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Dance News Archive

BYU Dance Faculty Collaborate to Create Documentary on Ageism Within the Dance Community

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As she got older, Pam Musil, BYU’s associate dance department chair, had gradually removed herself from the performative and technical aspects of dance. And though she felt self-conscious about dancing on film, she did it, she said, because “this story needs to be told.” Kate Monson said it is commonplace for dancers to stop getting jobs or just bow out when they hit a certain age. “Dance has expectations similar to athletics in that you hit a prime in your 20s and then you quietly and graciously disappear from the stage in your 30s, or if you’re lucky, your early 40s,” she said. As such, Monson said, most dancers spend the bulk of their careers doing things other than performing.

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Photo courtesy of Kate Monson.