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Eileen Kramer is a national treasure — she learnt the twist from Louis Armstrong in Paris, and moved back to Australia at 99 because she dreamed of hearing kookaburras again — and she is still dancing.
Key points:
- The Arts Health Institute dubbed Eileen Kramer a national treasure
- She been refining dancing while sitting down due to problems with dizziness
- She plays a 17-year-old princess in her latest show
Born in Sydney in 1914, Kramer was an original member of Australia's first modern dance company, the influential Bodenwieser Ballet, and has lived and danced everywhere from India to Paris, London and New York.
But she said the best years of her life had been since she turned 100.
"You do have to prepare for age, and I've prepared by always doing creative work and doing my best to ignore everything else," Kramer said.
"There's a contemporary spirit in Australia which has infected me, so I'm able to get a new idea on an old dance and rework it with a fresh outlook."
"I still like to see myself looking well and good, made up, dressed nicely and doing something ... I still like to wear lipstick ....I still have emotions, I still become deeply moved by something."
Recently Kramer has been refining her technique of dancing sitting down, using expressive arm movement and gestures, to counter some problems with dizziness.
"She can't leap around the space but she dances with the true essence of what dance is," said fellow dancer and collaborator Sue Healey.
"It's incredible ... she never has a day when she isn't thinking about her next creative endeavour and that's what keeps her alive and youthful and energetic."
Overcoming challenges
Kramer has been dedicated to living a life rich in creativity, but there have been hurdles.
She stopped dancing for 20 years to care for an ailing husband in New York, and when she decided to return to Sydney at age 99, she was put in accommodation for people deemed at risk of homelessness.
"I thought I brought a lot of money with me, but they said no ... if you use up all your money, even with a pension you still might not have enough to pay the rent in Sydney," she said.
Identifying Kramer as a national treasure the national Arts Health Institute has made her its ambassador, and financially supported her to live and make more work.
Kramer's latest dance drama, A Buddha's Wife, was made in celebration of her 103rd birthday — along with choreographing and making the costumes, she stars in the production as the 17-year-old princess.
"I'm taking a chance, but it's to do with her feelings, not with her age," she said.
"I know this sounds a bit silly but I still feel like the little girl I used to be, and that's when I started doing creative work."
The dancers working alongside Kramer say she offers important inspiration in an industry that often expects people to retire in their 30s.
"To see a 30-year-old beautiful man dance with Eileen, you're transported, they create this magic I think," co-choreographer Sue Healey said.
"Dance is a particularly youthful activity in the eyes of most people, and I think in Australia we expect our dancers to retire way too soon.
"Thankfully as we age there are more and more artists who continue to work, and I think it's vital we celebrate that."
Kramer's secrets to living a long, rich life?
"Good health, good luck, and learning about the world ... And good health depends a lot on you — what you eat, what you think, what you've suffered and what you've recovered from."
Topics: dance, arts-and-entertainment, performance-art, older-people, community-and-society, sydney-2000
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