Dancing Through Life

A documentary celebrating the remarkable journey of Crows Feet Dance Collective is being created as the group approaches its 30th year. For nearly three decades, this extraordinary community of women dancers aged 35–85 has created original performances, inspired audiences throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, and challenged assumptions about age, creativity, and who gets to dance.

Now, their story will be captured on film. Experienced filmmaker Carolyn Sylvester will weave together archival footage, performance highlights, and personal stories to document the collective’s rich history, enduring friendships, and artistic achievements. The documentary will honour the legacy of Crows Feet Dance Collective while creating a lasting resource to inspire current and future generations of dancers, artists, and community groups.

Crows Feet Dance Collective consists of four groups of mature wāhine in Wellington, Kapiti, Palmerston North and Lower Hutt. We include both trained and untrained dancers, dancing for the joy of it. Some of us have been dancing together since 1999. Almost every year we've made a new show, and we don't shy away from big issues.

·       Carolyn Sylvester is an experienced freelance television director/producer/camera operator with a long-standing interest in Crows Feet. [Website: https://sylvestertv.net/ , Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user6661553]

·       Jan Bolwell, ONZM is the founder and director of Crows Feet Dance Collective.

·       Anna Groves is a collective dancer and will manage the Boosted campaign.

All funds raised will go to Carolyn Sylvester for filming, editing and post-production work. Here is a link to the full budget, any extra money raised above our goal will go towards covering these expenses:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-iXOPDuvNmfSuSvRAnR2mLQ39XN3MTZ8/view?usp=drive_link

Please support our Boosted campaign. We are a small community group without a sponsor. You can't imagine how much we appreciate every contribution, big or small. Your donation will help create a resource that broadens perspectives on dance and shows what is possible when we refuse to let our age define us.

Experienced television director Carolyn Sylvester  will work on a documentary about this remarkable group. A long-time fan of the Crows, she has historic footage in hand, and now she needs to film our current work and some up-to-date interviews, then do the hard yards of editing and post-production.

Expect colour, beauty, movement, music and wit. Surprise moments that take your breath away. Ordinary bodies of all shapes and sizes. Remarkable stories. Intimate interviews. Backstage glimpses. All flowing together under the fingers of Carolyn Sylvester, who has followed Crows for many years. (We do tend to attract a cult audience.)

The Crows Feet documentary preserves a legacy at a critical moment. Our oldest members are now in their 80s and our distinguished director Jan Bolwell has led us for 29 years. Moreover, the number of Kiwis living into their 80s and 90s is growing, at a time when many subconsciously assume that after 65, their life will just dribble downhill: they need this documentary!

General audiences will see ordinary women delighting in dance well into their 50s, 60, 70s and beyond. They'll be inspired to look ahead with enthusiasm, and find their own path to joy and meaning. We expect the documentary also to reach professional audiences, such as gerontologists, health workers, occupational therapists and educators. We anticipate the documentary will also circulate in Australia, which has a number of strong mature dance communities.

The impact of our work is simple and strong. At every performance, audience members tell us how inspired they are by older women dancing together with courage, stamina and joy. Just by watching our example, many people have suddenly expanded their own expectations and plans for the second half of life. Through the performing arts and the medium of film, Crows Feet will continue quietly contribute to the public health of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Thank you again for your support!