How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds [Paperback]

Daniel Nagrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 1988

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 philosophy, experience, and knowledge about dancers, dancing, teachers, mentors, and technique with practical information that ranges from nutrition, healers and treatments, sex, meditation, kneepads, and toe grips to the special problems and needs of dancers over fifty.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For those who understand that a dancer's career is short, Nagrina leading modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher for more than 40 yearsis here to say that that need not be the case. The book includes chapters on diet, doctors, meditation, and tricks of the trade. But although the subject matter is of interest, the book has serious failings: Nagrin's writing style is uneven and irritating, and at times overly flamboyant and didactic; and most of his observations are so personal that they seem inapplicable to others. Concluding this work, he writes: "Not for one moment am I certain of a single statement or thought." Recommended only for dance collections. Joan Stahl, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Daniel Nagrin has been dubbed "the great loner of American dance" by Dance Magazine. His career as a master dancer/choreographer and teacher spans over four decades -- from Broadway, where he was once voted Best Male Dancer, to films to being a solo concert artist, a lecturer, and an artist-in-residence on the university touring circuit. Mr. Nagrin studied with a variety of modern dance teachers, including Helen Tamiris, Hanya Holm, Martha Graham, and Anna Sokolow. He is currently Professor of Dance at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1st Quill Edition edition (July 19, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688074790
• ISBN-13: 978-0688074791
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Astute and practical, witty and wise... a great read!, July 21, 1998

By 

Valerie Baadh ([e-mail]) (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds (Paperback)

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.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, Anecdotal, September 4, 2006

By 

Cedric's Mom (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grandmas can dance forever, too!, February 17, 2010

By 

Vicky Clark "Grandma Vicky" (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds (Paperback)

I love this book because it made me realize there was just no good reason for me not to be dancing. I had been a ballet dancer in my youth. But once married, and children, and financial stresses set in, it was soon set aside. At 52 I believed I was just simply past dancing. That all changed when, determend to enjoy exercise instead of loath it, I signed up for an adult ballet class. I let the teacher know up front that I was old and fat, but I needed to move, and I would need to progress at my own pace. 1 year later, I have regained far more than I ever thought I could. I got on a good diet and lost 23 pounds, carefuly took my time rebuilding muscles in my ankles and feet and legs before pushing myself on. I now realize that I can dance everyday, rather it is at home in my kitchen, or in a class where I can push myself a little at a time. I have 5 children, 3 step children, 9 grandchildren with 2 more on the way. I plan to start teaching again soon, I will go by the name Grandma Vicky, and hope to have many grandmas join my classes. May we all dance forever!