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Dance As Tribute

October 21, 2013 by 4dancers

I’m thrilled to introduce our newest contributor to 4dancers – dance videographer Nel Shelby. Nel has captured some amazing dance footage over the years, including many spectacular performances at Jacob’s Pillow, and Wendy Whelan’s work on “Restless Creature”… and Nel is also married to our dance photography contributor, the talented Christopher Duggan… 

Please join me in welcoming her to 4dancers–we feel lucky to have her!   -Catherine

_________________________________________________

by Nel Shelby

This September was the third annual performance of Table of Silence by Buglisi Dance Theatre, a free, public tribute and ritual for peace featuring 100+ dancers on the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center in New York City. I’m always amazed by how many people come out to Lincoln Center in the early morning to watch the performance in-person. We want to share this work with as many people as possible, so we also live-streamed the performance for a third year in a row. 5,300 people viewed the live-stream from 25 countries around the world.

We received many online comments during the tribute from audience members who appreciated Buglisi’s dance. It helped families of victims from 9/11, and it helped those who were perhaps distant from the event but were still emotionally affected. It’s a beautiful thing to share dance, especially dance as a healing and peaceful experience, to a wider audience. We recorded and edited our live-stream, so for my first post with 4dancers, I wanted to make sure I shared this dance video with you, too.

Contributor Nel Shelby, Founder and Principal of Nel Shelby Productions, is deeply dedicated to the preservation and promotion of dance through documentation of live performances, fully edited marketing reels, live-stream capture, and documentaries and promotional films.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
Photo by Matthew Murphy

Her New York City-based video production company has grown to encompass a diverse list of dance clients, and she works with an ever-wider variety of dance artists each year in her role as the Festival Videographer at Jacob’s Pillow and as Resident Videographer at the Vail International Dance Festival. Her half-hour documentary on Vail’s festival, The Altitude of Dance, debuted on Rocky Mountain PBS in May 2013. She collaborated with Adam Barruch Dance to create a short film titled “Folie a Deux,” which was selected and screened at the Dance on Camera Festival in New York City.

Nel has a B.A. in dance, a B.S. in broadcast video and is a certified Pilates instructor. She often collaborates with her wonderful husband, dance photographer (and fellow 4dancers contributor) Christopher Duggan on creative projects with dancers in New York City and beyond. They live with their beautiful daughter Gracie in Manhattan.

Filed Under: Dance Video Tagged With: buglisi dance, jacob's pillow, nel shelby

Natural Light Studio – Year 2

September 30, 2013 by 4dancers

Samantha Barriento
Samantha Barriento

by Christopher Duggan

My Natural Light Studio at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is a personal project that I started last year. There is a deck right behind the Ted Shawn Theatre where dance photographer John Lindquist made many, many photos.
I set up a simple but effective natural light soft box and backdrop and started inviting artists to the studio throughout the summer of 2012. (See some of my favorite photos from 2012 here.)I can’t believe I waited six years as festival photographer before starting to do something like this. It’s so much fun. My Natural Light Studio is a space for creative exploration, and it’s as much about what the dancers bring to the photo session as it is about what I bring to it.

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I really don’t come with any specific vision ahead of time. Some dancers come in costume, other dancers come in pedestrian clothes, and we make a portrait. I love the simplicity of it.
Most of all, I love that through this studio photography I’ve captured another 60 or so artists who are part of the Pillow’s remarkable history. Jacob’s Pillow is dedicated to preserving the memory of the incredible artists, performances, talks, exhibits and classes it has hosted throughout its history, and I’m honored to be a part of documenting the life of the festival. Finding a creative way to capture these artists is a joy.

 

Contributor Christopher Duggan is a wedding and dance photographer in New York City, the Berkshires and beyond. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman
Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

He photographs dancers in the studio and in performance, for promotional materials, portraits and press, and he often collaborates with his wife, Nel Shelby, and her Manhattan-based dance film and video editing company Nel Shelby Productions (nelshelby.com). Together, they have documented dance at performances from New York City to Vail International Dance Festival.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers the finest wedding venues in the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, in Massachusetts and the Berkshires, and frequently travels to destination weddings.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Knot, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, and Munaluchi Bridal, among other esteemed publications and popular dance and wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his dance photography has been exhibited at The National Museum of Dance and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

His Natural Light Studio (http://www.christopherduggan.com/portfolio/natural-light-studio-jacobs-pillow-photography/) at Jacob’s Pillow is his most ambitious photography project to date – check out his blog to see more portraits of dance artists in his pop-up photo studio on the Pillow grounds.

Filed Under: Dance Photography, Finis Tagged With: christopher duggan, dance photography, jacob's pillow, john lindquist, natural light studio, ted shawn theatre

Wendy Whelan – A National Treasure

September 3, 2013 by 4dancers

 20130816_NLS-RestlessCreature_Christopher.Duggan_011

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by Christopher Duggan

There’s just something about Wendy.

I never really had such all-access permission to follow such a star here on campus at Jacob’s Pillow. Wendy let me in her dressing room and while warming up in the Bakalar Studio, allowed me to photograph her performance from backstage…and always with a smile. She’s easy to work with and really trusted me. I was grateful for the whole experience.

Ella Baff introduced her before every performance as a National Treasure, and that’s the perfect description. There’s a reason she’s a superstar. She is just captivating.
My wife Nel was featured in a PillowTalk titled “The Art of Promotion,” focused on using film to promote dance. Wendy made a cameo appearance at the talk, and you can see the affinity they have for one another. They have tremendous respect for each other and it has been a wonderful collaboration.
20130816_PillowTalk-ArtOfPromotion-NelShelby-EllenBar-WendyWhelan_Christopher.Duggan_014
It was a fun week for me, and I wanted to make these images as a gift for Wendy – to commemorate such a momentous and important engagement for her.

[slideshow_deploy id=’9781′]

Contributor Christopher Duggan is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

He has created studio shots of Gallim Dance, Skybetter +  Associates and Zvidance, among others, and in 2011 alone, he has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman
Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby (http://nelshelby.com). A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers Manhattan’s finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, and frequently travels to destination weddings.  The company’s mission is straightforward and heartfelt – create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine.

Filed Under: Dance Photography, Finis Tagged With: Ballet, christopher duggan, dance photography, ella baff, jacob's pillow, restless creature, wendy whelan

Pillow Life — Nearly Finished

August 14, 2013 by 4dancers

by Ashley David
Who would have thought this suburban/city born and raised girl could have made it for 10 weeks in the woods? I certainly would have never thought so, but it looks like I have! I am more than halfway through my Press/Editorial Internship at Jacob’s Pillow Dance, America’s longest running international dance festival, and I can sufficiently say I am a “Pillow Person.”

at-work
Ashley at work; photo by Christopher Duggan.

For six days a week and on average somewhere between 8-12 hours a day, I am hard at work writing and editing programs and press releases, sending heaps of emails, meeting with journalists, giving tours, and selling tickets at the box office. All of this was in the job description and what I knew would be happening before I arrived here. What I didn’t realize would become such a large part of the experience is all of the other, incredible opportunities of working where the New York Times calls “the dance center of the nation.”

Let me give you just a few of my favorite experiences from Pillow life so far:

  • Dancing at the Jacob’s Pillow Gala next to New York City Ballet legend Wendy Whelan and tap-goddess Michelle Dorrance.
gala2013_michelledorranceperformance_karlicadel_courtesyjacobspillowdance (2)
Michelle Dorrance at Gala 2013; photo Karli Cadel, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.
  • Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with every artist that comes here to perform in the historic Stone Dining Room. I mean, seriously, I casually said good morning to former Batsheva in-house choreographer Barak Marshall, and his mother the legendary artist Margalit Oved every day the week they were at the Pillow.
  • Walking down the stairs of my second floor office to peek into the attached Bakalar Studio (the same studio that Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers used to rehearse and perform in the 1930s) to watch awe-struck as Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet does a ballet barre.
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Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.
  • Working in the box office and selling tickets to some of our patrons who have been “coming to the Pillow since the days of Ted Shawn.” I once even had a woman tell me she has a picture of herself sitting on Ted Shawn’s knee from when she was a young girl.
  • Having access to the most comprehensive dance archives in the world. I was doing research to design a Pillow tour specifically for kids and decided to ask for some advice from the Director of Preservation on what to look for in the vast archives. He directed me to a children’s book written about a young girl’s adventure at the Pillow. I opened the front cover and what did I find? A handwritten note from the author to Ted Shawn in 1956.
photo (11)
Front cover with note for “Janey and the Summer Dance Camp.”
  • Meeting acclaimed dance critics such as Deborah Jowitt, Janine Parker of The Boston Globe, and Brian Seibert of The New York Times. Soon I will also be meeting legendary New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay and editor-in-chief of Dance Magazine, Wendy Perron.
  • Spending 45 minutes talking to Kina Poon, the Associate Editor of Dance Magazine, about my experience at the Pillow, her background in dance, and our favorite dance companies—including my obsession with Keigwin + Company.
  • Designing and implementing the kid’s tour to more than 100 children and parents as well as creating a special “Pillow Passport” for kids to bring with them during the tour.
Leading a kid's tour; photo by Em Watson.
Leading a kid’s tour; photo by Em Watson.
  • Hanging out at the Pillow pub after a performance and looking at the table next to me to find none other than the award-winning musician Toshi Reagon, who performed live original compositions for Dorrance Dance’s world premiere of The Blues Project.
  • Taking an hour and half master class with every artist who performs in the Doris Duke Theatre including such artists as Shantala Shivalingappa, Brian Brooks, Tere O’Connor, Michelle Dorrance, and Kyle Abraham.
kuchipudi 2
Pillow interns with Shantala Shivalingappa and her mother, Savitry Nair.

The list could really go on and on, but this is just a snapshot into what is every day, normal life inside of the Pillow bubble. Most important of all, I am surrounded by staff and interns who are passionate about the same thing I am, and want to share that passion with me. I don’t feel like I am the stereotypical intern doing mindless, unnecessary tasks. What I do matters and what I do would not be completed if I was not here. This sense of responsibility and worth is a priceless part of the experience and something I truly cherish. Not only am I completing my tasks, but also I am learning throughout the entire process. Special intern seminars to teach us about the ins and outs of arts administration are held every other week as well as “lunchtime learning sessions” with various staff members on other topics in the field. If I still feel like I have a specific question, I am encouraged to explore my curiosities and seek answers.

One of my favorite quotes by Edgar Winter states, “I can’t imagine anything more worthwhile than doing what I most love, and they pay me for it.” While I don’t necessarily get paid as an intern right now (although I do get free room and board, performances, and classes) this internship encompasses what I love–in the industry I would like to be a part of in the future. While there have been the occasional bumps along the road, there is nowhere I would have rather spent my summer. My eyes are open to the world around me, and my hunger to succeed in the dance industry as an administrator, performer, educator, etc. is stronger than ever. I only hope that my final weeks here do not completely fly by because I am not so sure I am ready yet for the bittersweet goodbye!

 

Ashley DavidIntern Ashley David is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park where she double majors in communication-public relations and dance. Her ultimate career goals are to perform dance, teach dance and combine her public relations skills with her passion for dance and become a well-rounded arts administrator.

Currently, Ashley is spending her sumer at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival as  a Press and Editorial Intern with Jacob’s Pillow Dance during their 2013 Festival Season. She is responsible for conducting media relations with all artists performing in the Doris Duke Theatre, one of two theaters at the Pillow. She will write press releases, show programs, pitches, and media advisories,  maintain a media archive, and create press packets.  She will also be gaining experience working in the box office and giving tours, including a specially designed kid’s tour.

In summer 2012, she had her first experience in the Washington D.C. arts management world as a PR/Marketing intern for the nonprofit organization, CityDance. She spearheaded many marketing, design and public relations projects in the administrative office and worked at the conservatory. In September 2012 she had the privilege of dancing with the amazing CityDance faculty in the first annual faculty show, FRESH VISIONS: under one umbrella. 

During the school year she is the Undergraduate Assistant to the Director of Marketing and Communications for the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, College Park. She focuses on managing the website and marketing news and events through digital and social media.

In her spare time, she is the President of  UM UnBound Dance Team, Internal Development Morale Captain for Terp Thon, Event Coordinator and Dance Instructor for the UMD Chapter of Delta Chi Xi-Honorary Dance Fraternity Inc., a member of the Maryland Dance Ensemble, a Student Ambassador for UMD College of Arts and Humanities, a Tour Guide for Maryland Images and a member of Maryland Students for the Arts.

Ashley couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to intern with 4dancers! Her responsibilities include maintaining, formatting and updating the 4dancers website. Additionally, she writes blog posts, manages social media and link builds with other blogs.

For more information about Ashley, please visit: http://ashleymdavid.wordpress.com/

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: ashley david, jacob's pillow, ted shawn

Favorite Photos From Inside/Out At Jacob’s Pillow

July 31, 2013 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

You all know by now that Inside/Out – the outdoor festival stage at Jacob’s Pillow – is my absolute favorite place to photograph dancers. The Pillow’s outdoor stage is magical. The trees, the mountains, the sky. Everything is perfect – as long as the weather cooperates!

20130627_IO_Peridance_Christopher.Duggan_050
Peridance

The festival has already reached the halfway point, so I wanted to share some of my favorites from Inside/Out so far. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves…

20130703_IO_ArtOfMotion_Christopher.Duggan_019
Art of Motion
Tina Croll
Tina Croll
20130703_IO_ArtOfMotion_Christopher.Duggan_001
Art of Motion
20130628_IO_JeremyMcQueen_Christopher.Duggan_030
Jeremy McQueen

Contributor Christopher Duggan is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman
Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

 

He has created studio shots of Gallim Dance, Skybetter +  Associates and Zvidance, among others, and in 2011 alone, he has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby (http://nelshelby.com). A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers Manhattan’s finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, and frequently travels to destination weddings.  The company’s mission is straightforward and heartfelt – create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine.

Filed Under: Dance Photography, Finis Tagged With: christopher duggan, inside out, jacob's pillow

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