Getting Closer: A Dancer's Perspective

Rating:
Summary: "Getting Closer" to Perfection
Review: Dance is a notoriously difficult art to capture and hold onto. Even film rarely serves it well. Odd then that Rosalie O'Connor's incandescent photographs of her friends and colleagues at ABT as they rehearse, prepare, and perform should erupt so spontaneously with movement and emotion. I don't know why this should be: maybe it's her artist's eye; maybe it's her steady hand; maybe it's her obvious rapport with dancers, her knowledge and love of dance; maybe it's just incredible good luck. Whatever the reason, the results are astonishingly beautiful and present in this book. The accompanying text, by Ms. O'Connor and some of her subjects, is a wonderful bonus that both illuminates and grounds the images, even as they take flight. My only quibble is with the paper stock the University Press of Florida chose for this remarkable offering: it allows us to enjoy Ms. O'Connor's art, that's true enough; but it certainly doesn't do that art justice.