The Dance Cure was listed in The Observer as one of the best books of 2020, as chosen by booksellers.
From escapist novels to political awakenings, staff from award-winning independent bookshops pick the titles that got them through a trying year
Words by Henry Layte, as published in The Observer on 6th December 2020.
Norwich was England’s first Unesco city of literature and home to both the National Centre for Writing and the famous creative writing course at the University of East Anglia. Our shop has a rich history of both selling and publishing, and novelist Jeremy Page’s New York to California (Propolis, £11), documenting his walk across the weirder parts of the east of England with a strange man and a small dog for company, has been a big seller. The location didn’t matter; this is a book for anyone, anywhere about the urge to return to familiar places and keep on moving during difficult times, and a very funny antidote to both lockdowns. Three titles that I would like to receive if I didn’t own a bookshop are: Memoirs of a Basque Cow by Bernardo Atxaga (Dedalus, £9.99, translated by Margaret Jull Costa), the Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopedia (What on Earth Publishing, £25, edited by Christopher Lloyd) and Dr Peter Lovatt’s The Dance Cure (Short Books, £12.99).
Dr Peter Lovatt spent over 20 years working as a university academic. He set up the Dance Psychology Lab to understand dance and dancers from a psychological, scientific perspective. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and his teaching has been highly commended. Find out more about his academic life here
Peter Lovatt is an author and he has written two books: “The Dance Cure, the surprising secret to being smarter, stronger, happier” was first published by Short Books in the UK in 2020. “Dance Psychology, the science of dance and dancers” was first published in the UK in 2018. Peter has also writes commissioned articles. Find out more about his writing life here
Peter Lovatt is an international keynote speaker who delivers groovy keynotes which inspire, entertain and get minds and pulses racing. Peter has given keynote talks around the world and he has worked with organisations from different sectors, for example, in the banking, tech, creative, education, health and automotive industries. Find out more about his keynotes here
Peter Lovatt is a founding director of the Movement in Practice (MiP) Academy. The MiP Academy is a specialist provider of education in the psychology of movement and dance. MiP Academy is an accredited provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Continuing Education (CE) and Continuing Professional Education (CPE), providing both anytime learning and scheduled face-to-face learning opportunities. Find out more about MiP Academy here
Peter Lovatt became known as Dr Dance through his TV and media work. He first appeared as Dr Dance on the Graham Norton Show (BBC) in 2008 and Dr Dance has since made over 1000 appearances across all major UK TV and radio networks, in magazines and newspapers and on stage. Dr Dance has made several stage shows, including “Dance Dr Dance” (2010), “INSPIRED Psychology Danced” (2011) and “Boogie on the Brain” (2018). Find out more about Dr Dance here
Peter Lovatt lives on the beautiful north Norfolk coast with his partner and their two sons.
Find out more about Peter’s latest news here