WorkPhotography

Street Stage: Black and white photographs of dancers all around New York City

New York City-based Italian photographer Federica Dall’Orso is behind this beautiful series of black and white photographs featuring dancers in the raw and urban landscape of the Big Apple. Called Street Stage, the collection aims to share a new perspective of dance photography where the focus is not on the dancing and the technique but the ballerinas' feelings and emotions.

Written By:
Dancer in a black dress stands with hands behind her head in a stark industrial car park, with support columns receding into the distance in this black and white photograph

She explains: "I decided to take the dancers out of their comfort zone so instead of shooting in the photo studio, I used New York as the background – creating a unique contrast between the beauty of the dancers and the electric streets. New York is of course a magnet for creativity and shooting the dancers outside made it easier to demonstrate a more real and personal side of their dancing."

Federica’s work has been published in magazines such as Vogue, Elle, W Magazine, L’Officiel, La Repubblica and many more. Influenced by New York and the fashion world, her photographic style also reflects her unique vision of everyday life in the city.

Federica is currently exhibiting her latest photo project, Street Stage, in Italy at the Teatro Cantero in Chiavari. A second exhibition will take place in New York at the SoAM Studio in early September. To find out more, visit Federicadallorso.com.

Via direct submission

Dancer in backbend pose on a waterfront pier with Manhattan skyline behind in black and white photograph
Ballerina in black dress leaping against concrete wall with dramatic shadow in urban New York setting
Dancer in a tutu and pointe shoes viewed from behind, posed against a brick wall with a lit window in Federica Dall'Orso's Street Stage series
Dancer with billowing black hair in motion against a textured concrete wall, arm extended outward in an expressive pose
Silhouetted figure crouching on a New York City street beneath an elevated highway, with urban buildings and traffic visible in the background
Ballerina in black leotard performing an arabesque en pointe on an urban street, with dramatic shadows cast on a concrete wall behind her
A ballet dancer in pointe shoes stands with legs apart against a gritty urban wall in black and white photography
Dancer in black clothing poses on a wooden platform with one leg extended, beneath a tall latticed transmission tower in an urban waterfront setting
Black and white photograph of a dancer suspended against a large gridded window with bare trees visible outside, part of Federica Dall'Orso's Street Stage series
A dancer's hands rest gently on a railing with blurred Manhattan skyscrapers in the background, captured in black and white
Dancer with arms raised to head in silhouette against a blurred New York City skyline and waterfront at dusk
Silhouetted figures of two dancers with arms raised holding flowing fabric against the illuminated New York City skyline at night, including the Chrysler Building
Share

Further Reading

Take the Creative Boom survey

Take the Creative Boom Survey