Dancers After Dark

(Paperback)

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A celebration of the human body and spirit in more than 100 photographs all nude, all taken at night. These photosillustrate the hard work and the dedication it takes to succeed in dancing, acting, photography or really any creativeendeavor that at first may be incredibly frightening or make you feel vulnerable, but once achieved offers an exhilarationpreviously unimagined. The photos were shot over 200 nights, with 300 different dancers, in more than 400 locations, inall kinds of weather.The photos are grouped by theme Vulnerability, Ferocity, Stability, Ecstasy and include shots from sunset to dawn, inspectacular black and white and glorious color. Many will be accompanied by an inspiring quote. Additional text willinclude Jordans introductory essay, describing how he came up with the book idea and how he is inspired by the dancershe photographs, as well as Behind the Scenes stories of how the shot was achieved and In Their Shoes words fromthe dancers on what it was like to be photographed in nude in public.

Says author Jordan Matter: At its core, Dancers After Dark is about a willingness to say yes rather than no, aboutfinding a passion and pursuing it without apprehension or doubt. The willingness of these performers to throw themselvesinto the streets without fear of failure (or incarceration) has led to results we could not have imagined. Celebrating theirunadorned physiques allows the dancers to demonstrate their grace, strength, and perseverance. The quiet beauty of thedancers plays well against the fearlessness of the process. The more I shoot Dancers After Dark and collaborate withspectacular dancers who have dedicated their every waking moment to a low-paying passion and whose careers end at 35years old, the more this phrase gets stuck in my head: Fearless Beauty. The images, poses, bodies and settings arebeautiful, but most importantly, the dancers cool serenity in the face of intense circumstances (metaphorically andliterally) is, for me, the definition of beauty. Their 'calm in the face of the storm' poise never fails to amaze me. Thespontaneous and serendipitous process itself requires fearlessness from all the participants, including me.

Reviews

Thrilling and breathtaking photographs of professional dancers and performers posing naked at night. It's a celebration of the outrageous, the unlikely and courage to say yes. BUST.com

We are loving this celebration of strength, adventure, risk and fearless beauty! ESSENCE.com

Author Bio

Jordan Matter is a portrait photographer whose work has been featured on Today, CBS, NBC, and the BBC, in The DailyNews, Time Out New York,The Huffington Post, and Slate, and on blogs and newspapers around the country and theworld. Mr. Matter lives with his wife and two young children in New York.