Dear Reader,
My name is Rob van Woerkom. I was a ballet dancer with Dutch National Ballet for 16 years. At that time I also took up photography. After my career as a dancer, I continued working for the same ballet company in various positions. During my ballet life, the art of dance has always been a source of inspiration for my photos.
My photos are about ballet dancers, their sincere honesty and the irrepressible urge to express themselves physically.
When I first saw a performance by the NDT as a young person, the dancers were the epitome of maturity for me.
They radiated a certain superiority, as if they carried a deep secret that could only be revealed through dance.
It seemed as if words were not enough and only dance could translate that mystery.
I felt that you had to pay close attention in order not to miss anything.
That mysteriousness still fascinates me, now some 63 years later. The special power with which dancers express themselves is my greatest inspiration to capture them.
Not only as ballet dancers, but also as individuals, with bodies that have been shaped by training into a striking and expressive instrument.
Quote:
“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
- Ansel Adams