How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds

by Daniel Nagrin

Book Overview

One of the country's most distinguished and critically acclaimed solo dancers and choreographers debunks the myth that dancers must retire from professional life as performers in their early forties. A performing artist since 1940, Daniel Nagrin initiated his own career as a solo performer in 1957 at the age of forty. With great wisdom and wit, this fiercely passionate veteran gives us an unusual and much-needed book that combines theory, personal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688074790
• ISBN13: 9780688074791
• Release Date: July 1988
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Inspiring

I bought this book after seeing Mr. Nagrin in the studio setting choreography in his late 70's. The quality of his advice is best illustrated by his example. If you want both suggestions for diet and conditioning and encouragement to keep moving when the body no longer has the advantages of youth then this is for you. The book inspired me to explore movement in new ways and I am still taking ballet and modern dance classes as I approach 60.

Helpful, Anecdotal

Daniel Nagrin's book was a novelty when it was written almost 20 years ago. Now with so many baby boomers entering their senior years and the boom of recreational exercise, his book can be a life saver, or at least a body saver. There's a lot of great information in this book, even if you aren't a dancer. Dancers have many kinds of injuries that overlap with other athletic activities--a knee, after all, is still a knee whether you use yours to do grande plies or squats or jumping mogels on the ski slopes. Weight management often involves the same tools no matter what your goal, and anyone who has suffered sports injuries has struggled with inconsistent medical advice. Doctors are far more saavy now about sports injuries than they were 20 years ago, but this book will still provide a reality check for many readers. If your knee takes you out of the dance studio (as mine has) and you're determined to get back in there (as I am), this book is well worth the time while you're sitting on the couch icing your knee. I'm finding a lot of helpful advice and a lot of motivation, too. Nagrin does a lot to encourage and motivate you, in spite of the naysayers. If you're over 40 and still want to dance your best, this book can instruct, encourage and educate you on how to reach your goals. It may be a little hard to find, but it's worth it. Written in conversational style and full of anecdotes from Nagrin's long career, How to Dance Forever should be on the bookshelf of every dancer who's determined to keep working in the studio, well into old age.

Astute and practical, witty and wise... a great read!

This book fills a major void in the dance world -- finally, a practical guide to living, fully and long, so that one can dance forever! Daniel Nagrin's very clear practices and philosophy address many issues arising in a long dance career. Advice on how to eat, rest, train, rehearse, and perform and delightful anecdotes from his long and colorful career are are peppered throughout the pages. Most interestingly, Mr. Nagrin addresses the less tangible but essential inner work on the soul/spiritual level that must be present for longevity as well as artistry. In addition, he poses challenging questions for future research among the greater dance community. One hopes that from these seed thoughts and challenges will sprout more interest and activity in the realm of mature movement artists. Thank you, Mr. Nagrin, for your generous sharing of your "heart-mind" in your most-welcome addition to my dance library. (I would have given 5 stars had there been more ph! otos included.)