Instagram/BallerinaProject_
The hugely popular Instagram account “Ballerina Project” has created something amazing.
Photographer for over 14 years Dane Shitagi photographed beautiful, strong and powerful women dancing throughout New York City.
This is no ordinary catalog dance photography. The juxtaposition of the incredible power of the dancers’ bodies and a seemingly empty cityscape creates a captivating visual experience.
The Ballerina Project’s Tumblr page explains the level of talent that went into these photos:
The majority of the ballerinas who modeled for the project currently or previously danced for companies such as American Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Dresden Semperopera Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Ballet West, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
When social media came along, Shitagi seized the opportunity and set up pages for his photo series on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and Twitter. It is currently the largest dance photography page on Facebook with 850,000 likes, and his Instagram account has about 500,000 followers.
““Much of the project was shot using traditional film and cameras,” Shitagi explains on Tumblr. “It wasn’t until late spring 2012 that we began using digital photography for some of our most recent images.”
Shitagi wanted to use all the neighborhoods when creating this series. This is Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
When the project began 14 years ago, most of the photos were taken on film.
It wasn’t until around 2011 that Shitagi integrated digital elements.
He doesn’t always show off his whole body. The dancer’s strong body can be seen in her calves and feet in this photo taken in a New York taxi.
Shitagi takes a mix of black and white and color photographs.
And the photos aren’t always in perfect focus. Here’s a blurry shot on West 4th Street in the West Village.
These photos are incredible because it looks like there is no one in the city at all.
The photos were taken around the clock.
And that all year round.
It was important that the photographs represented a sketch of life in New York City.
This shot was taken right in front of the Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side.
Here’s one in Grand Central Terminal.
These professional dancers can pose seemingly anywhere, including on a fire escape in an East Village apartment building.
Or an empty subway car.
Sometimes the photos are nothing special; the dancers look like normal people in normal street clothes.
Posing in the water in Central Park.
And under the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Ballerina Project has now expanded to other locations around the world. Here, a dancer in Hawaii jumps into a pose.
However, most of the photos were taken in New York. Here is one on the Williamsburg Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Don’t try this at home.
They blend in with their urban surroundings.
And any place in the city can be a rehearsal room.
Or a place to rest your head.
Taken on Broadway near Union Square, this photo makes it feel like no one else lives in the city.
The colors make the photo stand out.
And you really get a sense of the power and strength of these women.
Here is a beautiful silhouette portrait taken in Central Park.
And a still image of an impressive pose as the city rushes by.
This 15-year-old has a great Instagram account
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