The Ballerina Project is an exciting and creative portfolio created by photographer Dane Shitagi. The project consists of photographs of ballerinas in their natural element of dance but in an unexpected landscape: the city. An article from Today explains that ballerinas have been photographed in the following cities: New York, Boston, Toronto, Miami and Maui. The breathtaking photographs speak volumes to the message of the ballerina and encompasses three forms of art.
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According to the project’s website, Shitagi began this portfolio 17 years ago. The first landscape that inspired the start of the project is a waterfall in Maui, Hawaii. This photograph marked the beginning of the Ballerina Project. Shitagi moved his project to New York City a few years later and transformed the project’s aim to encompass a “beautiful ballerina in harmony with her environment.” In this case, the environment is New York’s “concrete jungle.”
Photographs are taken in different parts of the city. Some of the locations in New York include the heart of Manhattan, Central Park and Long Island. The ballerinas are pretty well-known in the dance world either current dancers or retired. After Shitagi has identified the ballerina and location, the next thing that makes the photograph so significant is the timing. Rather than just capturing the dance moves, Shitagi snaps a shot of the ballerina’s true personality. This is what makes his work so unique and creative.
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The Ballerina Project has a large following of over 820,000 Facebook followers, over 10,000 Twitter followers, 1.1 million Instagram followers and almost 7,000 followers on Pinterest. Shitagi is growing in popularity and it is happening fast. More and more ballerinas are wanting to be photographed by the unique and unconventional photographer. What makes Shitagi’s work so creative is the fact that it is new, innovative and different from your typical dance photographer. His work is useful to the field in that it captures the beauty of the ballerina, her message and her form of art. The photographer’s creativity encompasses two forms of art to portray three: the architecture in the background, the ballerina’s dance and the photograph.
Via Facebook
Shitagi’s portfolio is new and exciting, which is changing up the game in the field of photography, making the art of ballet even more beautiful and breathtaking.