Capturing Dance with Christopher Cushman

This image was captured at the skywalk just off of Front Street as part of my book Dance Through Life. I have always been attracted to art practiced in the everyday world.
> This image was the first and last time I was late for a technical rehearsal. The lights came up literally as I walked into the Fleck Theatre and my camera was not nearly set up correctly. I ended up with eight seconds of open shutter which caught the dancer in about fourteen different positions and ended with him standing still. Quite extraordinary to achieve but more of a happy mistake.
> I was able to get The National Ballet School to light Currie Hall and open the front doors to capture Byron leaping here. We were going to have a book/photo showing but never got the funding for the show. Still, the image is iconic given the significance of the location – the moment was not lost on either of us.
> I was amazed at the height of Kevin Ormsby’s leap and the ability of the 6’ 3” Marc Hall’s ability to easily capture him – all against the iconic Toronto city hall.
> Shot in my studio, I found the skirt created an almost flower-like effect during Rodney's jump.
> KasheDance photographed at The National Ballet School. This image became one of the iconic images for the 2011 Canadian Dance Festival and appeared in countless publications that year. It's one of those images that just caught the perfect moment.
> One of my iconic images combining the best of dance and Toronto. This image became the cover of my book Dance Through Life.
> Taken during a KasheDance practice. I was able to catch the 6’ 3” Byron Beckford at the apex of his leap with just his fingertips touching the floor. I'm in awe of that kind of precision.
> One day I was shooting three dancers at Toronto’s Allan Gardens near midday and I suddenly recognized that I was actually shooting six dancers! There is the dance and then there is the impression it leaves.
> Sean Smith could be one of Canada’s most talented dancers. He has danced for Alvin Ailey and is currently with Dallas Black Dance Theatre in the United States. We wanted to do something different so we got up and began shooting around four in the morning in the quiet and largely deserted streets of Toronto.
> This image was shot in my studio (converted tiny apartment dining room) for the 2014 KasheDance Calendar. It's a favourite because of its perfection.
> Another image shot in my studio for the 2014 KasheDance Calendar. This image is a favourite because of its perfection of shape and the black and white contrast.

For a moment I can dance. But just in my mind. My attraction to dance is one of a wished for fantasy, to be able to move in multiple dimension at will without constraint or conscience thought. My reality seems more two dimensional in nature as age and size have me well grounded by gravity, but when I am photographing the moment I am there. However brief that moment is, I live vicariously through my friends with super human abilities. While not able to leap tall buildings with a single bound they leap and spin into my heart and my mind and for a moment, for just that moment, I can dance. ~ Christopher Cushman, from his book on dance in everyday life with Kevin A. Ormsby, Dance Through Life.

Cushman’s vibrant imagery of the Toronto ball scene is featured in the January/February 2014 issue in Voguing and its Discontents.

Cushman has been photographing dance in North America for the last twenty-five years. He has captured various dance companies such as Alvin Ailey, Dallas Black Dance Theater, The Philadelphia Dance Company as well as Ballet Creole and KasheDance in Toronto. Cushman has extensively documented the nascent Toronto vogue ball scene as part of the House of Monroe and is looking forward to publishing his book Ovahness! this year.

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Tagged: Contemporary, Photography, ON , Toronto