Okay - I love to ballroom dance and perhaps obsession is too strong a word....or maybe not... it certainly is a captivating, consuming, thoroughly engaging joy filled activity! In addition to being very kinestetic - obviously - it is also very visual - it is after all a 'presentation of bodies'. There are certain dance figures that are said to have 'lines', they are 'poses' and 'shapes' taken by the man and the women dancers (sometimes there are very interesting techniques in order to achieve them...more on that later perhaps). Often the man is said to 'shape' the woman or a woman extends her 'line'... these are physical movements or 'holds' for presentation purposes. That is often the right time to get a picture that portrays the elegance of ballroom dancing. This drawing was done from a 4x6 photograph. The studio in which it hangs is called 'Classic Ballroom'.. so I created it in only black and white- pencil with indian ink touches (the man's shirt) - to give it that classic feel. Since in ballroom dance, it is the man's role to make the woman look good and stand out - I wanted to create that notion on the page and only colored the dress.I started working on this project because I like the shape of the body and there are many interesting ones in ballroom dance but also to be able to capture likeness. It sort of took on a life of its own - I now have approximately 12 portraits done and am working on my next series to be in the dance studio. Hope to have them done next month!!!
