Dancers Among Us Special Memories- Kristina Hanna

The Dancers Among Us book will span 240 pages, and will feature over 150 different dancers from 35 cities and towns. In the back of the book there is a section titled, "About the Photographs," where I tell some of my favorite stories and highlight some of my very favorite Dancers Among Us images. Leading up to the book's release on October 21, I will continue to share some of my most memorable experiences with you! (Check out a special memory I had with Paul Taylor dancer Michael Trusnovec by clicking here.)

The image of Kristina Hanna on a dumpster is featured in the "Exploring" chapter, titled "You Are Here." Before it was shot, I photographed Kristina in a classically beautiful dance pose in Washington Heights-

 

But I felt like I should try to push the envelope further, so we headed down to Hotel Chelsea, looking for a little grunge. Here is the excerpt of the importance of this image to me:

I knew early on that I wanted to get out of the “pretty picture” box that defines many dance photographs, but it wasn’t always easy to do. Hannah is a beautiful woman, so shooting her hanging from a dumpster with a cigarette in her mouth wasn’t exactly my first instinct. Making this photo reminded me that beauty comes in all forms, and it inspired me to continue looking for less glamorous settings and scenarios.