So it’s the season of dance audition photos and I’m working with a lot of individual pre-professional dancers at the moment. I just love building up their confidence and getting these young dancers ready to put their best feet forward and launch into the careers they have been working so hard for.
When I work with dancers to create audition photos, before we get to the final version of a shot, we spend a good amount of time working with lines, technique and energy. Lately, I have started working more with establishing and communicating the energy of a shot earlier in the process. Today, I want to share a little trick that I’ve come up with that is making a significant difference in the energy we are able to create in dance audition photos.
Most dancers tend to dance upward, because we are taught to lift our eyes and dance to the balcony. Often, that thought, in addition to the physical tension that comes from pushing for a higher leg line, causes tension and stiffness in the neck, or a ‘ginch’ in the back of the neckline. You know what I’m talking about… the head lifts too high so the gaze goes up to the ceiling in the effort needed to create a movement.
BEFORE:
Amanda Valentino, Before Photo Dance Audition Photo Rachel Neville
Last week, I asked a dancer to lift the energy from her heart chakra instead. Doing this allowed the neck to relax and to take on the line that we wanted. This is such a simple concept and it worked beautifully. Energy coming from the heart rather than the chin or the eyes was just the right shift to create the line we needed for a powerful audition photo, and the energy my dancer set out to portray was just right.
AFTER:
Amanda Valentino, After Photo Dance Audition Photo Rachel Neville
Let’s dig a little deeper to get to the connection between energy and the image we are making. Opening the heart chakra is often something talked about in the yoga world and perhaps, if you are in tune with a certain spirituality methodology, but I have been astounded over the last week at how easy and effective a tool the heart chakra is for dancers to use to create lines and expressions!
It is one of those tricks that seems to help almost all of my clients so I am eager to share it with you all just in time for the main events that are coming up in your dance world.
I have some dancers who have graciously allowed me to use before and after photos to demonstrate the effect that accessing your heart chakra has on dance audition photos. Stay with us for a post, coming soon, where we will dig deeper into this topic and review the before and after photos.
Tagged: auditions, ballet, chakra, dance, image making, motivation, photo shoot, photography, photography tips, studio, tips
