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| Wade Madsen in the studio, @Gregory Bartning, from "Beauty is Experience:Dancing 50 and Beyond" |
The other day I met a friend for
coffee and we got to talking about being older women in this culture.
“Sometimes I feel invisible,” she said.
“Sometimes I feel invisible,” she said.
I know exactly what she means. As
we talked, I remembered something that struck me last spring, when Wade Madsen
appeared in KT Niehoff’s “Before We Flew Like Birds, We Flew Like Clouds.” At
one point, fairly late in the performance, Niehoff and Madsen sat down for a
chat, and she asked him what it feels like to be an older dancer. I can’t
remember his exact reply, but the gist was: awful. Then he said something that has
stuck with me: a body in motion stays in motion.
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| Christian Swenson makes Human Jazz @Gregory Bartning |
Keep moving, keep writing, keep following your heart.
It's not always easy.
The older I get, the more life
experience I garner, the more I feel that I’m ‘old fashioned,’ or out of step
with the world around me. I know a hell of a lot more about the world now than
I did when I started out as a journalist 35 years ago, but somehow I still feel
like I am an impostor. So I just keep plugging away and take huge inspiration
from older artists, especially dancers, who imbue their work with all of their
own life experience.
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| Tara Stepenberg, @Gregory Bartning |
So I was thrilled to get a copy
of Emmaly Wiederholt and Gregory Bartning’s new book “Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond.” It’s
a collection of short interviews and photographs of a number of older dancers
talking about their career highlights, their limitations and their thoughts on
their futures as dancers.
Five Seattle artists are included
in this book: Madsen, along with Mark Haim, Shirley Jenkins, Christian Swenson
and Tara Stepenberg. The book doesn’t delve deep into the connections between
aging and artistry; instead, those insights grow on you as you go through the
many stories Wiederholt and Bartning include.
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| Mark Haim in the studio, photographed by Gregory Bartning |
Mark Haim cited a song that I
totally relate to, Stephen Sondheim’s “I’m Still Here.” If you’re drawing a
blank, find a version online, preferably performed by the inimitable Elaine
Stritch. It’s an anthem to growing older and wiser, a musical flip of the bird
to a folks who might discount us.
I saw myself in something Shirley
Jenkins told Wiederholt.
“I battle the sense that people
have put me out to pasture, or that I’m old school, or not what’s ‘in,’”
Jenkins said. “That’s something I’m constantly fighting.
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| Shirley Jenkins, @Gregory Bartning |
Oh, me too!
But ultimately, this book is
about the triumph of the creative spirit, and the joy these artists derive from
dancing. It reminds me the take a deep breath whenever pessimism starts to
drown me, that I live the life that passion drives me towards.
Wade Madsen says it better than
me:
“Sometimes I’ve woken up and
thought to myself, ‘Wade, you’ve created the life you wanted!”
Emmaly Wiederholt launches her book
at Cornish College of the Arts’ Main
Gallery this Sunday, September 24th from 5-7 p.m. You can find out more about the book at her website
I just loved your post. I do believe that old age should be appreciated and acknowledged positively. Thank you for sharing such a positive post.
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