New York Wedding Photographer Sofia Negron Photography Blog » Shut Up and Dance

MANNA and the dancers from PA Ballet: Shut Up and Dance 2010

Sofia — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:36:25 +0000

Celebrating it’s 18th year and my 5th year photographing this event, Shut Up and Dance was fantastic. This is my favorite benefit all year for MANNA. I love the tag line for this year, “We DANCE because food is life” For me, dancing was always my life, it gave me life, feeding my very soul. Food makes life possible. Therefore using dance to raise money for MANNA who in turn feeds people is a perfect solution.

It’s nice to see some new faces mixed in with some of my old favorites. Aranxta Ochoa did another moving performance of Dying Swan. It makes me cry every year.

Meredith Rainey choreographed my favorite piece, “Before the After”.

All the dancers were beautiful and I like that the dancers take chances and risks to choreograph and perform pieces they may not do otherwise. The PA ballet dancers are helping MANNA to raise money but MANNA is helping foster new choreographers and letting dancers show what else they can do.

Company Class: warming up for Shut Up and Dance

Sofia — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:19:07 +0000

As you know, I used to be a dancer and it is still very dear to my heart. I LOVE when I get the chance to photograph dancers. A few weeks back, I photographed the annual performance of Shut Up and Dance. Shut Up and Dance is a fundraiser for MANNA, produced and performed by dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet. This performance is a treat because the dancers get to choreograph pieces and you begin to see some of the rising choreographic stars. Of course, the dancers also get to expand their repertoire and dance something they may not usually get to do.

I arrived to the theater early so I could grab a few pics of the dancers in company class on stage. I love capturing these kinds of images because it begins to humanize the dancers and show them as real people. Sometimes when you see all the perfection in performance- you forget they are regular people. It is also great to show the practice, strength and athleticism required for dance. Enough talking- here are a few faves.

Fine Art Photos = Dance

Sofia — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:35:56 +0000

As many of you know, I used to be a dancer. I danced my entire life (since the wee age of 5). I love the way dance makes you feel. Well lately it has been making me feel like an elephant but even just dancing in the living room gives me euphoria. Capturing the perfect moment in my camera is like that too.

People always ask, “do you miss it?” I miss the awesome shape I was in but the challenge of getting that perfect step, that perfect moment expressed is still there for me in photography. Every wedding: I get to find and express that moment, that feeling, that perfection between two people or three or ten.

For me, the perfect assignment would be to capture dancers. Photographing them in rehearsals and performances. I would love to go behind the scenes and document the everyday life of a dancer. The classes, the stretches, the dedication, the determination, the tenacity, the rejection, the ecstatic bliss of knowing you were able to express that moment through your body; your breath. What would be even cooler would be to have married dancers in wedding attire dancing. Hey, if I am dreaming then I can have it all.

This introspection was triggered as I go through my dance photos for a fine art series. These are all images from the last several years that I have taken while photographing Shut Up and Dance. An annual performance put on by dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet that raise funds for MANNA. Yes, these are from the actual performance. Just like weddings, you have one chance to get that moment.