On Saturday morning I went to a rehearsal for one of the pieces being featured in the Senior Dance Projects Showcase this coming weekend. In the show, graduating seniors in the dance program present 6 - 8 minute long pieces that they have choreographed. The seniors are responsible for finding dancers to be in these pieces. The dancers participate as volunteers and do not get class credit for it like other dancers do in groups such as Theatre Ballet and the Ballroom Dance Company. Next week is tech week for the show so the rehearsal I photographed was their last rehearsal before tech runs and dress rehearsals.
At the start of the rehearsal, the choreographer had the dancers run through the dance. It was a rough run and I could tell it still needed some work. I took this photo after that run through when the dancers came together and the choreographer gave them feedback. I like this photo because I think you can really see in the choreographer's (on the left) body position the amount of stress she is feeling because this is their last rehearsal and the dance isn't where she'd hoped it would be.
I took this photo during one of their runs through the piece. I like this one compositionally because the dancers are low to the ground and it almost feels like the huge empty space above them is pushing down on them.
Because I was trying to give a behind the scenes look at the process behind a dance performance, I tried to take photos from different angles and different areas than you usually see when you watch a dance on stage. I took this photo from back stage behind the stage lights to try to give a unique perspective on the dance. The photo probably would have been that much more interesting, though, if she was actually dancing. This was not the most energetic rehearsal I've ever seen. But I'll talk more about that later.
While I was taking photos, I noticed a contrast between the dark, black stage area and the lighter audience area (or where the audience would be during an actual show). I tried to highlight that contrast with this photo and also maybe create a parallel at the same time to the divide between choreographer and dancer.
This is maybe my favorite photo that I took. I was just snapping pictures like crazy (and actually ended up taking over 500) and this one didn't stand out to me until I saw it later when going through them all on my computer. Looking at the girl on the far right, can't you just feel the raw energy and enthusiasm she's radiating? Yeah, I'm being sarcastic. Documenting this rehearsal did not go how I expected it to but I wasn't sure why until I looked at this photo. I realized that I was hoping to capture the passion and love dancers have for their craft, but that's not exactly what I got.
I should let you know that this rehearsal took place at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning. It was not fun for me to get up that early on a Saturday but I can just imagine how much harder it would be to get up that early and then go work hard at a rehearsal for two hours. That's what these girls have been doing every Saturday all semester. That alone speaks to their dedication and passion I think. But I actually like that this photo contradicts what I was expecting to find. Dancers are passionate but like with anything that you enjoy doing, some days you just aren't feeling it. Some days you get up at 6 am and go to rehearsal but you'd rather be back in bed.
I did get some pretty good photos from the rehearsal that showed more movement and energy but interestingly, they did not feel as compelling as these. If this assignment wasn't due today, I'd love to continue it by documenting the dress rehearsals and the performance of the piece. I predict that there would be a lot of contrast between the mood and energy in this rehearsal and that of the actual performance. I think dancers, like other performers, draw a lot of energy from having an audience. It would have been interesting to see that contrast.
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