Offstage

Presented in partnership with Candice Berman Gallery, the inaugural exhibition features acclaimed South African photographer Kamogelo Machaba (supported by Fujifilm) in collaboration with Jacques BAM of the BAM Collective. Joburg Ballet dancers are photographed in bespoke fashion and couture created by Jacques, forming a striking visual dialogue between the architecture of the ballet body, contemporary photography and South African design.

Curated by Joburg Ballet's Artistic Director Dane Hurst, in collaboration with Kamogelo Machaba and Jacques BAM, the resulting collection reveals the dancers’ individuality, strength, vulnerability and extraordinary physical presence. Each image offers an intimate new perspective on the artists audiences usually encounter in motion.

“The concept explores the idea of expressing motion through colour, using dance as a form of visual art. The dancers become the artwork itself — presented almost as living, moving sculptures. Through vibrant colour, form, stillness and gesture the work offers a contemporary twist on the traditional visual language of ballet photography.” — Kamogelo Machaba.