Ballet
February 1, 2025I took dance classes from ages 10-12 – ballet, tap, and jazz. I left that to play softball and left softball to do stage tech. My fascination with ballet never left, however, and since college, I would often fantasize about dancing en pointe. I watched this video too many times. I recently remembered that when I was around six or seven years old, a recurring motif in my drawings was ballerinas, and their pointe shoes looked like old-fashioned hair dryers.
I had accepted that my ballet dreams would be unfulfilled because I hadn’t been dancing since I was a child, but when Libby told me she signed up for adult beginner ballet, I was absolutely stunned. Sign me up.
I’ve now been dancing ballet for about a year and a half, and Libby and I met one of our closest friends, Angelica, through it, along with so many other amazing people.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about the intersections of ballet and visual art. The Impressionistic paintings of Edgar Degas are undoubtedly the most well-known ballet-themed works of art, probably followed by Renoir. I love the softness of Renoir’sThe Dancer and the brushstrokes and color in Dancers in Pink by Jean-Louis Forain (and I love how exhausted they all look).
But, of course, I’ve been thinking mostly of photography and ballet. I found a book at Wonderbook of ballet dancers photographed by Maurice Seymour, a brother photographer duo who worked from the 30s-60s. I was taken aback by the beauty of the images, and really drawn to the darker ones. They are ethereal, haunting, and delicate. The lighting is spectacular.
I have a lot of dreams (nightmares?) where I am creating the BEST photos of my entire life, and then suddenly my battery dies, I run out of film, the sun goes away, or I wake up. Recently, one of these dreams was about photographing ballerinas. I can’t stop thinking about trying to capture the translucence and movement of the costumes, the delicate strength of the dancers, and all the shiny sparkles.
Last June, I danced in my first spring recital at my studio. We performed at the Weinberg Center, which was a stellar experience. I learned the dressing rooms are below the stage (is this normal?) and our worlds were absolutely rocked by the tap dancers above us.
I brought my digital camera to dress rehearsal. This entire process had been so impactful, I couldn’t not photograph behind the scenes. The bottom image will be on view at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in spring 2025.
My Holga is the lightest camera I own, so it’s the one I can bring with me everywhere. If you know the nature of the Holga, though, the below images are no surprise. Blurry, not enough light – I definitely needed a tripod to shoot on the bulb setting.
These photos are from our fall studio showcase. Going for more of a film-y snapshot feel with these.
And fun pics for posterity’s sake.
Please send me more ballerinas in art history!