Luc Kordas Captures The Emotion And Soul Of Dancers

All images by Luc Kordas. Used with permission. 

“The world of dance and theater is dark and full of mysteries and I am diving into it,” says Luc Kordas about his most recent project. It is no easy task to photograph dancers and capture their energy, movements, and souls. Luc, whom we have featured previously here, has delivered an updated, on-going, powerful series of black and white dance images titled “Nocturnes”.

Luc Kordas is inspired by the photo book “Islands of Silence” by Donata Wender showcasing black and white images of ballet dancers. In his own personal photography project shooting the dancers, Luc emphasizes the intimate moments when dancers are one on one with themselves and their art. This often happens not necessarily on stage, but more often at backstage. He also pays attention to visually pleasing details such as ballet shoes, fragments of garments, focused or seemingly lost gazes, and fleeting gestures that represent pure visual poetry.

Nocturnes from luckordas on Vimeo.

Luc’s breathtaking images of the dancers show a high level of technical control alongside powerful artistic visualization. He believes dance photography should not be flat and boring. This is the explanation behind his use of the slow shutter speed approach, which is effective in expressing dynamic movement. Being a fine artist, Luc separates himself from documentary photography. This allows him freedom to experiment and be more open to blurry and intriguing results, capturing the emotion and imagination that dance beautifully evokes.

Luc shares that his preference is working with available light over flash to preserve the ambient mood surrounding the dancers. He shoots with a full frame DSLR camera, and 50mm and 85mm prime lenses. He uses wide open apertures of f1.4 or f1.8 and ISO sensitivity of 6400 or higher to deal with extreme low light condition in dark theaters. His choice of black and white presentation works to both cover up high ISO noise as well as to tell better stories as he sees his subjects in black and white first.

You may find out more about Luc Kordas’ photography at his portfolio page here.