Daniil Simkin’s INTENSIO

Daniil Simkin in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Islands of Memories”

Daniil Simkin’s INTENSIO featured four world premieres all in one evening, which is really exciting to be a part of. I photographed both the dress rehearsal and some of the live performance on opening night. The first photograph you see here was chosen by The New York Times to accompany their review of the show.

Isabella Boylston and Alexandre Hammoudi in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Islands of Memories”

Daniil Simkin and Céline Cassone in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Islands of Memories”

There was a special buzz around the Pillow having Daniil here, and all the other dancers – extraordinary American Ballet Theatre company members Isabella Boylston, Alexandre Hammoudi, Blaine Hoven, Calvin Royal III, Hee Seo, Cassandra Trenary, and James Whiteside, as well as Céline Cassone, a special guest artist from Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. (You have to be a killer dancer to have bold red hair like Céline and get away with it. She’s awesome.)

Daniil Simkin in Alexander Ekman’s “Simkin and the Stage (Part Two of Simkin and the City from YouTube)”

Alexandre Hammoudi, Céline Cassone, James Whiteside, Isabella Boylston, and Calvin Royal III in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Islands of Memories”

We’ll be working with James B. Whiteside and Isabella Boylston in Vail next week at Vail International Dance Festival (where my wife makes creative films and documents performances) so it’s nice to get acquainted with them here at the Pillow. I’ll be making images with them throughout the weekend, so more with the dancers is coming soon. INTENSIO is beautiful. I loved it.

Gauthier Dance

Garazi Perez Oloriz and Maurus Gauthier of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in “Floating Flowers”

Gauthier Dance, in their U.S. debut, brought a series of vignettes that are sexy and playful and really fun to watch. The dancers are gorgeous. They have a European flair, and they did the entire show in the dress rehearsal full-out, which was great to photograph.

Florian Lochner of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in “PACOPEPEPLUTO”

Juliano Pereira of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in “PACOPEPEPLUTO”

Anneleen Dedroog and Rosario Guerra of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in “Two Become Three”

Luke Prunty and Maria Prat Balasch of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in “Malasangre”

After photographing the show, I hoped I’d get a chance to see it again over the weekend. It’s full of little surprises, which to me is the best. Each piece in Gauthier’s work brought on things I wasn’t necessarily expecting, and meeting and chatting with Eric Gauthier was delightful.

10 Years at Jacob’s Pillow

I was really glad and grateful the Pillow made this video about my 10 years at the festival. I’m not often asked about my work as a dance photographer. I show up, I do my job and do it as best I can, but I don’t often talk about what I do. It was fun to be interviewed and to see someone else’s perspective on what I do as an artist.

httpv://vimeo.com/134485940

I think every year at the Pillow is my best year, and this 10th season is no different. It is the best yet.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude this summer. I put on my goal list to allow myself to be surprised, delighted and filled with joy every single day and that was my intention for the festival. I’ve achieved that goal every day this summer. I feel like I work in the greatest place in the world. This all sounds cheesy, but I kinda can’t get over it.