Arthur Elgort: Ballet

Description

Following his career-spanning monograph The Big Picture, Arthur Elgort pays homage to his first love and eternal muse in this new collection of photographs. While glimpsing ballet through Elgort's lens we are taken not to the front of the stage but behind the scenes, where the hard work is done. On this journey through the hallways and rehearsal spaces of some of the world's most distinguished ballet schools, including the New York City Ballet and the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, we see previously unpublished images of legends such as Balanchine, Baryshnikov and Lopatkina. The perfection of the prima ballerina disappears in these quiet photographs where the viewer is able to witness the individual dancers' natural glamor as they work to perfect their craft. Elgort's snapshot style allows the pain and pleasure of one of the world's most beloved forms of expressive dance to be seen with beauty. From the first day I worked with Arthur I realized his prism is dance. He took its languid, exuberant perfection as his inspiration when he found himself a young Turk in fashion photography. It has to this day served as his anchor. Christiaan

Arthur Elgort, born in 1940 in New York City, has photographed the world's most beautiful and talented people for over forty years. He has published seven books to date including Personal Fashion (1983), The Swan Prince (1987), Models Manual (1993) and Camera Ready (1997). In addition to Ballet, Edition 7L has published Camera Crazy (2004) and The Big Picture (2014).

The images within Ballet remain perpetually classical -- a true snapshot of elegance and grace encapsulated in the testing and difficult art of ballet. The grueling sport is nothing short of breathtaking when performed under the light of the stage...Elgort's images also portray the more humbling lives of the dancers, shot between the performances; the learning, the straining, and the patient commitment. Sculpted legs and arms extend from the bodies of those stretching, leaping, and many times, waiting for their next queue to extend into action. In this way, Elgort beautifully and successfully captures all aspects of dancers' lives -- from the pain to the pure euphoria.--Sarah Sunday "Provokr" The girls trusted Elgort to convey their bodies to the world in the way they wanted. His credentials at Vogue, where he was known for a spontaneous, body-in-motion style, reassured them that he could be relied on to make them look not just attractive, but also simmering with energy - and strong.--Lucy Davies "Telegraph" If Arthur Elgort's body of work were to be performed as a recital, each photograph would be considered a principal dancer [...] Ballet showcases a series of images of dancers both on and off stage -- a dazzling spectacle that takes flight, showcasing an intimate portrayal of both strength and softness from a plie to saute.--Mitchell Nugent "Interview"