A few images from the 5×5 Dance Festival – Friday night

Dance!

copyright 2009 by Arthur Fink

I’m at St. Joseph’s College for their 5×5 dance festivals — to hang a show, photograph rehearsals, and teach a class on dance photography.

I document the work and energy that goes into dance — not just  the final performance.  Being in the studio as dances are created,  or as dancers prepare themselves, feels like being in a delivery room as children are being born.  Amidst pain or anguish, tempered with rhythm and support, and bolstered with faith, new life emerges.  It’s physical, sometimes sensual, often spiritual.  Too often this process is ignored, as image makers look only at the final result — the dance.

The class might have been entitled, “Seeing Dance like a Photographer”, as it will be much more about the process of seeing than about the technique of actually taking the picture.  We’ll watch short live performances, and share our visions of the still images that tell the story of each dance — its energy, emotion, artistry, and visual pattern, and that might express our feeling on seeing this piece.

Talk to me about bringing this program to other venues.  I believe it’s important for dancers to work at seeing themselves as others might see them.