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DANCE NEWS: Photographer Costas Releases New Book 'Dancing Women,' a Companion to 'Dancing Men'
Costas, famed dance photographer, announces his new book Dancing Women, featuring pictures of great female dancers from around the world taken during his 50-year career. The new book is a companion to Costas' previous Dancing Men, a remarkable collection of photographs that reached across four decades and pictured some 50 notable male dancers in more than 100 images.
Published by Archway Publishing and available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in softcover and e-book, Dancing Women contains images of major dancers with both ballet and modern dance companies, including New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Company, and dancers from Asia.
"There are too few books depicting dancers in performance or rehearsals, showing dancers in action, as opposed to dancers in photo studios," remarked Costas. "The latter does not have the energy of the former. In addition, this book is not about great dancers of one company, but of many companies both classical and modern."
When asked what he wants readers to take away from the book, Costas replied: "Dance photographs stay still so you can look at them as long as you wish. They let you notice details that are difficult to see when the dancers move. Repeated viewings of dance photographs yield new discoveries. Thank you for looking at my photographs. I hope you like them."
The New York City-based photograher has documented dance for more than 50 years. His photographs of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and many other companies, as well as modern dance companies, are part of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. His dance pictures have appeared in a variety of publications including books, periodicals, records, film, and television footage and in gallery exhibitions around the world.
His 2003 book Balanchine: Celebrating a Life in Dance, has gone through several editions. Costas was also responsible for the photographs in the annual Balanchine calendars.
