p.1 #1 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
As many of you know, I'm a dance photographer. I'm doing shoots with dancers almost every week, and sometimes several times a week. I don't post a lot, just don't really have time. Over the years, one thing that has always intrigued me about dancers are their feet. Their feet are the foundation of everything they do, their balance and their strength in both movements and jumps. Everything that they do that looks so classically beautiful and elegant starts with their feet.
And their feet take a brutal beating. They are constantly wearing out their pointe shoes and all the other shoes they wear during their training and rehearsal. They have to tape their toes and feet each time they step onto the dance floor, even for training. It's pretty amazing what their feet go through.
On top of that, their work together almost magically, and it's amazing the angles that they take. When you photograph a dancer's movement, the moment you capture doesn't always make sense. It doesn't translate well to a single image. A lot of their movements, you have to see the entire fluid motion of the movement for it to make sense, and that's part of what makes dance photography so difficult.
Over the years, I've often focused on just the feet as I think they really tell the story of the dancer. Some are always wearing pristine shoes, laced perfectly. Others, their tights are torn, their shoes are shredded through overuse. When I edit performance shots, I always clean up the shoes, make sure there are no frays. But as I'm starting to go through my feet shots of the past several years, these are supposed to be gritty shots that tell the story of the dancer and the work he or she puts into being a dancer. More than anywhere, that works shows up in his/her shoes and feet. So here are 9 images from a shoot I was on this past Saturday, the beginning of my Dancer's Feet Series.
7. This is one of the company's better dancers. A lot of them wear leg warmers on just one leg. One of these days, I'll ask about that. Pristine shoes, but this dancer normally has tights with a worn-out gaping hole inside her thighs. I've had a toss a few pics because of that. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5035/13932958240_ab6fd07590_b.jpg
p.1 #5 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
Jim Rickards wrote:
Unique subject matter and so very well presented. Well done, Ron.
Don't stop at the feet. I'm not asking for racey pics of tights with holes, but there's more to your dancers' story ready to be told.
Jim, I've focused on the feet, hands, lower body, upper body and face. While I always love the facial expressions, they're not enough for me on their own. Same with the hands and arms. The feet seem always speak to me. That's the part of the body that's always beaten up through the physical rigors of dance. But I do see and agree with what you're saying. There's more to the story. The feet are not the end-all and be-all of the story of a dancer's struggle. So this is just the start.
p.1 #6 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
tonyfield wrote:
Excellent series ... I love it ...
It is interesting to contrast these young feet with those of a mature high end dancer ... so different
Thanks, Tony. Definitely agree with you. Spent some time behind the scenes with the Houston Ballet a couple years ago, totally different. I read an article last year, where with some of the more prominent professional dance companies, the dancers get new pointe shoes like every day or every week or whatever.
p.1 #9 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
Time working with a ballet company several years ago taught me that dancers are probably the best conditioned athletes of all and that they suffer a lot of fractures in their feet because of the physical pressures exerted on them. Those shoes don't provide any support when they stand (dance!) on their toes. Timing to get a photo at the peak of a leap is difficult.
p.1 #11 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
GCasey wrote:
Time working with a ballet company several years ago taught me that dancers are probably the best conditioned athletes of all and that they suffer a lot of fractures in their feet because of the physical pressures exerted on them. Those shoes don't provide any support when they stand (dance!) on their toes. Timing to get a photo at the peak of a leap is difficult.
p.1 #12 · A dancer's feet. The stories they will tell.
gempixel wrote:
Very unique set and perspective here Ron. I really dig #1,4, and 9! Looks like that dancer has put a lot of miles on those points! Killer set!
Those are my favorites as well. Lots of miles, lots of hard work. Thanks!
