Ballet And Modern Dance

The development of ballet and modern dance since the Renaissance, including biographical profiles.

Ballet and modern dance.

Lois Greenfield's unique approach to photographing the human form in motion has redefined the genre of dance photography and transcended its limitations. Rather than shooting literal moments from a dance, Greenfield captures split-second movements created specifically for her camera. Her astonishing images of dancers in mid-flight appear to defy all laws of physics, with her performers seeming to levitate and assume incredible sculptural forms. Moving Still charts Greenfield's shift to colour photography and from shooting with a film camera to a digital camera. It also illustrates the evolution of her individual style pioneered in her previous books, Breaking Bounds and Airborne. These radical changes over the last fifteen years or so have influenced the way she conceives her pictures and have seen Greenfield move from capturing high-energy moments to exploring more ambiguous and enigmatic scenarios - without any digital manipulation. The book showcases more than 150 of these breathtaking new images featuring leading contemporary dancers and well-known dance companies. Divided into four picture sections, the free-flowing, rhythmic design of the book reflects the dynamism and grace of Greenfield's photographs. William A. Ewing, the eminent photography writer and curator, contributes an interview with the photographer about her work, as well as an introduction. Greenfield herself, through commentaries on the photographs, offers fascinating insights into her creative process behind the camera and the challenges she faces in shooting these images. The result is an absorbing journey through Greenfield's work that celebrates not only contemporary dance, but also the transformative power of photography.

This book is concerned mostly with the ballet of both the Russian and English schools. Where other dance styles are mentioned they are considered with reference to ballet. Several famous ballerinas are mentioned, such as Anna Pavlova. There are also illustrations.