American Ballet Theater principal dancer Daniil Simkin has one helluva hobby which may very well end up being his second act. Whenever Simkin is offstage, he uses his camera to capture behind-the-scenes photos of his friends and colleagues. His photos are incredibly sensitive and poignant and funny and insightful. He’s especially adept at capturing the moments just before and immediately after the dancers’ performances.
“For me it’s important to document this moment before it happens and the moment after it happens, because there are other photographers who are much more technically advanced and use the right cameras and all of that to document the dancer in flight.
“I have a very personal relationship with my camera. I take it pretty much everywhere I go with me. It has its own identity, which I like. I can add my identity to it and create something unique.”
– Daniil Simkin to The New York Times
I so enjoyed the glimpses into Simkin’s world that these incredible, atmospheric photos afforded me. I hope you love them as much as I do!
You can see all of Daniil Simkin’s pictures on his photography Instagram, and his dancing Instagram is also chock-full of marvelous things.
As talented as he is behind a camera, he definitely still belongs onstage…
Share:
My OBT 
November 13, 2019 at 8:56 am
Most people have no idea how many hours a day a good dancer put it working on dance. I worked at least 12 hours a day when I was learning dance. Not only did I take Ballet lessons but I also took Ball Room dancing lesson at the same time. But when you are 16 years old you just did it. I did get to see one of the world great ballet dancers when she was in St. Louis perform. WOW, I could never get that good but it was fun.
Hal
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 13, 2019 at 9:48 am
They train every bit as hard as other athletes, but it’s a dancer’s job to make it look easy. I think that makes it exponentially more difficult.
LikeLike
November 13, 2019 at 9:56 am
Add in diet also. As I got older, it was because of diet that I stopped dancing more then the work that went into. Hal
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 13, 2019 at 10:42 am
I’m definitely not cut out for that.
LikeLike
November 13, 2019 at 9:04 am
Oh, I really love these! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 13, 2019 at 10:42 am
He’s got a wonderful eye!
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 13, 2019 at 4:17 pm
And a real feel for the subject matter… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: In Memory | My OBT