Dance uses the body as an instrument, body language can be exaggerated and abstracted in dance to project an infinite number of feelings, subtle moods, and emotions. As Olga Kuraeva says to Instagram Blog, to her, dance is “neither a philosophy nor a job” but a means of expressing emotion. Olga Kuraeva is a dance photographer who takes self portraits of herself dancing.
Kuraeva dances with one of the oldest schools for classical ballet training, the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Through out her images, she captures herself in moving photographs of her body telling a story through movement. Kuraeva likes photographing herself dancing as she is able to capture the emotion she aims to communicate to her viewers.
Choreography uses the human form, and an art form that is connected to the human form will tell a human story regardless of whether you intend to create a story. Each photograph she creates are powerful and moving and tells a story. One can tell the story behind every picture when Kuraeva captures herself in her images. Her poses and positions are always strong and she creates different and unusual shapes with her body. The intensive time and effort that has gone into her development as both an artist and dancer is highly apparent in the breathtaking composites that capture Kuraeva in motion.
Kuraeva admits to preferring photography and videos, as opposed to an onstage performance, as she put it
“Ballet is a picture, I’m not a picture, this is why I do not want to connect myself with theatre”
And also because of the opportunity she’s awarded for a second chance and the lens’ ability to capture the deep emotion she aims to communicate.
She explains her stance on the transparency she seeks in her craft: “I am not an actress. If I am not going through a certain emotion, I won’t be able to express it through dance. It doesn’t matter if I dance well or not – the most important thing is that I am real.”
Visit her profile at : Instagram | YouTube
