Dance: Nadine Knew

I photographed dancer Nadine in an old factory in Leicester. Here she introduces herself:

Nadine is a dancer who is just finishing up her studies at De Montfort University (due to graduate July 2017). Her main practices are improvisation – including both movement and speech – and dance performance. She has co-lead the improvisation collective IMCO for two years, which is what made improvisation a big part of her practice. Merging improvised spoken word and movement together became the basis for creating material in the early stages of ‘She’s 12’; an ongoing performance project she has been working on for the last year. Nadine is interested in performing anecdotal, relatable, and light-hearted pieces for the audience, often carrying messages she holds close to her heart.

Thank you to Still Ill, for their wonderful space.

 

Portrait of dancer Nadine Knew in Leicester

 

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People Of Performance Art #16: Rob Gregson

is half of the artistic collective Tin Can People, based in Preston, who’s shows I’ve seen on several occasions. There’s something about Tin Can People that I instantly connected with, a simplicity of visuals, and dramatic text. We decided to do our PoPA somewhere neither of us knew very well, and we picked Sheffield.

The use of a pub or so was decided fairly early on, so we had a nice trip out to The Fat Cat & The Riverside.

Portrait of performance artist Rob Gregson

 

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When The Serious Work Is Done: Quixotic.

Isoelegant & I decided to have a day in a Leicester photography studio, playing with lights. We took it in turns to be the photographer & model.  Isoelegant bought a load of props and did 95 costume changes. I brought a cup & some cheese.

As with the previous ‘When The Serious Work Is Done‘, we are both doing our own photo edits & blog.

Isoelegant’s blog is here, where she explains the fun we had way better than I do.

Portrait of Isoelegant with a mask and feather in her hair in a Leicester studio
Photo & edit: DWC

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Dance: Mac Daniel Villanueva Palima

Was lucky enough to photograph dancer Mac at Derby Theatre rehearsal rooms.  I’ll let the introduction be done by Mac:

My name’s Mac Daniel V. Palima and I’m very Asian – a proud one at that too!  I am an androgynous ninja who struts around wherever I go on a daily basis (low key I pretend I’m a Victoria Secret Angel. I even have a dedicated playlist to strut to, haha).

Currently a third year Dance student/artist at De Montfort University (DMU). Originally from Philippines and trained in traditional Filipino folk dances and gymnastics. I have a keen interest in understanding how the body works and the aesthetic in movements, martial arts and tai chi. I love the human body!!!

💋🙏✌️

Thanks to Derby Theatre for the use of their Green Lane rehearsal rooms for the shoot. It’s a beautiful building.

Portrait of Mac Daniel Villanueva Palima in Derby Theatre's Green Lane rehearsal rooms

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Dance: Amy Harris

I photographed dancer Amy in the caves at The Maltcross in Nottingham. Here’s her introduction:

Born in Cairo and raised in Peckham, Amy works with improvised performance to explore concepts of authorship and readership. She uses book binding, videos, social media and live performance as her medium but most importantly, she does these things because she enjoys it. At the moment, she is reclaiming joy as a legitimate reason to create.

Thanks to The Maltcross, Nottingham for the use of the space.

 

Portrait of dancer Amy Harris in the Maltcross in Nottingham

 

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People Of Performance Art #15: Charlotte Louise Berry

Charlotte Louise Berry is half of the artistic collective Tin Can People, based in Preston, who’s shows I’ve seen on several occasions. For our PoPA, we decided to meet somewhere in between, in Hayfield, Derbyshire where we found Millie’s Tearoom & Chocolatier to talk in.

Our conversation was far reaching, but we didn’t settle on a subject, so we went for a walk round the village. It was on the walk that Charlotte pointed to the mist covered hills, and said “I don’t know what we’re doing, but I want to do it there”. And, so we did.

 

Portrait of performance artist Charlotte Louise Berry

 

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Dance: Paloma Styles

I photographed dancer Paloma in Leicester Guildhall. Here she introduces herself:

Paloma Styles is a Leicester dance artist, whose true guilty pleasure could only be, R. Kelly – Trapped in the Closet. Alongside wishing there were more rap operas in the world, she also dances with Fuelled Dance Theatre, and studies for an MFA at DMU. She thoroughly enjoys the interdisciplinary mash up of ideas, like a 33-chapter rap opera – who would have thought!

Thanks to the Guildhall, Leicester for the use of their space.

Portrait of Leicester Dancer Paloma Styles

 

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When The Serious Work Is Done: Geisha

When The Serious Work Is Done is a series of blogs triggered by those discussions in the pub, of what would be a fun shoot. It’s by two photographers let off the leash, to go and play, then edit the photos, in their own style.

In this one,  talented wedding photographer and bundle of energy  Isoelegant used the opportunity to wear her geisha dress that she’d picked up in Japan. We then trekked a few miles up Dovedale hunting for locations. Isoelegant forged rivers, in full costume,  got cold and wet. I just pressed the shutter. Then we had an ice cream. It was great.

Here’s Isoelegant’s blog.

Isoelegant dressed as a geisha standing on a tree over a river

 

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Danni Spooner & Carise ZM in Leicester studio

I’ve not shown much stuff from my Leicester studio, so I thought I’d get in some friends for a photo shoot.  I asked Danni Spooner & Carise ZM for some 20’s/30’s style, but with a modern twist. And that’s just what they did.

As well as shooting digitally, I thought I’d take the large format camera for a spin. This is Sinar F1 large format camera, where the film negatives are 5″ x 4″. It’s enormously difficult to focus, so you may notice a bit of arty soft focus with the film images. I’m going to make that focusing easier, soon. For the technical, the film was Ilford FP4+ developed in ID-11.

Thanks to Derby Theatre for the chair & David Parkin for the lamp. And thank you to  Woodrow Studios for the backdrop, which was actually hand painted in the studio.

Danni Spooner & Carise ZM studio portrait Sinar F1

 

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