|
The Male Dancer,
|
Wales’ top dance photographer Roy Campbell-Moore is embarking on a new project that will combine his skills with the lens with his pedigree as a dancer and choreographer.
Campbell-Moore has planned a series of projects with between six and eight Wales-based dance-artists in 2012 which he will capture on camera.
Each of the commissions will vary in length depending on the ambition and scope of each project, varying from a few days to two weeks.
He explained, “Each event will be different and could mean photographing early research, or dress rehearsal and production phases but each commission will result in a web-based and print exhibition of the best images. At the end of the year, a final print and web exhibition will be created selected from the best work.
“This will create a unique set of photographs from the inside of the dance process, using my body to get the camera ‘in the flow’ along with dancers while they are also ‘in the flow’. My vision is to create images that are captured by what we might call the ‘unthinking camera’.”
The dance and photography collaboration is being supported by NDCWales and with grants from the Arts Council of Wales and Dancers Career Development. Campbell-Moore is associate artist and founding artistic director of the dance company.
“I want to develop a style where my camera works as an unthinking, instinctive performer itself, sweating with the dancers and being part of the intensity of the work as it’s happening,” he added.
“As this is only possible when I can be up close to the work with a handheld camera, I need to be able to work among the dancers as they rehearse and perform which takes trust and time on both sides. I want to create work that is personal, authentic and emotional, so that the sincerity of the image matches the power of the dancer at work.
“These projects will allow me to develop on-going legacy of a unique body of artistic dance photography where the choreography, dancers and photographer live on the same time path to create memorable and visceral images.”
A taste of his work can be seen in an exhibition of NDCWales in performance at The Riverfront Gallery in Newport this week as part of the city’s dance festival and where NDCWales will perform in October.
“For some time I have been exploring the concept of photographing dancers from close-up and trying to capture them from the point of view of being a performer in the production, not as an audience member seeing the work from a distance.
“This proximity to the dancers makes for a different filling of the frame in which the dancers’ presence seems more dramatic and alive. Their eyes, skin and even breath can seem to reek off the page and the result is as close as you can get to the excitement of the performance moment.
“A photographic image is also an intriguing way of looking at dance. Time is given back to the viewer who can now choose how long to spend with a particular image rather than being under the control of the choreographer. These images capture time and slow it down for the viewer, allowing a moment to reflect on an attitude to the shape, energy and personality of the performers.”
The Male Dancer, Roy Campbell-Moore, The Riverfront Gallery. Until October 1, 2011.
|
web site: |
e-mail: |
Sunday, September 25, 2011 |
|
|
|
|
Older news
stories have been carefully archived.
2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
