Enter the groundbreaking world of queer dance in this gorgeous collection of stories and photographs.Two women hold each other tight as they dance the two-step. A fierce-eyed man in a long red dress performs flamenco. A dancer improvises in a blooming garden, blending diverse influences into a style all their own. This book showcases twelve individual artists and dance companies who are reclaiming traditional genres and building inclusive dance communities. Whether professionals or amateurs, ballerinas or experimental performers, pole dancers or line dancers, these artists embody the queer experience in unique ways. Photographer Yael Malka invites us into an intimate, visceral experience of rehearsals and performances, and writer Coco Romack offers wide-ranging reflections on the creative process drawn from in-depth interviews with the dancers. This beautiful book documents the rise of a new generation of artists and will inspire dance lovers, LGBTQIA+ creators, and anyone who delights in the power of the human body in motion.
INSPIRING STORIES: The stories in this book represent a distinctive slice of the LGBTQIA+ experience. For dancers, whose art form is inseparable from their bodies, gender expression entwines with creative expression in challenging and liberating ways. The artists featured here generously explore their journeys in the interviews, while the photographs show the joy to be found in the queer dance community.
BEAUTIFUL PRIDE GIFT: This collection is the perfect gift for anyone interested in the intersections of art, identity, and activism. With a deluxe art-book treatment and stunning photographs, the book can be proudly displayed on your coffee table or presented to the creative activist in your life.
INCLUSIVE AND INTERSECTIONAL: This collection highlights a truly diverse array of experiences. The stories delve into the experiences of dancing in a wheelchair, navigating the intersections of gender and race, engaging with cultural inheritance on one's own terms, and even striving to make non-activist art when simply existing as a queer person can be a political action. The various dance styles and body types featured emphasize this book's welcoming, inclusive tone. Whether you love to dance or watch from the audience, identify as LGBTQIA+ or as an ally, this book is for you.
Perfect for:
- Dancers and dance enthusiasts
- People interested in contemporary dance styles and dance companies
- Fans of portrait and performance photography
- LGBTQIA+ artists, activists, and allies
- Readers seeking inspiring art and stories
- Fans of portrait anthologies and storytelling projects like Humans of New York
- Fans of LGBTQIA+ photobooks like Loving: a Photographic History of Men In Love 1850s–1950s, We Are Everywhere, and Queer Love In Color
Industry Reviews
"Leaps off the page with thrilling movement, human emotion, and artistic physicality. These photographs and accompanying profiles are stunning." --Bay Area Reporter
"Yael Malka's photographs are works of art in their own right. The evocative images are complemented by Coco Romack's sensitive descriptions of the movement styles and the innovative creators who bring their true selves to their art form and contribute to its evolution." --Library Journal
"A revealing peek into a lively and innovative queer dance scene. It's an expressive ode to the art form's breadth, depth, and diversity." --Publishers Weekly
