Photographer Annaliese Comelab shares modern dance photos from her new series “Behind the Scenes” – a new project that goes behind the scenes of contemporary performances and shows in Stockholm.
Going behind the scenes and capturing rehearsals of the elusive modern dance piece ‘Slipping through my fingers’ by Swedish choreographer Helena Franzén seemed a challenge in itself. Her dancers were so fluid in movement and her piece gave the air of catching or losing moments in time. Those moments disappeared so quickly that one was left with something or nothing.
As a photographer, I connected with this transient feeling. Trying to catch these beautiful effervescent moments on camera as they flowed before me before they became fleeting. .
Educated at Balettakademin (Ballet Academy) in Stockholm, Helena Franzén has choreographed more than 70 pieces to critical acclaim and has been commissioned to create works by Skanes Dansteater, the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, and Goteborgs Operan’s Balett amongst others.
Threaded throughout her work is a focus on anatomical structures and the dynamic progression of movement coursing through the dancing body, and over the years, she has developed her own “personal movement vocabulary charged with intricate physical challenges and explosiveness – a special poetry of the articulated body.”
Slipping Through My Fingers is characterized by strong musicality and intense precision. The title plays on occasions that literally slip through your fingers – a highly present absence of something that could have been…Helena Franzén
The spacious top floor of Färgfabriken in Stockholm where rehearsals took place helped highlight the beautiful costumes of her dancers as they flowed from movement to movement.
Once an old paint factory which ceased operations in the 1970s, airy light Färgfabriken has been renovated into an art and design enclave focusing on “experimental and interdisciplinary” fine and performing arts. It hosts workshops, exhibitions, and project building events within the architectural and urban development fields.
Photos
Dancers: Katarina Eriksson, Helena Franzén, Elizaveta Penkova, Aleksandra Sende, Moa Westerlund
Costumes : Katarina Wiklund
Performances
For more on Slipping Through My Fingers performance times, visit Franzen’s Performance & Press page.
