male dancer wearing a blindfold in a black and white image

Over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, I had the honor and the pleasure of working with AZOTH Dance Theatre. I shot both their dress rehearsal and their performance, and I’m very happy to say I had the experience. They are so dedicated to their craft, it was pretty easy to make great images.

AZOTH Dance Theatre is choreographed by Jonathan Breton, and directed by Lara Tant. Both have extensive experience dancing in companies such as Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Kirov Academy and Joffrey Ballet. As it’s easier to let them describe what they do, I’ll quote from their website:

The mission of the company is to create and produce choreographic pieces. Our work is known for being powerful, visual, technical, emotionally driven, passionate and sensual. To date, AZOTH Dance Theatre has performed in the USA (NY, NJ, MA), France, Poland, and Denmark, and we will perform in Guatemala in October 2017.

​Community outreach is a big part of our mission as well. The company is offering free or on donation-based performances and workshops worldwide, as we believe that art and inspiration should be accessible to everyone, with money being no obstacle. We also offer school performances and lectures about dance and about the importance of arts both for our societies and for personal and social development. AZOTH Dance Theatre also teaches special population, including physically and/or mentally disabled people.

Jonathan really wanted me to get creative, and so after seeing photos of the performance space, I decided some dramatic lighting was called for. But this was a dress rehearsal, not a photo shoot. I was not to get in the way of the rehearsal. So, I only brought along a single speedlight and stand, and flagged that with a FlashBender (thanks, David Hobby!). This provided enough directional light to provide the drama that the powerful choreography called for. While I thought about bringing more lights, I’m glad I didn’t. Sometimes keeping it simple and being flexible is the best strategy.

…and it was. Jonathan was completely happy with the results. So happy that he immediately posted about 20 images to their website and Instagram.

Jonathan, Lara, and the entire company are really lovely people, and I am very glad I reached out to them. I hope I will get the chance to cover their performance again sometime. Maybe this time with more lights…