Moulin Rouge Broadway.com BTS
The best advice I can give with dance photography is present a guideline and then get out of the way. Seldom has this been truer than when I photographed a bulk of MOULIN ROUGE’s ensemble for a Broadway.com feature highlighting choreographer Sonya Tayeh and her all-star performers.
My process on set with dancers begins by giving them a sense of what I’m looking to capture based on my pre-pro notes. It might be as simple as “I want a jump,” or as specific as “I want something balletic from this section of the show that hovers perpendicular to the beam above you.” From there I trust the performer to generate movement that feels, first and foremost, safe within the parameters of the set (a concrete floor demands more precaution than a sprung floor) and powerful within their bodies.
Sometimes the first shot, when it hasn’t been overthought, is the perfect moment. Other times we will try to excavate something from that initial burst only to get farther from the intended result. When this becomes the case, I usually say “I’ll follow you” and encourage them to try something else. From there we find a new gem of movement and repeat the process until we’ve got the shot.
This group was every bit the daredevils I had hoped they would be. We had about 3 hours total to shoot once styling was completed; usually no more than 5 minutes per shot before we had to move on or risk not accomplishing everything. We worked with three Paul C. Buff lights in their modifiers, constantly changing the gel colors to evoke the colorful world of the show, while shifting position each setup to ensure variety.
A true luxury was having Sonya on set and able to help keep the movement true to the show while also exploding it for the camera. I am so grateful to each performer who threw themselves into the task, as well as the team involved who shuffled light stands and gels faster than I could yell #MoreHaze.
Click below to see the final shots from the day.
Credits:
Styling: DW
Hair and Makeup: Nicolette Gold, Morgan Mabry and Keleen Snowgren
