Joffrey Ballet Dance Photography
Joffrey Ballet Dance Photography
Photography of the Joffrey Ballet is #bts dance photography. Shot entirely on location in NYC with Real Black and White Film and Medium Format.
Film Photography of the Joffrey BalletMedium Format 6×9 docu-style. Select Prints Available for Sale.
Project Summary: I sent the Joffrey Ballet School a project summary for a medium format, black and white film essay I wanted to work on with their touring company. It’s the most elite troop of dancers undergoing some of the most rigorous dance training in the world.I called it “Built on Toil.” It was essentially a project summary for pictures that didn’t exist yet.
In this essay, I liken the dancers as soldiers under the control of a general.
The Director of the Academy was so impressed by my request to shoot there, that he offered me free reign, shooting any training exercise I wanted, at any time, unannounced. And I got paid. The Joffrey Ballet School essentially created a 2 year position for me as photographer-in-residence.
For a photographer, this is a dream come true. Furthermore, it was two solid years of me trying not to get kicked in the head.The ingress of a season of a TV show called Dance Moms put an end to the project. This is because the production took up every in of spare space in the studios. There wasn’t any room left for me plus my gear. Therefore, my residency ended shortly after production began. But I had gotten what I came for.
Why Do I Use Real Black and White Film for Photography of the Joffrey Ballet and Why Medium Format?
Typically, my dance work is made with a 6×9 film camera, shot with real 120 black and white roll film. Then it is all processed in small batches. Therefore, I use the in-tank method with D76. Then I proof and print all of the film it in my darkroom. Most of my artists proofs are 8×10 or 11×14”. Usually, my exhibition size is 16×20”. Photography of the Joffrey Ballet is shot with real Kodak black and white film.
