The Aeonian Body: The Stigma of Age in Dance

Alissa Kouzmenkov

Title	The Aeonian Body: The Stigma of Age in Dance
Subtitle	Diplom BA Contemporary Dance
Author	Alissa Kouzmenkov
Date	Jun 24
Description	BIOGRAPHY I started ballet lessons at the ripe age of 2, although I am not sure that you can really call that dancing. My Russian family expected me to grow up and evolve into a Vaganova prima ballerina however that is far from the reality. I was slowly introduced to other styles of dance, like jazz, character dance and contemporary dance, of course. However, it wasn't until I started at the ZHdK, in September of 2021, that I really began developing and training in floorwork and contemporary dance styles. Since July of 2023, I am a member of dantzaz, a junior company in Donostia, Spain. I have had the joy of working with choreographers like Alexander Stavropoulos, LED Silhouette, Giovanni Insaudo and Paolo Mohovich. I don't know what my future in the world of dance looks like currently, but I am eager to discover more about myself as an artist along the way. DIPLOMAPROJECT In my film project, I aim to explore the relationship between an ageing body and dance. Why is there a negative pressure surrounding older dancers? Why are our bodies defined as older or younger in ways that differ from other social contexts? I have interviewed 3 dancers, all in their 40’s but who continue to dance, teach and create. I wanted to understand their point of view as an older dancer and to question their own relationships with their bodies, and how this has changed throughout their careers. I have also interviewed a younger dancer, in her 20’s, to get her own opinion from the opposite side of the spectrum. In this film, the message that I hope the audience will receive is that, in this day and age, you can continue to dance without restraints for as long as you feel you can and should, and that this stigma surrounding the topic of ageing dancers should be broken.
Institutional affiliation	Bachelor Contemporary Dance (DDK_FTA_BCD.alle)
Study path	Bachelor
Genre / discipline	Theater