INTERVIEW DANIELLE WOODWARD
I’m turning 50 next year and I feel fine about it. I have always embraced whatever life has thrown at me; it’s the only way to survive. In the past, dancers weren’t meant to have an interesting career after they retired, and I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to diversify. I want to make people aware that just because you’ve studied one profession to the extreme, there is no reason why you can’t use your experience in another role.
Dance, and the perception of it, is changing, and my book, Evolved, is a celebration of creativity; it’s about finding an easy transition from that wonderful art into a more commercial world and using it in a good light. I worked with photographers and artists and realised that it was a way to bring dance to different audiences. A lot of hard work goes into making something look so beautiful, whether it’s a dance performance or beautiful photography, which is why I believe these art forms have survived.