Tour The World with The Beautiful 'Ballerina Project'
For the past 17 years, New York-based photographer Dane Shitagi has been snapping ballet dancers in different locations around the world to captivating effect. Now with over one million Instagram followers, his beautiful Ballerina Project has truly enraptured people’s attention and hearts.
The premise of Ballerina Project was simple, photograph ballerinas in “harmony with their environment.” Whether it’s against iconic skylines in the most romantic city, colourful street art or tranquil park vistas, Shitagi takes time to choose his diverse sites in which the ballerina can connect and animate in a striking way.
Starting with Hawaii, Shitagi soon expanded his locations within the US to New York, Boston, Toronto, Miami and San Francisco. And has since started to work in London, Paris and South America. Bringing ballet to the streets like this has really resonated with Shitagi’s social followers who can also sign up for exclusive access to images and limited edition prints on the project’s website.
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jun 19, 2017 at 1:33pm PDT
“The crafts of dance and photography are truly upheld on both ends of the creation of the Ballerina Project,” states Shitagi, whose stunning muses are a mixture of corps de ballet, soloists and principal dancers from world class dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.
Find below a selection of our favourites from the extensive on-going archive.
WanTing in Central Park, New York
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Aug 5, 2017 at 7:28pm PDT
Sae Eun Park in Paris
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Apr 15, 2017 at 9:16pm PDT
Gina Scott in Camden Town, London
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 23, 2017 at 3:46am PDT
Kate in Argentina
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jun 30, 2017 at 12:39pm PDT
Juliet Doherty in Tempe, Arizona
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 9, 2017 at 11:52am PDT
Nardia on 59th Street, New York
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 25, 2017 at 12:13pm PDT
Francesca Hayward in East London
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 17, 2017 at 4:52am PDT
Iana Salenko in Kensington Gardens, London
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jun 21, 2017 at 5:30am PDT
Ana Sophia Scheller at Floyd Bennett Field
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on May 20, 2017 at 6:31am PDT
Violeta on the Williamsburg Bridge
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 15, 2017 at 12:42pm PDT
Miko Fogarty in Chinatown, San Francisco
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Mar 23, 2017 at 3:12pm PDT
Francesca Hayward in Trafalgar Square
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jul 15, 2017 at 5:58am PDT
Kathryn Boren in Paris
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on May 11, 2017 at 7:25pm PDT
Juliet Doherty in San Francisco
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Aug 1, 2017 at 6:31pm PDT
Stephanie at Union Square
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Aug 1, 2017 at 5:35am PDT
Kathryn Boren in Montmartre, Paris
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Mar 22, 2017 at 12:54am PDT
Rachel Richardson in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
A post shared by ballerina project (@ballerinaproject_) on Jun 27, 2017 at 12:56pm PDT
About the author
Born in the heart of London, Freire's been surrounded by art since childhood. From being mesmerised by Fra Angelico's frescos in Florence to experiencing Dali's Mae West room in Caduceus, Freire's extensive travels instilled a love of the arts. After studying painting she worked for David Bowie's, Bowieart and began to write for the BBC, Bon and Dazed & Confused. She curated the Converse x Dazed Emerging Artists Award and was one of the first cohort to graduate from the Royal College of Art's Critical Writing in Art & Design MA. When not at an art opening, she's excited to bring her global art discoveries to the Culture Trip's readers.
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