by Christopher Duggan
It’s always a joy to photograph Dance Against Cancer because it’s a dance performance for a good cause and there’s an all-star cast. I’m always excited to see all these amazing performers in one place for one evening, and this year was extremely special for me, because my mom survived major pancreatic cancer surgery last year.
The program starts off with a voiceover from the artists, introducing themselves and saying who they are dancing in honor of – or in some cases, who they are dancing in memory of.
This year, I made these photographs in honor of my mom. I’ve never had cancer hit so close to home before and it feels very different to contribute to this program when the person on my mind is my own mom. Thankful for her doctors and nurses and thankful for dance artists who move for a cause.
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.