the ballerina project

The Ballerina Project was started from the concept that New York City is a magnet for creativity. it was a fully collaborative effort between the dancers, the photographer Dane Shitagi, and fashion designers – and not to forget the New York City landscape as a collaborator itself… the photographer sites the struggle of starving artists as the main inspiration for this photo project as well.

i was a ballerina for ten years, so I find these photos especially beautiful. all the photographs are taken in different locations around the city, some locations more beautiful than others, but carefully placing a dancer in each photo draws the attention away from the cityscape and focuses you on her beauty.

i love the feeling of isolation in this photo. ballet can sometimes be a very isolating profession, girls will get lost in their own heads. you’re always around other people, other dancers, but you can still feel alone. this is the same for New York City - you can see people everywhere you go, but can still feel isolated.

in this photo, i’m drawn to the movement; people walking, subways passing by, but the ballerina remains calm and elegant in the face of all the surrounding commotion.

- smiley