilience. Has the potential to reach an anti-ageing reader as well as a dance reader. 26 illus. What does it mean to keep dancing against the tide of ageism? Still Moving offers an unprecedented glimpse into the lives of senior professional dancers, artists who continue to perform and create and who defy expectations well beyond the conventional limits of a dancer’s career. Through in-depth conversations with twenty performers ranging from 41 to 109 years old, Sonia York-Pryce reveals stories of resilience, adaptation and unwavering passion for movement. Sonia York-Pryce is a dancer and interdisciplinary artist. She is trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance in the UK and is now based in Australia. ‘Still Moving rightly spotlights the skills and artistry of senior dancers when the stage often dims. This ground-breaking book celebrates the expertise and form that only maturity can bring. A must-read for anyone ready to rethink the curtain call and dismiss dance-by dates.’ Mark Edward, author of Mesearch and the Performing Body ‘Still Moving brilliantly explores the lived experience of dancers throughout their lives with an embodied wisdom. Through astounding interviews, York-Pryce, a dancer herself and an astute writer, addresses ageism and invites the reader to the truth that dance is necessary to the dancer as breath is to the lungs. A truly inspirational book, affirming how dancers work with limitations and the necessary beauty to celebrate dance as a life-long offering. Here on these pages written between skin and bone, dance takes flight as the body shifts and changes. Be ready to be transformed.’ Professor Celeste Snowber The concept of this book is ‘dance and ageing’ and is driven by the possibility that everybody in the Western dance community, in particular young dance students, but also readers beyond the parameters of dance, will profit if the voices of senior professional practitioners are heard. It features dancers from USA, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia, all interviewees are practitioners of stature and prominence who continue to contribute, despite ageism, to the dance industry. They are inspiring role models for younger dancers but also for an ageing demographic in society; it is a celebration of the body and the indomitable urge to create and express. Conversations with twenty senior professional dancers explore how they sustain performing despite the inground ageism that exists through society and is mirrored within the dance world. This cohort of older dancers, aged between 41 and 107, illuminate inspiring life stories that convey their passion to continue performing, while overcoming the prejudices in an artform that champions youth. Dance practitioners remaining active and relevant throughout the life stages is an area of growing interest, particularly in community dance, health and wellbeing. This would inspire all dancers to follow in their footsteps, to believe that diversity and inclusion would widen the boundaries within Western dance culture and eradicate bias. Further interest from an older demographic who enjoy watching dance or dance themselves, who would appreciate their representation in a book that reveals the positive attributes ageing can bring. It also has the potential to reach an anti-ageing reader as well as a dance reader. The book has a broad appeal not just within Western dance culture but also where ageing/ageism is a prominent concern within Western society.

Pages: 245, Hardcover, Intellect (UK)