Yet Another Holiday Idea: Seven Statements of Survival

Dance and Movement Press recently published Seven Statements of Survival: Conversations with Dance Professionals, edited and with an introduction by Renata Celichowska. The hardcover is very reasonable at $24.95, and the paperback is a great deal at $12.95. The book consists of seven interviews with dance professionals, including dance writer Deborah Jowitt, dancers/choreographers Carolyn Carlson and Garth Fagan, dance administrator Andrea Snyder, dance anthropologist JoAnn Keali'inohomoku, dance educator Bill Evans, and dance librarian Madeleine Nichols.

(Personal aside: A former dance librarian myself, I'm delighted to learn that the book features a dance librarian. I remember my first meeting with my advisor in library school: I said I wanted to be a dance librarian, and she looked at me like I was delusional. Once I became a dance librarian, I always wanted to go back and say, "I told you so!")

Below is some praise for Seven Statements of Survival:

"This is a fascinating collection of life lessons that will inspire anyone contemplating a career in dance. The passion and wisdom of these seven outstanding individuals exert a strong cumulative effect on the reader."

-- Norton Owen
Director of Preservation, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

"Seven Statements of Survival is unique and inspiring in its honesty and real-life specificity. It spans the large universe of dance and pinpoints the many unforeseen places where passion and practicality overlap. I recommend it to anyone contemplating a future in dance or those already immersed in the field."

-- Sharon Gersten Luckman
Executive Director, Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation

"Seven Statements of Survival successfully challenges the stereotype of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ path to career success in dance. In this outstanding book, seven very different but equally legendary professionals share with us the ways in which they created and continue to shape a dance life worth living. This book will inspire students, professionals and those in the audience alike."

-- Anne L. Wennerstrand, MS, DTR, LCSW
Author of Advice for Grown Up Dancers

Seven Statements of Survival (and all other Dance and Movement Press books) can be bought at http://www.rosenpublishing.com/dmpress.cfm. As mentioned a few days ago, Dance and Movement Press's mother company, Rosen Publishing, will donate to the Dance Notation Bureau 10% of the price of all purchases made through the above link. (This offer extends into 2008.)