La Otra Orilla Flamenco Dance Photos
I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed this show. I didn’t know anything about the dance company La Otra Orilla at all. They’re from Montreal, and the company is made up of a solo dancer, Myriam Allard, and the accompanying musicians (the singer is her husband). I love going into a show not knowing anything. I went in to La Otra Orilla’s dress rehearsal with no expectations, and they just blew me away.
Flamenco dancer Myriam Allard
It is not traditional flamenco, although she dances flamenco beautifully. It is much more drama and storytelling, and it’s also a little abstract. Usually, as I’m photographing a dance performance, I’m looking through the eyepiece and I’m looking for shapes and emotion and movement. I don’t get the whole ambiance that the audience sees.
Myriam Allard
But this time, I found myself getting teary-eyed a couple times from the passion, depth and emotion coming from Myriam, the dancer. She’s just fantastic. It was dark, it was moody. I only saw half of it. These photos only represent the first half of the show, because I had to run to the other theater to photograph “Restless Creature.”
Photographing Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature Premiere
Wendy Whelan with Alejandro Cerrudo
Wendy Whelan’s “Restless Creature,” on the other hand – I’ve been totally immersed in this project for months. If you follow my blog, you know I’ve been photographing them in rehearsal, and Nel and I have been making films.
httpv://youtu.be/puTus7dAaIw
Wendy & Kyle
Watch all four dance films on her blog!
We’ve been very closely involved during the making of these dances. So my experience seeing “Restless Creature” was the opposite of my experience photographing the flamenco show. I had a lot of expectations for this world premiere, a lot of inside knowledge. I know all of these choreographers/dancers. I’ve spent a lot of time with Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks and Alejandro Cerrudo in rehearsal with Wendy.
Wendy & Josh
At this point I feel like Wendy’s our friend, and I’m just so excited for her. It’s so huge that after 29 years in New York City Ballet, she told Nel, “I’m not afraid to fail.” This is a huge risk for her to do this show. She’s courageous and fantastic. And I was so happy to see the dance performance got a rousing standing ovation on opening night. Bravo, Wendy! Bravo, Kyle, Joshua, Brian & Alejandro!
Up Next: Wendy Whelan Photo Essay
I invited the four choreographers and Wendy to join me in my Natural Light Studio tomorrow. This week I’m following Wendy around in rehearsal, backstage, in performance, in the dressing room… Stay tuned for a photo essay about her week at Jacob’s Pillow next Friday!
