Kicking myself.

Hard.

They seem to have tried to edit my bio a bit too, but with a few typos and mistakes. Guess I’ll try to get that fixed when we’re in the theater next week!

Believe it or not though, it is the dancers that pick their photos, although the way it’s done makes it really hard to make a good decision.

I wanted to blog the picture choosing experience yesterday, but I didn’t have time. All the photos pop up small on Paul’s computer screen. You have about 5 minutes, maybe 7 if you’re pushy, to look through them with Paul’s assistant and choose the photo that will represent you in all company press. Crazy right?
I had trouble deciding between 2 different photos (one was serious, the other smiley and confident). I asked if they could email them to me and I would let them know that night which one I wanted. Not possible
So, unfortunately, not a lot of time goes into choosing the right photo.

The photos in the brochures are another story. So many great pictures are taken of the company that it seems crazy that there could be a bad one printed in something that goes out to so many people, but it happens. I’m sure the people choosing them try hard, but I guess a ballet dancer always has a more discerning eye (especially when it comes to an unpointed foot, or an awkward position). My dad is a photographer, and even though he’s seen lots of dance and shoots dancers often, there are still times that he’ll love a shot because of the lighting or the feeling, but I won’t because I feel like something is a little off technically.

I do like how they hire new photographers every year for the seasonal promotional photos (the ones you see at Lincoln Center, on bus stops, and on the Stagebill). I even got to be in one for the 2001 campaign and the photographer Raymond Meeks was very talented.
It’s an attempt to uphold a wonderful tradition. I have a bunch of programs from when Balanchine was alive that have photos by renowned photographers like George Platt Lynnes, Irving Penn and Cecil Beaton. They are so beautiful.
I also have this wonderfully artsy book from the 50’s called “Ballet in Action” with photos of NYCB dancers by Paul Himmel. He did a lot of work for Harper’s Bazaar, as did his wife Lillian Bassman. His photos have long exposures and do well at capturing movement. I wish there was more fun collaboration like that today.

That Rockwell article is pretty infamous huh? I was eating dinner just this weekend and overheard a woman talking about it! I’m not really sure what he’s talking about. I mean, I wasn’t around to see (in real life) the dancers he is writing about, but I work with beautiful people everyday. Perhaps you are right in that it could have something to do with the way we are being presented. So… if there are any rockstar publishers, photographers or artists out there that are itching to experiment with dancers, lets talk.

John Rockwell wrote a column which appeared in the NY Times on 6 February 2005 entitled, “Today, It’s Dance 10, Looks 3,” saying that “the City Ballet might try cultivating a few more gorgeous hothouse flowers like those that graced its stage in decades gone by.”

I think they just need better photography to show off what they’ve got!

Why is the NYCB website so awful?