Merce Cunningham once said: " dance gives you nothing back... nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive." Perhaps this is the reason why I am drawn to photographing dance concerts. The immediacy of the theatre transforms movements onstage into moments of truth. The emotions that follow allow us - performers and witnesses alike - to acknowledge our essence of being. In this sacred temple, death is the ultimate entity that binds us all together, tolling the bell for this art form’s infectious empathy.

In a dance concert, the photographer’s roll is not to decide what beauty to keep, but to simply appreciate and treasure what is shared. To do so, one needs to stay vulnerable, letting the performance’s energy to flow into their perception of things. When photographing concerts, one often races against time to capture what they think would be the perfect memento against death, not realizing that it’s a war soon to be lost with conditions unnegotiable. What if instead bringing their camera to the battle field, the photographer brings their eyes to listen!?

Notable dance schools, companies, and artists I have shot:

• Repertory Dance Theatre

• Keith Johnson/Dancers

• Myriad Dance Company

• Nicolay Dance Works

• The Bboy Federation

• Molly Heller

• Dan Higgins

• Dan Mont-Eton

• University of Utah

• Sam Houston State University

• Utah Valley University

• Brigham Young University

Seeing life

Besides dance concerts, I also photograph music concerts, studio/location portraits, classes, and other mundane things. Even if it is a commissioned, it is still a way of understanding and appreciating the world because by helping and navigating others’ needs, one learns to embrace new and vibrant perspectives. Below you can see the image cover for each of these galleries, click on the link to view the full gallery.