The Art of Movement
Reviews (282)
A masterpiece of dance photography
This book is filled with stunning images of dancers that are The images in this book are truly art. I would be happy to hang them as huge prints above my fireplace. They are captivating to behold. The lighting is exquisite; it naturally enhances the beauty and form of the dancers without drawing attention to itself. I want to compliment the posing, but it’s not posing. The dancers are in motion, and always captured at the perfect arc of the movement. I can only imagine all the work behind the scenes to create this masterpiece. These authors also including numerous male dancers in the book and the men are treated with the same grace and attention to detail as their female counterparts. Many ballet sources focus more on the females, which is understandable, who doesn’t admire a beautiful, talented ballerina en pointe in a flowing gown? But it is refreshing to have a group of gentlemen dancers presented with such sophistication. The authors have a ballerina in the family and it shows. They understand the technical excellence demanded by ballerinas. A dancer’s feet, hands, legs, shoulders, knees everything must be in the proper form to meet their incredible standards. To the outsider, the image simply looks graceful, lovely and even natural. But if the dancer’s hand had the appearance of holding a hamburger or the foot was curved in instead of delicately pointed out, every dancer who beheld the image would have groaned with despair. I can’t imagine any dancer looking at this book with anything but appreciation. Some of the images show the dancer in movement and the gown gracefully in the air complementing the movement. It’s so perfect it looks like a sculpture. I can’t help but wonder how it was all so perfectly achieved. The athleticism of the dancers shows through in many images, but is a soft after note of the image. I’ve seen dance photography where the dancer looks like a body builder and it’s a little frightening. This is delicate and enhances the visual story. I was ecstatic when my hard copy arrived in the mail. I had preordered it, and I just preordered the Kindle version that comes out next month. I want to have the book with me when I travel. It’s that kind of book, the one where you give it as a gift, and have more than one copy yourself. Congratulations to the authors and dancers. This is a magnificent body of work and reflects well upon the world of dance and photography. It is a masterpiece.
Astonishing but cool
All the rest here give it five stars, which convinced me to purchase it, nor do I regret that decision--unquestionably gorgeous photography, especially in terms of lighting, but also in terms of poses and dress. Beauty and drama in abundance. But there is a "however", and this is it: All these photos have a "detached coolness" about them, like the photos you find in the shoe or leotard ads in Dancemagazine or Pointe. Thus the photos astonish more than they move--shaken, not stirred. "Too much perfection." I would like to have seen some sweat, even a lot of sweat. If you buy it, you're gonna wind up viewing it at a distance--can't be helped.
Incredibly Moving
This is a masterful and loving tribute to the art of ballet. Deborah Ory and Ken Browar capture the passion, majesty, beauty, and glory of stellar contemporary ballet dancers, from a diverse range of companies and countries. The book includes quotes from many of the dancers, providing a look into the hearts and souls of world-class dancers. Dance is all about movement, so it can be a challenge to capture its essence with still photographs, but Deborah's and Ken's photos more than succeed. I have a large collection of ballet photography books, and this one leaps boldly to the top of the list of the best. Thank you!
Disappointed
I bought this as a gift for a teen dancer. From the cover, I was expecting more color photos of female dancers. There were many smaller black and white photos of male dancers. This would have been ok but there were quite a few photos of just close-ups of the dancer's body. I would have preferred more in-motion photos. Planning to return.
For those who appreciate dance or dance photography
As an aspiring dance photographer I had to have this book. And I'm so glad I picked it up. As soon as it arrived I've been pouring over the images, first with a bird's eye view and now looking at the details of each shot. It's been truly inspiring. I use in constantly in my own shoots with dancers. We review some images that I think might be good for them, and that gives them inspiration, and then we make the shot their own, with their own personalities coming through. The book is high quality with great shots in multiple dance genres throughout. Whether your a fan of dance, dance photography, the study of movement, or just fascinating images, this is a perfect book.
The content is WONDERFUL, the condition is okay
I bought a "very good" condition version, which I think was a little open to interpretation, but it'll be alright. Seller said "some overall wear from reading, has a few creases." The cover has many, many bends and the edges have entirely lost their crispness. There is an especially large wrinkle through the entire middle of the front cover... Sad, because it was going to be a centerpiece. But the inner pages are great and the content is truly beautiful. A great visual feast and definitely worth keeping close to just LOOK AT IT.
Stunning
I was rendered breathless by this book. The photography takes second place to the movement but it is stunningly well done, so well done that you are not immediately aware of it. I wondered how many times the dancer and the photographer duplicated the same movement to get that one perfect shot. Of course the movement, captured in the one perfect instant, is the reason for the book. If you love dance in all its many incarnations, you will love this book. And if you are a photographer, it will give you something to shoot for, no pun intended.
everything and everyone in this book is beautiful and will make your eyes and soul happy
Gorgeous book by Ken Browar and his wife, Deborah Ory. They've been working on this photographical wonder for years, and it shows. The shots are otherworldly, some captured with the dancer seemingly in flight by way of imaginary wings. Lines, colours, everything and everyone in this book is beautiful and will make your eyes and soul happy.
The most AWESOME book I ever purchased d from Amazon
The most AWESOME book I ever purchased d from Amazon. The photos are Mind Blowing. The book is worth the money I spent on it and I live in Australia.. Absolutelly amazing book.. Looking forward for more books like this one..
Don't think twice, one of the most amazing books I have in my ballet book collection!!!!! Already can't wait for the part 2!!!!
All the pictures (I can't even call them pictures because they are so real, full of movement and air) are so so beautiful! The quality is just perfect!!!! I would say that it's a one of the kind ballet books
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