A few months ago I had the privilege of shooting with contemporary dancer Nikki Leopold. For those who already know my shooting style, we started off by dancing improv to some music. Many dancers have lovely movement but there was something extremely different with Nikki. Moments within her dancing, I started to feel emotional. Her movement demonstrated something that deeply moved me. It was unfeigned kindness. Accepting of pain that may be received, yet understanding of circumstances, still kind.
That is what I love about improv - to me it is the open door to showing you who are. At least for myself when dancing improv, though my technique may often lack my emotions are expressed, putting heart into movement. I appreciated her demonstrating her genuine self. As a photographer it is my job to photograph the beauty of somebody's authenticity and to have viewers feel what I feel. To see the beauty that I see.
The images from this session made such an impression upon me that I wanted to create a book of it for my photo show that came around the next month. Sadly it did not work out but I hope that you enjoy the photos. I hope that you can feel the kindness that I felt that day.
Masumi