Kate Huntington and I got together for a quick shoot at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.
It had rained the night before our shoot so the air was extra clear, which created beautiful light for our early morning shoot.
You can follow Kate on IG here @K8Huntington
-Oliver Endahl
This was Kayla Incontro and my first time shooting together. We utilized a variety of indoor and outdoor locations in the Bay Area, and created a huge amount of epic shots.
You can follow Kayla on IG here @KayinContro and keep an eye on the Zine for more shoots with her in the future.
-Oliver Endahl
Zahna Simon is a deaf dancer located in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the company and festival assistant director at the Urban Jazz Dance Company and is extremely talented.
We used a variety of locations in SF, including the Sutro Bath Ruins, Ocean Beach, the Hidden Staircase, and Sutro Heights Park.
You can follow Zahna on Instagram here @DeafEnPointe
-Oliver Endahl
Sofia and I have shot together a few times over the years in a variety of states and locations.
This time, we spent the day creating in San Francisco, California.
Isn’t that arabesque crazy?
We started the shoot at Bernal Heights, which offers beautiful views of the city + a nice view of the Sutro Tower (which you can see in the bottom right corner of the image above)
After bernal we headed to the Legion of Honor Museum.
The legion of honor is a popular photo spot in SF because it has a good variety of photogenic locations in the vicinity.
Our last location was Ocean Beach. That evening the weather rolled in some extremely dense fog that created a gorgeous mysterious atmosphere.
This shoot was extremely fun and we got a ton of gorgeous outdoor dance photos.
You can follow Sofia on IG here, and keep an eye on the zine for more photos down the line.
-Oliver Endahl
This was the first shoot Isabella Hoy and I did together. We hit it off and created some epic stills in a photo studio located in downtown Los Angeles.
Here’s my favorite shots from the shoot + a few questions for Isabella herself!
Give us a short introduction!
Hello! My name is Isabella Hoy. I was born in St.Louis, MO, but CA is my home and has been for the past seventeen years. Although I have been teaching ballet for three years now, I only recently began dancing again. Having stopped dance at the age of fourteen, I feel so grateful to be able to dance again at twenty-three. So, for the past few months my life has been class, class, and more class. When I’m not dancing or teaching, you’ll probably find me reading or spending time with my incredible family and friends for whom I am so fortunate to have in my life.
What places do you want to travel to the most?
I’m ready to go back to Italy, like… right away! However, at the top of my list right now, I would also include Japan, Amsterdam, Ireland, and Spain.
Who’s your current favorite dance choreographer at the moment?
I’ve been watching a lot of Fredrick Ashton’s work, so I would have to say Mr. Ashton at the moment!
Pizza or burgers?
Pizza (but by that I mean my bisnonna/great grandmother’s handmade Sicilian pizza!).
Do you need white noise to sleep? Or silence?
Ah yes, the sound of rain and crickets is very soothing to me.
Do you like comedy? (If so, what’re some of your favorite comedy shows or movies?)
Oh, this is such a difficult question, there are too many to name, so I’ll just say the first movie that comes to mind is “The Frisco Kid” and the first show that comes to mind is “Fleabag”.
What’s a piece of art (movie, painting, play, ballet, broadway, television show, book, song, poem, etc..) That moved you the most this year so far?
I find poetry incredibly inspiring and it truly adds such depth and beauty to my life. I have a notebook where I write down every poem that speaks to me in someway. Out of the hundreds of poems and quotes in there, the one I’m thinking of now is “Ithaka” by C.P. Cavafy
What do you enjoy about dancing?
I’ve been enchanted by ballet since I was two years old. So I shall say to dance is to live.
What’s something people might not know about you?
Literature, music, and acting has always and continues to be a large part of my life.
Would you rather cook 20 pies or rollerblade 20 miles?
I love to cook so I’d absolutely bake those twenty pies.
Kenzie Cohen and I started our photoshoot at the DTLA Visuals studios located in Los Angeles, California.
After we created shots there, we headed to the coast and shot in the late afternoon near Santa Monica Beach.
Shooting with Kenzie is great. She creates gorgeous lines and brings excellent charisma (and she’s always a blast to chat with during our shoots!)
You can follow Kenzie on IG here and keep an eye on the Zine for more shoots with her in the future.
-Oliver
Jaclyn Younger and I met up early one morning for a quick photoshoot on a nature trail.
Shooting outdoors is always more challenging for the dancer than shooting indoors, but shooting outdoors in pointe shoes on a twisting tree trunk and is next level.
Always a blast shooting with Jaclyn and I love the work we created on this quick nature shoot that morning.
You can follow Jaclyn on IG here.
Till next time,
-Oliver Endahl
Hunter and I shot together in the San Francisco Bay Area in May of this year.
We started the shoot at Bernal Heights in SF.
Bernal is a beautiful spot to shoot with stunning views of the city.
The wind was a bit intense, (to say the least) but Hunter was a trooper and played off the energy and vibe of the wind with some of the poses.
After we finished at Bernal Heights, we went to a nearby neighborhood and used this gorgeous garden spot that had lovely vinery and foliage.
After the garden area, we headed to the coast and shot at Ocean Beach for sunset.
As you can see, Hunter is a talented dancer with huge charisma and a unique movement quality. It’s always a blast creating with her and this shoot was especially fun.
You can follow Hunter on IG here.
Till next time,
-Oliver Endahl
Brooke-Madison Thames
At the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Brooke and I have created together many times over the years. For this shoot, we decided to spend the afternoon making stills at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
The Walt Disney Concert Hall was designed by architect Frank Gehry and is a very unique location. This area of the hall is the “outdoor garden” which is free and open to the public. (And they allow photoshoots to occur there at no charge, which is pretty rare.) So you can just walk in and start creating.
Shooting with Brooke is always a blast. She has excellent technique and a natural eye for lines and fashion.
We shot in the late afternoon so we had great golden sunlight that danced against the silvers of the concert hall and created lovely shadows.
This image is my favorite of the day. It features Brooke standing in a similar pose as Edgar Degas “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” statue (with the added addition of a cell phone)
You can follow Brooke on Instagram at: @Brooke_Madison_Thames and keep an eye on the Zine to see more of our shoots here in the future.
-Oliver Endahl
Briana Baldovinos
Colorful studio photoshoot in Los Angeles
This was the first photoshoot Briana and I did together. I had seen this colorful photostudio available for rent in LA and thought it would be a great location for us to utilize.
I loved the vibrant colors of this space. I think bright colors are underutilized in art and pop culture. Probably because colors are the “standard” of photos, so people equate less color (black and white) to be more “meaningful” in their expression. (But both black and white and color, are equally valid in their artistic expression.)
Briana brought a great charisma and achieved excellent ballet lines that played well with the lines of the furnishings.
For the lighting, there was one large window located on one end of the studio that we used as our main source. It was an overcast day, so the light came in soft and diffused.
I’ve been photographing for around 14 years so I can shoot quickly when I need to. Briana had done many photoshoots before and is a pro, so we were able to create all these images + more in just a 2 hour time period.
You can follow Briana on IG at @Briana.Ballerina and you can keep up with my work right here on the Zine.
-Oliver Endahl
Ayne Kim was the winner of The Pointe Shop’s 2023 Model search.
For this photoshoot, we created at Papago Park and then at a photo studio in Phoenix Arizona.
We began the shoot at dawn so we could capture the stunning colors from the sunrise. Sometimes shooting at dawn can be a chilly endeavor, but since we were shooting at the right time of the year, we had a perfect 85 degrees the whole time we were outside.
As you can see, Ayne is insanely talented. She achieved these phenomenal ballet positions while standing in pointe shoes outside on dirt. (And she makes it look easy)
As usual, for this shoot I used my Sony A7 R IV and my Sony A 7 IV to create the photos, and then tweaked their colors using Adobe Lightroom.
(Not an ad for Adobe or Sony. I just get a lot of people asking what I shoot and edit with)
After we finished at the park, we headed to a local photo studio that we had rented.
It was great to shoot outside and then in. The vibes from the first half to the second half of the shoot are very different.
The first half captured dance with nature, and the second half focused more on a mesh of dance with a flair of fashion editorial.
Ayne is extremely talented, and I had a blast working and collaborating with The Pointe Shop.
You can keep up with both Ayne and The Pointe Shop on their Instagram accounts listed below;
-Oliver Endahl
I’ve shot with Alexandra Light many times over the years and we recently did a virtual photoshoot together using the information superhighway.
Alexandra has been a dancer with Texas Ballet Theater for a some years now and recently helped unionize the dancers of the company. (Which we love)
This post features an interview I did with Alexandra as well as photos we created from our virtual shoot. You’ll see the original photo we shot through the internet using Alexandra’s cell phone, and then you’ll see my edited photo. (It’s pretty amazing what you can achieve using an iPhone and Photoshop nowadays)
-Here’s an introduction to Alexandra Light in her own words;
“I was born and raised in Washington DC, where I completed my ballet training at Maryland Youth Ballet (with summers at SAB, SFB, Kaatsbaan, Houston, etc). I spent one year in Houston Ballet II and joined Texas Ballet Theater in 2012, where I still dance now as a principal dancer. I am an emerging choreographer and consider myself an antidisciplinary artist, with movement based and visual based practices. I have done many different things, including commercial modeling and fine art gallery representation, as well as achieving a bachelor's degree in psychology, all while dancing professionally. I love ballet and storytelling through dance but I think the industry is in a lot of trouble if it doesn't start to make some serious changes. I am always an artist advocate, as well as concerned with how art can positively impact the world around us. “
-You just helped unionize the dancers of Texas ballet Theatre. Why is it important for ballet dancers to be unionized & what was the process like of making it happen?
“It is really difficult for me to imagine why, in our very unique situation as ballet dancers, both staff and dancers wouldn't want their ballet company unionized, because having dancer input and codification of existing rights benefit all. It is so important because it essentially guarantees that dancers and staff both have the communication and the tools they need to do the best job they can. Many dancer contracts lack in huge ways, whether it be pay to increase with inflation, bodily autonomy, or gender disparity in pay, etc. By unionizing, we figure out as a group of dancers what makes the most sense for us now and how we can build on it to go forward. The process was long but honestly extremely powerful; our team at AGMA were the best and educated us every step along the way. For the group of us (and I am lucky to have had many supportive dancers in our group concerned with making these positive changes) it was really beautiful to see everyone come together, research, connect, and be in solidarity as workers.”
-Do you think being a union leader as a dancer might affect your casting & career?
“I definitely worry about it from time to time but honestly, at this stage in my career, if my doing what I think is right and supporting my fellow dancers puts me in jeopardy, then so be it. I would say to the people who look to squash those of us trying to make positive change in a career that really, really needs it, to think about the sustainability of ballet long term- staff and dancers *have* to work together to make things better. As someone who works in the arts in more ways than just ballet, it is so apparent how badly the ballet world lags behind other art forms. Unionization is a great way to address many of the huge issues ballet companies face as we enter the mid 21st century.”
-You’re a choreographer yourself. What are your thoughts on the lack of female choreographers in the ballet world?
“I would love to talk about the challenges of the under-representation of female choreographers! It is hard to feel like no one wants you doing what you want to do, and even if they don't say it, the numbers make it clear. Dance Data Project just reported its numbers for the previous season, and only 22% of works in the top 50 largest ballet companies were choreographed by women. 22%!! and that was *down*!! from something like 27% I believe in the last report! Like, what?!?! People love to ignore this issue and say 'yes we care about gender disparity BUT etc etc etc...' and then not actually take action, and I just think it is crazy. I think there is some narrative that by promoting women being the storytellers, we are saying 'down with the men', and that couldn't be further from the truth. As the saying goes, rising tides raise all ships! We will all benefit from a more holistic and inclusive ballet world, and the storytelling is a huge part of that. I am happy to be a part of the change, though I really feel by 2023 we should have had this figured out by now?!? It is very powerful after a performance I’ve put on, or a choreographic premier, pretty much every time I hear from a peer or a student that watching me create has inspired them to take action in their own lives, even if they feel alone or unrepresented.”
-As a choreographer, what’s the process of creating dance work for you?
“Creating a new dance work always starts with specific inspiration, whether abstract or more concrete. I love looking into history, science, or mythology for my works, and I am such a fan and genuinely enjoy research. Then comes the great music hunt. I look forward to working with creators of music (like my partner!) more, but often I am finding music that I can get permissions for and license when appropriate (I never want to make people work for free). Then I listen listen listen a thousand times, working out the composition of a work by writing down the phrases of the music in a notebook. From there, I get more specific with movements, sections, etc throughout the music in my notations. That is all before I work with the dancers! I like to really, really have a good idea of the bones of a work before I come into the studio. However, even with the bones laid out, once I get in there with the dancers, it's a new world. I use my outlining and notation as a great guide, but I don't let it keep me from getting inspired on the spot by the dancers, or what looks good and feels good for their bodies. I just love it, all of it.”
-Something I see often with people who want to create art, is that they procrastinate the task because they’re afraid of their creation/art being bad. Any tips how to deal with that as an artist?
“Yes this is such a thing! I deal with it too from time to time. I approach it in two ways: Sometimes, especially for ballet dancers, we think we have to do it all, always, all the time- sometimes you're not actually procrastinating, but you actually need a rest. So if I'm realizing my procrastinations are actually a tad more on the burnout side, I try to give myself nothing to do, or reconnect to nature, just take time to feel free in my mind- it can lead to the best pushes to start a new project! And for the other times, when I truly am procrastinating out of fear of "failure"- you gotta just take the jump! I remind myself that even failure can be beautiful, and that by accepting new challenges in the face of fear you build true confidence.”
You can keep up with Alexandra Light on her website and socials;
Peyton Szuberla
At the Noguchi Gardens and in studio
Peyton Szuberla and I shot at a public sculpture display called “Noguchi Gardens” located in California.
The garden sits between some business buildings and a parking garage. It’s less of a traditional garden and more like walking through an outdoor museum filled with huge pieces of art. It’s kept insanely clean and is often used for various photoshoots. (I had never shot there, but the location had been on my radar for years) While we were there, there was two wedding parties and some locals snapping photos and enjoying the sights.
There’s several very large pieces of art that each individually stand on their own, and together they all combine to form one grand piece which is the garden itself.
It wasn’t until after our shoot that I researched to find out more about the location. It turns out it was designed by renowned artist Isamu Noguchi.
Here is the Wikipedia headline info about Isamu Noguchi;
“Noguchi Isamu (November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold.”
How wild that he designed sets for Martha Graham? You can see in his work that it absolutely lends itself to dance with all the curves and aesthetically pleasing shapes.
Here is more information on the garden’s from the official website;
“Commissioned by the Segerstrom family in 1979 and completed in 1982, Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario is recognized as one of the country’s preeminent sculpture gardens and the most vital publicly accessible outdoor sculpture oasis in Southern California. One of the artist’s most important public sculpture gardens, its design symbolizes various geographical characteristics of California, incorporating indigenous plants and materials.”
( https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2016/12/noguchi-garden/ )
Everything looks so beautiful and intentional at this place that at one point I thought an outdoor garbage can was an art piece. (Which I thought was especially funny since in the movie “Wonder Woman 1984” they make this exact joke as they stroll thru an outdoor sculpture garden.)
After we finished at Noguchi, we headed to a photo studio that we had reserved for 2 hours. The studio had skylights above a cyc-wall, so we used all natural light for the set up.
Peyton’s Mother, Jessica, was the stylist for the shoot. I told Jessica for colors and outfit inspiration that we wanted anything neutral for the gardens, and for the studio we wanted anything “Barbie” centric. (That movie has amazing fashion and both Jessica and myself were inspired by it)
Jessica knocked it out of the park on both themes.
Love these gloves and the lines they created with Peyton’s port de bras
This converse look was especially fun to shoot. Peyton’s movements maximized the flow of the blue top and really brought an electric energy to the look.
Towards the end of our time we started losing light, (we shot at the studio from 6-8 PM) So Peyton wore this unique white fluffy top that we paired with a maroon leotard. The white top picked up the remaining soft light and Peyton’s body was nearly silhouetted.
This was a phenomenal shoot. I was feeling extremely inspired by the Noguchi Gardens, Peyton’s movements and Jessica’s passion/great taste for styling.
Keep an eye on the Zine fore more shoots with Peyton and Jessica Szuberla.
-Oliver Endahl
Social Media isn’t what it used to be.
Today, the number 1 way we all use Instagram is to DM our friends comedy videos and Memes. (Which is why comedy absolutely crushes on social right now) It’s the thing people want to see when they use the app.
The context in which we intake media matters. For example, the state of mind we have when we visit a museum is an entirely different state of mind compared to when we enjoy food and drinks with friends at a restaurant. The same is true with social media. It’s become a place for sensationalized videos that are designed to induce a quick reaction to garner views that generate intense feelings that are forgotten as quickly as they were forged. Social media isn’t conducive to intaking and deconstructing your feelings on art. It’s just not the place for it. (Like filling up your car with gas and at the same time trying to analyze and deconstruct the meaning of the Mona Lisa. It’s not the time or place)
Because of this though, we’re trying a new format. Specific posts on this, the Ballet Zaida Zine (Zine pronounced like “MagaZINE”)
The Wikipedia definition of a Zine is; “A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine.”
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine )
Obviously, our Zine isn’t physical. (Although it could be fun to do a physical issue sometime) But the ethos is the same.
Social Media is designed to be addictive. We scroll until we feel a rush of endorphins, and then we keep scrolling. All the while, even when we aren’t using social media, we hand over every aspect of our digital lives to tech companies that then sell it to advertisers who want to distract your mind and drain your bank account to sell you things to capture that same endorphin rush you were looking for in the first place.
Instead of looking for endorphins by scrolling endlessly through a feed filled with fast moving people, topics and feelings, this is a place you can enjoy without giving up your life to social media companies and advertisers.
This is a place where my art will be shared and you can experience it without the stress of people fighting for your attention through sensationalism.
This is a place to enjoy photography and the thoughts of myself and the artists featured in the work.
This is a place to intake and deconstruct art.
Welcome to the Zine.
-Oliver Endahl
