Article by Christine Widdall
With only a few hours notice, an opportunity arose to photograph two classical ballet dancers and six members of Wigan 10 met at a Bolton studio anticipating an exciting session. In order that we didn’t all get the same pictures or get in each others way, it was decided that we would take turns, in sessions of ten minutes each, to take our photographs, which meant that we really had to concentrate the mind on getting the shots we wanted before we had to hand over to the next person.
The dancers were very generous with their time and willing to try all kinds of poses, even the difficult shapes that KT had pre-planned. They performed pose after pose and repeated high jumps without appearing to tire or get bored. Some photographers concentrated on the classic poses and others had something more creative in mind. Vive la difference!
The male dancer, Bernardo, was about to return to his home in Portugal to celebrate Christmas with his family and, part way through the shoot, his parents turned up to watch, resulting in an open invitation to us to call in on them in Portugal any time we want. They loved our pictures!
We will be preparing a CD of images for the dancers to use in their portfolios as a thank you and we hope that the door will have been opened to other opportunities in the future. Here are a few photographs from the day, including a photo of some of the Wigan 10 ladies, whom Maurice has dubbed (in his own inimitable way and with a wry smile, of course) “The Three Graces.”
