On the 4th July I found out about a dance photography competition at ‘The Place’, London. It was offering 25 young, up and coming dance photographers the opportunity to photograph a dress rehearsal of the graduating students of the London Contemporary Dance School or LCDS as it is more commonly known. The images would then be published to The Place’s worldwide audience on Facebook. These sort of competitions very rarely happen and so I decided to enter, not expecting to be given a place but an excuse to show one of the most recognised dance centres across the world some of my work. Hours later, I received an email saying I had been successful and would be shooting on Monday 9th July!!

When I arrived at The Place I got a good seat right in the middle, so I could capture the action as the choreographers intended. It was a very fast programme filled with lots of lifting, acrobatic dives and very, very low light. This was not a problem but proved trickier than I would have liked. I have shot a lot in theatres, being a soloist with Northern Ballet enabled me to practise an awful lot, but at some points this show was near total darkness, however I love a challenge and am pleased with the images I got from the day.

I find it so refreshing that ‘The Place’ and the “London Contemporary Dance School’ have the vision and trust to see what the next generation of dance photographers has to offer.

Here are some of the images I was able to capture from this action packed, fast and very dark dress rehearsal.

If you would like to see more of my theatre work, please take a look at my website https://martinbell-photography.co.uk/dance-and-theatre