Dancers Among Us
Type: Performance Art/ Art Installation
Role: Project Manager, The Kefi Project
Client: Sarratt Student Center, Momentum Dance Company, Vanderbilt Capoerira Club, VIBE
Location: Nashville, TN
Status: Completed, April 2014
Project Details
Dancer's Are Storytellers - They’re trained to capture passion with their bodies. They often create a fantasy world or offer us a deeper look into familiar settings." Inspired by the work of Jordan Matter, the installation features members of the Vanderbilt dance community as they exist among us.
Dancer's Are Storytellers
From the artist's website - The inspiration for this book came to me one afternoon as I watched my son, Hudson, playing with his toy bus. I was trying to keep pace with his three-year-old mind as he got deeper and deeper into a fantasy involving nothing more than a yellow plastic box and armless figurines. At least that's what I saw. He saw frantic commuters rushing to catch the 77 local bus to Australia. He jumped in place, mouth open and slapping his knees, joyously reacting to a world I couldn't see, but one powerfully present for him.
What happens to this enthusiasm, this ability to be wholly present in the moment? Why are these pure moments of passion so often replaced with cynicism, boredom, and indifference? As I played with my son, I thought about creating photographs that would show the world as if through his eyes. The people in the images would be alive and in the moment, celebrating all aspects and emotions of everyday life.
Shortly after playing "bus", I attended an extraordinary dance performance, and I knew I had found my collaborators. Dancers are storytellers. They're trained to capture passion with their bodies. The often create a fantasy world or offer us a deeper look into familiar settings. They bring to life what we feel but what most of us, lacking their artistry and athleticism, are unable to express physically. I spent three years shooting dancers around the country, and I was humbled by their enthusiasm for their craft. I would tweet and Facebook when I would arrive in a city, and dancers would volunteer their time to pose for me, often traveling several hours to participate.
