by Christopher Duggan

I went to see a DanceNOW showcase of emerging artists this month held at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. I was not going to photograph the showcase – just see some new work and meet some new people. But whenever I watch dance, I see pictures, and I wanted to shoot.

I just started playing with Instagram, and I thought it would be a fun challenge making some dance photographs with the app. Shooting with Instagram on the iPhone is far from an ideal way to capture dance. Especially the way I like to capture it. I like to use two cameras with both wide lens and long lens at the same time. I like having the freedom to move around the theater if need be. With my digital cameras I can shoot hundreds of images very quickly without reloading and without any delay on the trigger or delay in the capture processing. I can keep shooting and make choices later in the editing room.

From the seat I was in at the showcase, there was a host of challenges I would face. So I decided I’d make it a fun game for myself.

The challenges:

– limited movement for camera location

– strong graphic elements in background (trim on the wall and distinct architecture of the ceiling)

– slow shutter speed

– delayed shutter trigger

– backlit from only one light source and a left-side window

– I had never seen these works before (although I’m used to that)

– square frame format (I’m used to the rectangle format of the 35mm)

Rules of the game:

– only allowed to upload 1 image per dance

– the image must give a feel for the choreographer’s work

Once I captured and uploaded one image, I couldn’t shoot any more of the same dance. So I was gambling on every piece wondering, “If I choose this picture, will I miss something really fantastic that I haven’t yet seen?” I wanted to capture a variety of shots, too, so I was hoping to capture something unique in each piece. There were two pieces where I took image after image and kept hitting delete instead of upload, thinking I could make a better shot or a more interesting moment was coming. I erased a few good shots and ended with NOTHING!  So frustrating.

All in all, it was a fun game, and I’m looking forward to a chance to try it again. Did I win this round? You be the judge.

Hello all and welcome to February!

This month on 4dancers, the focus is on health/wellness and injury. We are pleased to welcome back Jan Dunn, MS who will be posting on Dance Wellness, and Dr. Sinkoe, who will be sharing information about warts on the feet and toenail problems.

Emily Harrison, MS, RD, LD will provide a great healthy recipe you can make and offer up a post about hydration for dancers, and dancer Emily Kate Long will start her new column on “Finding Balance”…but that’s not all.

We’ll hear a bit about Dance UK and what they have done to support health in dance professionals, and learn more about the field of dance therapy from a practitioner in the field. In addition, we will take a look at a wonderful organization that does dance therapy programming for children and young adults with cancer.

You can also count on the usual mix of interviews and informational posts that you’ve come to expect from 4dancers. This is all part of our “monthly themes”–which we thought would be a fun way to present content to our readers. Next month…Adult Ballet!

Let us know what you think of our new format by leaving a quick comment below–and thanks for reading.

Catherine

We’d like to take a moment to say thank you to all of our readers in 2011 and wish you a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. There are many new things to come on the blog in 2012, including:

• A dance wellness column, written by 4dancers new contributor, Jan Dunn
• January will focus on the pointe shoe–giving you inside information, tips, tricks and foot care info
• February will be our health/wellness/injury month, with content from physicians who have treated dancers, a nutritionist and more
• Fresh content from our wonderful contributing writer staff!

We look forward to serving you in 2012! Happy holidays!