The Winger » The Real Backstage

The Real Backstage

September 27, 2007 at 11:56 pm · Filed under backstage, dance, dancers, physical therapy, photography, photographer, PATRICIO, chile, ballet de santiago

PATRICIO MELO
Ballet de Santiago
Santiago, Chile
BIO | POSTS

This is me, I really love these kinds of pictures, but it is hard because people loose their spontaneity when I have my camera in front of them. Sometimes I would love to be invisible, hehehehehehehe

Nadia and her music, and one cigarette.

Andreza and telephone.

Margarita, ballerina and yoga teacher.

This is Elizabeth, such a nice ballerina.

Something really funny was in that computer…..

Agustin and cigarette.

Where are you going Paulina???????????

Sonia, Pancha and Francisco, What is next……….

Roberto, but we call him Chaman, he is our therapy man, he is great.

Sasha in smoking area, he is a principal with Stuttgart Ballet and now guests here for Bayadere.

Her name is Dolores, but we call her Lolo. She will be getting married next january, so we are having a party.

This is Alejandra the secretary, she is so funny and nice.

These stairs go to the smoking area and this is Agustin, enjoying another cigarette.

This is Cyril in dressing room. He loves that game on his computer.

Nadia still with her music, but after her cigarette.

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matthew said,

September 28, 2007 @ 12:52 am

This is my favorite series of yours yet! Fantastic. Thank you for sharing. I’m getting a nice new pro camera tomorrow, and I can’t wait to start using it. Your photos have been quite the inspiration.

tonya said,

September 28, 2007 @ 2:41 am

These are awesome! Black and white rules! I am beginning to really want to see your company! There is something very Julio Bocca about Agustin Everyone smokes!!

susan said,

September 28, 2007 @ 8:01 am

I agree with Matt/hew. These are, most def, my faves.

SanderO said,

September 28, 2007 @ 6:09 pm

Patricio,

I love your photographer’s eye! What I don’t love, is to see these beautiful dancers smoking. ICK

Dancers and people… please don’t smoke.

Patricio.. please give us more photos. You’re damn good!

SanderO said,

September 28, 2007 @ 6:10 pm

hahaha

Tonya… I didn’t read the comments till now and I see you picked up on the smoking too.

hmmmmm inneresting eh?

tonya said,

September 28, 2007 @ 9:36 pm

Yes, I did, SanderO! I noticed the same in some of Evan’s earlier pictures too. It seems like concern about the health hazards of smoking is primarily an American thing? I’m surprised at dancers smoking though — I’d think dancers would be so careful not to do anything harmful to their bodies, especially when they’re all out at the Whole Foods stores buying wheat juice, etc.. Is it to stay thin?

Alice said,

September 28, 2007 @ 11:00 pm

Thank you for your pictures Patricio!!! They are amazing. And thank you so much for posting the ones of Ferri and Bocca!!!…(Question: Were the Manon ones from their last last performance together?) Please keep them coming!

Patricio said,

September 29, 2007 @ 12:21 am

Hi Alice, the Manon pic was in Buenos Aires, in october 2006.

nothsa said,

September 29, 2007 @ 12:40 am

So unglamorous, the smoking.

matthew said,

September 29, 2007 @ 3:31 am

I picked up on the smoking thing too. I think in ballet a majority of time, smoking is a weight thing. I also think it has a little bit to do with having a tiny bit of control in a chaotic profession. I’ve never understood smoking, I protested when my father did it while I was a child, and I complain to my friends who do it now. Plus who wants to kiss someone who has just had a cigarette?! No thank you

Patricio said,

September 29, 2007 @ 3:48 am

Wow, thanks God I stop smoking hehehhehehe. But is true the cigarette is really bad.

thewinger.com » The Real Backstage 2 said,

September 29, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

[…] I´m very glad you enjoy The Real Backstage 1, so here is the second part. It sounds like a movie, part 1, part 2, part 3 heheheheheheheh. […]

tonya said,

September 29, 2007 @ 4:09 pm

Oh, thanks for the explanation, Matt. I suspected it had something to do with weight (practically every fashion model in existence smokes), but hadn’t thought about the control issues. Very Interesting.

nothsa said,

September 29, 2007 @ 9:54 pm

I hope all the yuck-on-smoking comments don’t come across as too, I don’t know, nasty. It’s just that I think we all know that smoking is not good for one’s health but we also know that, yes, a lot of dancers do it for reasons of weight control and (fascinating observation, Matt) chaos control. but if you want to help weaken the hold that this habit has on people, maybe it would be best not to photograph it and present it in a way that can seem glamourous. I hate to censor reality, but when you can’t present reality with the smells and sounds that go with it, maybe then the photos aren’t truly reality. Just a random thought.

Patricio said,

September 29, 2007 @ 11:20 pm

Each person is free, so if samebody like cigarette for me is ok, I´m nobody to seid you dont have to smoke, we all know the cigarette is no good, but is a personal choice if you smoke or not. I really sorry for my english, is hard to me write in english. And one more think I will continue take this kind of pictures because is real, is life and we have to learn to respect the other people.

tonya said,

September 30, 2007 @ 12:12 am

Patricio, you’re so cute Your English is totally clear! And, you know, everyone here loves a man with a foreign accent!!

Personally, I didn’t think the pictures glamorized smoking, but just captured the essence of backstage life, part of which is, to some, smoking. I just worry about the dancers’ health since they need such good lung capacity. But I mean, I eat chocolate and drink lots of red wine (too much!), so I guess we all have our not-tremendously-healthy habits! Just as long as cigarette companies are compelled to be truthful so everyone has the facts before they decide what to do with their bodies (that’s the lawyer in me coming out…) I was more noticing than judging Are you going to tell your colleagues that they started a big debate here?!

Patricio said,

September 30, 2007 @ 3:49 am

Thanks Tonya for your words, and you know, I think this is great because we have the posibility to talk about, and my colleagues alredy know about this cigarette debate.

sage said,

November 11, 2007 @ 5:49 am

hey, my name is sage and this is my first time on this website(although i have been on for a couple of hours) i am 13 years old and i heard about this on the i phone commercial o yea congratz kristen! well i am a dancer, and i have been doing dance for about 8 and a haf tears now. i thought this was a cool website because i really want to get serious about dancing, i have already gotten a scholarship and i think if i work harder i can do many great things. these pics are absoluteley amazing!

june said,

November 12, 2007 @ 6:22 pm

hi kristen, i too saw you on the iphone commercial, i love your page and agree with the others who said that the black and whites show the passion of the dance. I love to dance and at 40, I’ve missed my chance, so I guess i will have to live vicariously, through your page.
Thanks for doing this for us!
xoxox
June