Mark Edward is a performer, dance maker, writer, stand-up comedy artist and Reader in Creative Arts at Edge Hill University, UK. He has worked for Rambert Dance Company (Ballet Rambert), Senza Tempo Dance Theatre Company in their world premiere of Lazurd, Penny Arcade (Andy Warhol film ‘star’) in her Bad Reputation, Jeremy Goldstein in his Truth to Power Café, Julie Tolentino (Madonna’s collaborator) on the Bottom Project, Paul Johnson, Chief Executive of Dance Ireland, in a period of Research & Development resulting in Dr Diana Theodores Book Writing Dancing Righting Dance: articulations on a choreographic process. He has featured in Paul Johnson’s book Fine Lines on Shifting Ground and is quoted in Sue Tilley’s book Leigh Bowery: the life and times of an icon. He has been a keynote speaker at Sadler's Wells Art of Age conference on ageing dancers and (in)visibility and also delivered his research at TaPRA in Glasgow, IFTR in Barcelona, Manchester Drag Symposium, Naked Acts Queer and Flesh at York Art gallery and the Making Sense of Pain conference in Warsaw. His current funded research focuses on ageing performers and drag queens as well as looking at inclusivity and equality for boys and men who dance. In 2011 he was invited to Warsaw to deliver his research paper: ‘Temporality of the Dancing Body: Tears; Fears & Ageing Dears’ at the global conference Making Sense of Pain. He is the writer and producer of the widely acclaimed work Council House Movie Star, featuring the persona Gale Force, which headlined the opening of Homotopia 2012. His ongoing research is published in two Special Issue journals with Emerald Group Publishing and Intellect. He also has a book chapter out titled 'Being in Pieces' with Oxford University Press in The Oxford Handbook for Dance and Wellbeing (focusing on dance and mental health), and a second chapter publication addressing issues of 'mesearch' ethics in semi-autobiographical work in The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics. Mark has also written about subversive dance culture in the UK in the book Counter Culture UK: A Celebration published by Supernova Books. Mark has been nominated for a National Teaching Fellow Award as well as being honoured with a Teaching Fellow title from Edge Hill University. He has a PhD from the University of Leeds. Thesis title: Temporality of the Performing Body: Movement, Memory, Mesearch. Mark is the author of the book 'Mesearch and the Performing Body' (via Palgrave Macmillan). He also has two forthcoming co-edited volumes (with Dr Stephen Farrier) on drag kings and queens due out in 2020 and 2021.