My first summer in NYC working for Joffrey Ballet, my friend invited me to a photo shoot she was doing with a man named Kevin Richardson. He was wanting to photograph dancers at Grand Central station at 5:30 am the next morning. I figured it would be fun, so I agreed and woke up early the next morning for my first ever photo shoot. Little did I know what Kevin Richardson’s DANCE AS ART photography project would become and the reputation he would have today.
I am honored to have worked with Kevin; his dedication to his dancers and passion for his work is evident at each shoot and I am excited to feature him this month.
1- How did you get started with Dance as Art, what made you want to photograph dancers?
Twenty years ago when I first moved to New York City from my native island of Trinidad, there was a tangible energy that came with the legions of dancers, painters, sculptors, actors and performers who all flocked to New York. New York, which back then was an artistic Mecca of sorts., Today, with skyrocketing rents that make it difficult for most artists and performers to be able to love in the City and decreased funding for the arts, New York City is becoming more of an artistic desert and the increased cost of tickets to Broadway shows, ballet and modern dance performances make it such that ballet and modern dance performances are no longer a part of the City’s shared cultural heritage but rather an experience for the privileged few. DANCE AS ART was conceived as a reminder of the importance of the arts and artists in general as part of what makes New York, (arguably the dance capital of the world), a place worth loving and not just a soulless financial capital.
The dancers stand as representatives of all artists, who are the creative soul of New York City and without them there is an emptiness that no new incoming population can fill. The exodus of artists and performers seeking more affordable and artist friendly climes is not simply a loss for those of us living in New York, but for people around the world who look to our fair city as a beacon for the arts. The book would thus highlight the plight of today’s dancers and remind us all of the beauty of dance and the importance of dancers and performing artists as part of the cultural backbone of the global capital that is our city. This is a theme that I am confident will strike a chord in the hearts and minds of not only everyday Americans but in people around the world.
The dancers represent all artists, and there were two reasons I chose them for the project. First was my love and passion for dance and the second reason came from comic books. Since I was a child, comic books have always been a part of my world. It was how I learned to read and my first introduction to visual art. Most of the books featured heroes leaping through the skies and bounding through the streets of an urban environment that was immediately recognizable as a version of New York City,
Those drawings and depictions of the larger-than-life characters in the pages of the comic books were not simply products of the artists’ imagination as I could clearly see a link between the way the characters on the pages moved and dancers. One need only glimpse at any dance performance poster and then at the page of a comic book to see the similarities in movement, poise and grace.
In my work I wanted to present the dancers in very much the same way, heroic, agile and powerful with New York City in the background as secondary character but I didn’t have the knowledge or equipment to bring these images to life. I started photography very much by accident and realized early on that it was a way to realize the scenes trapped in my head while also bringing attention to the difficulties of living in New York as an artist. So I ate, slept and breathed photography, reading whatever I could and practicing as often as I could with dancers who were kind enough to help me with my then unrealized vision in shoots done in my apartment studio to learn more about dance technique and the timing. As a former bodybuilder, who spent hours in front of the camera, I understood the body and how to present it , and I tapped into a lot of that experience as well to be able to really capture the dancers I worked with. By the summer of 2014 I was ready and that’s when it all began!
2- As a photographer, what do you find the hardest and most rewarding about photographing dance/dancers?
The hardest part of working with dancers is the end of the shoot as you want to keep going and going! Seriously though, I can’t really say it’s hard at all, the crew of dancers I have been fortunate to work with have always been incredibly gracious and patient and I really can’t think of anything hard about working with them at all! As far as the most rewarding aspect? There are so many! Each photograph in and of itself is a reward when I am able to really capture the essence of the dancer.
Seeing the dancers I work with grow in their craft over time is also incredibly rewarding, as is when the dancers are able to land gigs thanks to exposure from being featured on DANCE AS ART. Or when the DANCE AS ART photographs in their portfolio help them with castings and employment. It’s also quite a thrill to be able to bring dance back to the streets and to people in general. I had no idea the project would be so well received and it is quite something!
3- Has photographing dancers made you want to research dance on your own or sparked an interest in seeing performances?
I have always had a love for dance and in my previous profession as the director of the recreation program for the formerly homeless, it has been one of my life works to encourage people to see live performances as I think that it is an important part of what it is that makes us whole as human beings. I don’t have as much time as I used to but I have probably seen just about every major dance company at one point or the other and countless Broadway shows. My wife and I like to go to an Alvin Ailey performance on New Years’ Eve as well to end the year with a bang!
4- Can you tell us any behind the scenes of what’s happing with Dance as Art? Anything we should keep our eyes out for?
Well, I now have a literary agent who just submitted the proposal for a DANCE AS ART book, so fingers are crossed that we find a publisher and have a book out perhaps by the end of 2016. I am also looking into the idea of taking the show on the road, doing DANCE AS ART shoots in different parts of the United States and hopefully in several major cities around the world. Lots to look forward to and lots to do!
Dance As Art New York City Photography Project SoHo Series featuring Erika Citrin
Official website: www.danceasart.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/danceasart
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dance_as_art/
MAIN PHOTO: New York City Dance Photography- Dance As Art Gantry State Park with ballerina Mykaila Symes En Pointe
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