This woman is one of the most beautiful examples of positive ageing and living gracefully, incorporating the arts into life and good health, and I am thrilled to have gotten to know her through my work with the incredible organisation that is Arts Health Institute.
Eileen Kramer was a member of the Bodenwieser Dance Company, the first modern dance company in Australia. Eileen is a choreographer, dancer, costume maker, artist and writer. At 100 years of age she is most likely the longest living working choreographer and dancer in Australia, if not the world. YES!
Eileen came back to Australia at the age of 99 because she "missed the Kookaburras". She had been living in the USA for last 40 years and now she is back living in Australia and creating an all new production titled ‘The Early Ones’ – an original work she has created and choreographed, her first Australian production.
In February Eileen was invited to be an artist in residence at Bundanon in their Arts in Residence program. Over one week Eileen worked with some of Australia's most talented dancers with rehearsal director, Julia Cotton and composer Nicolas Lyon who is writing the original music, to create this work. Here is a pic of this in action:
While at Bundanon, a series of five videos documenting the experience (see below for one) .
Eileen lives in a hostel for people at risk of homelessness. She lives quite an independent life on the pension but rather than living day to day, it would be extraordinary if the love and care you feel for Eileen can be translated into financial support to ensure that she has what she needs to keep creating as long as she can. The Arts Health Institute will help ensure that this is made possible with the additional funds made over and above this request to stage her show. Eileen would love to live in a place that has a living room where she has enough space and good natural light to paint, write, make costumes and have the privacy to do so. Eileen says that that "dancers are the poor relations in the arts but you don't really feel poor as you are dealing with riches of the mind and spirit."
The Arts Health Institute is a registered Health Promotion Charity governed by a board of directors. If you wish to make a donation and receive a tax deduction you can do so online through our donation page on our website: www.artshealthinstitute.org.au
For more videos of Eileen, and Arts Health Institute, go here.
And here is her segment on 'The Project' this week.
And her segment on ABC News is right here.
And remember, here is the Pozible crowdfunding site link: http://www.pozible.com/project/190787
And you can follow Arts Health Institute on Facebook here.
And you can follow Inspiring Eileen on Facebook here.
Eileen Kramer was a member of the Bodenwieser Dance Company, the first modern dance company in Australia. Eileen is a choreographer, dancer, costume maker, artist and writer. At 100 years of age she is most likely the longest living working choreographer and dancer in Australia, if not the world. YES!
Eileen came back to Australia at the age of 99 because she "missed the Kookaburras". She had been living in the USA for last 40 years and now she is back living in Australia and creating an all new production titled ‘The Early Ones’ – an original work she has created and choreographed, her first Australian production.
In February Eileen was invited to be an artist in residence at Bundanon in their Arts in Residence program. Over one week Eileen worked with some of Australia's most talented dancers with rehearsal director, Julia Cotton and composer Nicolas Lyon who is writing the original music, to create this work. Here is a pic of this in action:
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| Photo: Simon Cunich |
Arts
Health Institute has supported the initial set up of the work while at Bundanon,
and now a campaign around profiling Eileen has evolved and subsequently a call
out to help fund this dream, which will see the work that has been developed performed
on stage.
Beyond ticket sales, any extra funds covering the cost for her
production will support Eileen to improve her quality of life. Eileen lives
quite an independent life, but rather than living day to day, it would be
extraordinary if the love and care felt for Eileen (see this post here, from ABC News, who ran a story on Eileen this week - the love on social media is incredible) can be translated into
financial support to ensure she has what she needs to keep creating as long as
she can.
Here's the thing, you guys. This wonderful human being needs funds to have this dream come true - it's her dream, but it's also ours. And by ours, I mean the dance community, the arts community, the health community, the elderly community, the community who values archiving the work of such an inspiring human being.
This is the Pozible link is where you can contribute immediately: http://www.pozible.com/project/190787
And here is how the funds will be used, taken from the Pozible site:
We need your help to support the modest fees for the nine dancers, their costumes, the musicians and the music composition, the theatre hire and the technical and support crew.
The Arts Health Institute has supported the initial set up of the work while at Bundanon which included personal support for Eileen, travel to and from Bundanon for all the cast, and living away from home expenses and dancers' fees, but we can't sustain the other costs. So we need your help to see the work that has been developed can now be performed on stage. Ticket sales will help defray some of the costs but it is not enough on its own. Any extra funds after covering the cost for her production will support Eileen to improve her quality of life.
Eileen lives in a hostel for people at risk of homelessness. She lives quite an independent life on the pension but rather than living day to day, it would be extraordinary if the love and care you feel for Eileen can be translated into financial support to ensure that she has what she needs to keep creating as long as she can. The Arts Health Institute will help ensure that this is made possible with the additional funds made over and above this request to stage her show. Eileen would love to live in a place that has a living room where she has enough space and good natural light to paint, write, make costumes and have the privacy to do so. Eileen says that that "dancers are the poor relations in the arts but you don't really feel poor as you are dealing with riches of the mind and spirit."
The Arts Health Institute is a registered Health Promotion Charity governed by a board of directors. If you wish to make a donation and receive a tax deduction you can do so online through our donation page on our website: www.artshealthinstitute.org.au
You can contact Maggie Haertsch, CEO of Arts Health Institute, to discuss a larger donation, too.
We'd love you to share this post with everyone you know!
'The Early Ones' is actually a rare opportunity to see Eileen's work and
the influence of the legendary Gertrud Bodenwieser. And so, not only is this an
important work of historical significance, but supporting it will help realise
Eileen's dream.
Sydney-born Eileen is truly a
national treasure. She studied at the Conservatorium of Music, where she
immersed herself in piano, the theory of music, and singing, with visions of
becoming an opera singer. Soon after introduced to the Vienna-borne
Bodenwieser Modern Dance Company, Eileen immediately began to study dance under
the close guidance of Madame Gertrude Bodenwieser
herself, and the Viennese dancers, touring with Bodenwieser for a decade.
The significance of Gertrude Bodenweiser on the
Australian dance world cannot be underestimated: in introducing her style of
modern dance it spawned the beginnings of Australia’s contemporary dance scene,
changing the Australian dance landscape.
And so, the venue is booked: The Independent Theatre, North Sydney for the performance. We have three sessions: 8pm Friday 13th March, 2pm and 8pm Saturday 14th March.
Help make it all happen!
Here is some video of the wonderful Eileen:
For more videos of Eileen, and Arts Health Institute, go here.
And here is her segment on 'The Project' this week.
And her segment on ABC News is right here.
And remember, here is the Pozible crowdfunding site link: http://www.pozible.com/project/190787
And you can follow Arts Health Institute on Facebook here.
And you can follow Inspiring Eileen on Facebook here.
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