Empowered Me Update 10/28/11

Wow! What a wonderful response we continue to get on this series! So amazing to be able to create art and affect people deeply and emotionally with it. I mean, that is what we strive to do as artists, create meaningful work. For me, I love to create beautiful, elegant art but also love to create content that stirs the emotions, moves you, leaves you feeling something. Empowered ME did that. Lucky is he who can achieve this! It is in this spirit that I have an announcement to make…

I am excited to inform you that we are moving into the next phase with this project! We will be transitioning out of shooting new work and delving into exhibits of what we have created! The end of November will mark the end of new shoots for Empowered ME. When I took this project on, I knew I wanted to do it for a definitive period of time, so I could get these ideas out of my head and onto dancers. I did not want to take on a new long term project which happens easily to me because of how excited and passionate I am about what I do. Artistically speaking, I want to ensure I am putting out content that I am proud and excited about and to make sure the work is original. I fear that if we continue, this will falter. So, to make sure we leave a lasting impression, we are going to stop “while on top.” We do have a few more shoots lined up for November and tons of unreleased images to present, so you will continue to see new images for a few months yet, I think!

As I said, its a new phase. We are now working to exhibit these prints. Our first showing will be in January of 2012 as part of Koresh’s Artistic Showcase in Center City Philadelphia. In addition, we are looking at other venues to exhibit the work, including cancer treatment centers. This is an exciting part of the process for me! This will bring a reality or tangibility of these images to people, which is just wonderful! Digital images can certainly move you, but seeing a print in front of your face offers you a connection, a realness, that you don’t get online. Hopefully, these brave families will see these images and feel a sense of hope or strength. Hopefully it will give them some sort of positive feeling.

I hope you all will stay with us on this journey and continue to support our efforts and images. We will still have updates and events, so fear not!

Thanks!!

Empowered ME Update ~ 10/21/11

So, we have had a couple more shoots for this project since my last blog entry and we have a few more signed on. This project is taking on a whole new life – moreso than what I thought it would or even planned. However, being an artist and liking things to happen organically, I am not standing in the way of this momentum.

Over the new few weeks and months, we will be sharing more exciting news as things firm up including some big names in dance who will be participating as well as info on showings! Ah, but we must wait for that news.

BUT… I do have SOME exciting news to share with you NOW! Just in time for Christmas, we are releasing images in print form!! These special prints are 8×8 Square Metallic prints. These prints will sell for only $15, plus shipping/handling! We have listed some samples below so you can see what they will look like. Each will have a small border and will bear the Empowered ME text on them. EVERY image you see listed on our galleries can be ordered in print. Larger sizes are available (10×10, etc). You can even get them as gallery wrapped canvas!!!

We also have a brand new behind the scenes video featuring, Kira, who is depicted in that last photo and who also is a dancer with cancer! This video gives you some insight as to how and why she got involved with this project and some footage of us in action… well, here in action!

Here is the video:

Lastly, but certainly not least, we have our very first sponsor for this project! Tutu.Com will be sponsoring us through some leos and tutus for the project! We get our first one today for a childhood cancer shoot this weekend!!!

Please check out their Facebook page below!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/TutuCom/54783047781

Our Facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150312905957293.341592.256421562292&type=3

Empowered ME ~ Update ~ October 14, 2011

Hey all! Well, it’s been just under two weeks since we did our first shoot for Empowered ME! In a short period of time, we have received an overwhelming response to the project and the images. Dancers have since started to seek me out, asking to be a part of it. Such a humbling experience!! Some fun numbers below

* Our first posted image below, received 55 likes and 43 comments.

* My blog (as of the time I am typing this) for the week has almost 1,200 hits.

* We have done 6 shoots with a total of 10 dancers.

* Most of the shoots have taken place in my studio but one happened at Battery Park in NYC.

* Dancers have been in town from PA, NYC, NJ and SLC, Utah!

* Today’s dancer, Kira, has cancer.

Our first shoot was with Jane Koorts of Ballet Fleming. She was a lot of fun and really set the tone for the series.

Next was Jennifer Gordon a ballet teacher and student in South Jersey. Jen used to dance with Atlantic City Ballet. She is a married mom and takes class at Camden County Community College. Her teacher is my good friend, Erin Royston, who also happens to be one of my models for the shoot after Jens! Jen also teaches at a local studio.

The last shoot for the week was with Mindy, Jeanie, Erin and Laura. Mindy and I have been friends for a year or so now. She came in for shots and we just hit it off. She teaches locally, performs and does choreo. Jeanie and I have been friends for 3 or 4 years now. She was a dance major at Uarts and one of my first guinea pigs there. We have remained friends and have worked together several times since. Erin and I have been friends for about 2 or 3 years. She came to me for some shots and we have been close ever since. She is a dear friend to me. Last but not least is Laura. This was the first time I ever met her face to face. We knew each other from Twitter and Facebook. Laura, originally from Bucks County, is a NYC based freelance dancer and also writer for Dance Informa magazine.

Over the weekend, I traveled to NY for work and hooked up with my friends Jere & Mary for a shoot in Battery Park. Jere dances for Rioult Dance Company and also works at the Joyce. Mary is a busy worker bee and has been delving into yoga pretty hard core!

Wednesday, I had the pleasure to work with Sara Rodriguez. Sara is a young dancer originally from NJ who is currently in the ballet program at the University of Utah with hopes of joining Ballet West’s training program.

My final shoot thus far was with Kira. Kira is a friend of Jane, our first model. Kira also has cancer. She approached me on Facebook shortly after I posted the first images of Jane. Aside from the reality of her situation and the project, she was just a delight to work with! She was a lot of fun and took direction well!

I am really happy I got the chance to work with these amazing artists and equally happy the bonds that were created as a result of this project. Exciting, huh?!! Currently, have a couple more scheduled and plenty of ideas and still looking for more dancers. Soon, you will also be reading some guest blogs from some of those involved in the project (other then me). Of course we will continue to bring you behind the scenes footage from the shoots. Below are some pics of me and the dancers from the project so far. At the very end is a special little treat!!

Enjoy!

Me & Jane

Me, Mindy, Jeanie, Erin & Laura

Mary, Me & Jere – Battery Park

Me & Kira

Newest behind the scenes video with Sara Rodriguez from University of Utah, Ballet Department:

Ballet Fleming’s Jane Koorts

I met Jane when I first started to work with Ballet Fleming. She is one of their dancers and is involved with their affiliate school, Philadelphia Ballet School.

As is the case with most co-workers, you become closer and get to know each more over time. Jane and I really hit it off. I would hang around the office while she was doing admin stuff and we’d just shoot the bull. Jane was very helpful in my planning my trip to London as she lived there for years. This was just another topic that we’d get excited to chat about.

In June, we had our dance for dreams gala. With the gala, there was a silent auction table. Jane was the winner of the custom made Black Swan tutu from Tutu.com. With this, she also got a free photo shoot. I had shot Jane in class, rehearsal and on stage but never any studio work, so I was really excited to work with her. She was also the second Ballet Fleming dancer to win a shoot with me which was nice.

We finally set a date to shoot and both were very excited. It had been a long time since she had done a shoot so she was excited for that as well. As we were leading up to the shoot, I approached her about participating in my Empowered ME project, which she was excited about. I was excited to get her in the studio to help me get out of a funk. I needed to get in the studio and be me. I needed to create amazing content. I needed to be inspired.

The shoot was amazing as I expected it would be. We chatted, we danced. Ok, well she danced. I LOVE the connection I have with my dancers. I love just chatting as we work. During the course of the shoot, we did about 4 wardrobes or so plus the cancer series. We also took a mini break and I filled her in on my London trip.

I had so much fun with Jane. We created some amazing images. We talked. We laughed. We even did some cool new self portraits of me. What I did not anticipate was how impactful and powerful the Empowered ME images we created would be. They really set the tone for the project.

Here are some teasers from our shoot. Enjoy!

Empowered Me

For years now, I had kind of railed against doing a photo series for cancer. It was not due to the nature of the cause, by any stretch. For me it didn’t fit artistically. I felt as though I would be cliche’ if I did it. There were so many photographers (god bless them all!) who have used cancer as a platform to do good with their craft. So, I always pushed away from it.

Cancer affects me. Christmas of 1999, my grandfather came down to my moms house for dinner as he did every year. I was getting married that next April (2000) and asked my grandfather to get fitted for a tux as I wanted him in it. He said he couldn’t but gave no further explanation. It was short, sort of abrupt, but not mean or nasty. But it clearly left some questions, none of which I was prepared or planning on asking. He must have had his reasons. Later on that night, he came up to me in the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves. On his arms were blotches. He had skin cancer and apparently other forms, all of which he kept from us until this time. We lost him May 28, 2000.

My birthday weekend this year, I traveled to SLC, Utah to work with Dancers Against Cancer. They were helping in an event for a young woman diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. The day I traveled, my birthday, I got a text from my sister. That morning, one of my oldest childhood friends lost his battle with cancer. My step father beat throat cancer and my grandmother is battling it currently.

It was towards the end of my trip in SLC that I began to get visions of a portrait series with dancers for cancer awareness. When I started seeing these images, I immediately sent a text to the head of Dancers Against Cancer, damning her. I had finally been bitten by the bug and there was not shaking it.

At that point, I took out my notebook and began jotting down the poses I was seeing. When I got back home, I continued to draft up poses and ideas. Then, I began to locate some bodies for it.

First up was Jane. Jane and I have known each other for a year or so, maybe more? Jane is a dancer with Ballet Fleming which is a company that I shoot for here in Philly and help out on their steering committee. Jane was already coming in for a shoot when I talked to her about participating in this project. She was very excited to be involved. Today was our shoot. Here are some images.

Empowered Me is about just that Empowerment. Strength. Courage. Willpower. Dancers will be used to help portray these traits.

I hope you enjoy it!!!

Here is the scoop (below) on that monumental trip to Salt Lake City!

http://brianmengini.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/dancers-against-cancer/