I am such a huge fan of New York City Ballet’s 2016-2017 campaign. It’s somehow both hauntingly timeless and incredibly current; a breathing incantation of Balanchine’s mantra “There is only now.” The captivating video and stunning photos by Peter Lindbergh are just dreamy, and his musings on the special art of capturing ballet dancers are truly poetic…
Ballet is a living art form. Its makers do not produce something to be hung and admired, used, or stored for the enjoyment of a future audience. It is breathing and fleeting. After a step has been made, so too it has vanished. When a performance concludes, all that is left is a memory.
What a magical thing then, when another artist, in this case a photographer, is able to catch a bit of that living art and preserve it in time. I am grateful to any brave soul who attempts the frustrating task of photographing moving art- especially one as precise and with such perfectionist authors as ballet dancers- so much so, that I am able (in most instances, ha) to overlook technical imperfections and admire, commend, and spread the beauty such carefully captured art.
A small collection of photographs taken at a dress rehearsal, by the courageous and talented Saulius Ke…
home is where the house faces
and up on high the white light traces
a hallow box the wing embraces
home is where the curtain rises
to a careful grid of our varied sizes
we look, line, breathe and hope distance disguises
home is where the booms stack and glow
creative floods do steady flow
and nurtured artists bloom and grow
home is where the gold molding frames
setting and seating change their names
but forever our sanctuary the theatre remains.
{sleepy theatre thoughts by me | awesome dress rehearsal photos by Jacob Hoover}
in a whirl of tulle
and white lights
and lace
rosin’d pointes rock away
sticky grid lock
in their place
parties move on
from Silberhaus to
my own
a growing tree stacks its dust
where festive bulbs
once shone
flower petals brown
in dark skips where
they lie
whispering of stale sweets
and waltzes
gone by
gauzy ghosts of dancers
now wisp in
their place
flooding the empty theater
with a harrowed
hallow grace
final bits of chalky snow
flake away and off
the stage
a calendar completely cracked
it must be time to turn
the page…
creepy poetry by a sleepy me, photos of FBP dancers by the talented Jacob Hoover.
for more from Mr. Hoover and his ultra cool camera, head on over here.
Today is the day! I’m very excited to finally share the music video for The Bynar’s Time vs. Money. We worked so hard to create this, and I think the final product tells that story itself. I am beyond proud to have been a part of this project, and hope you all enjoy watching.
Infamous street artist, JR (you know, the one responsible for the NYCB installations at the Koch Theater), is at it again. This time, the French artist known for his large-scale black and white images flyposted around the streets of Paris, brings us Bird Ballerina. In this wheatpaper piece, a ballerina sits behind the “bars” of nine shipping containers in the Port Le Havre in France. The resulting image is hauntingly beautiful, an unmistakable sadness exuding from the caged ballerina who patiently awaits her release.
via Honestly WTF
Just wanted to share a little collection of stills from the music video for Time vs. Money, by The Bynars. The official release and launch are happening Monday- can’t wait to finally share this project with you! Have a lovely weekend, all.
“What time is it?”
“You know what, I have absolutely no idea. We’ve been in this black hole for so many hours…is it still Wednesday?”
-A and I at 3:30 pm 3 Wednesdays ago, volleying exhausted sentiments at the end of a 6-hour dance day. The studio that we spend our lives in had been completely blacked out for our viedo shoot. Dark curtains covered the big windows, the fluorescent lights were extinguished- there would be nothing for the strangely live dust bunnies to cling to but the fierce lights that spotted us, most times from behind. With the free Seven Stars lunch (possibly the highlight of an already exceptionally interesting day) still fresh in our gracious mouths, A and I pondered the allusive hour, realized what a long time we had been working for, and exchanged an unplanned nod of pride towards each other. We had one segment left to shoot, and it was, without a conference, our favorite.
Stepping back into the center of the studio, we took our positions for the “spinny sequence”, between a backpack-sized camera and one blinding spotlight. As we danced our last section, the two objects moved on human legs, slowly circling around us, mimicking our revolution. Now this is a real black hole, A and I agreed with our eyes. Just keep spinning, one more take, and we might be released from it’s spiraling suction.
“That’s a wrap!”, the director led our celebratory applause before embarking on his round of handshakes and high fives. It was the second week of summer and already we’d filmed a music video- talk about starting off the new season with a bang.
Stay tuned for updates as the music video for Boston’s own, The Bynars, “Time vs. Money”, progresses through editing and into it’s final cut. Can’t wait until the launch and premiere, so I can finally share the full project!
photo stills from Time vs. Money, via Shaun Clarke
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Festival Ballet Providence’s Black & White fundraising gala event. Let me just say now- I live for these things. Fancy dresses, high heels, sparkly jewels, dramatic makeup, delicious food, dainty desserts, dancing…check, check, check, checkcheckcheckcheck aaaaand check. This gala was particularly enjoyable because it was spent with all of my best girlfriends AND we got to help raise money for our company. Win win? I’d say so.
