Collaboration with Monique Williams

Movement in Focus — Dance Photography with Monique Williams

This ongoing personal project explores the energy, individuality and expressive possibilities of dance through photography. Created in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Monique Williams, the series brings dancers together at Studio Wayne McGregor, which generously provides studio space free of charge.

Monique and I connected through social media and established the project together. Over the past two years, we have organised shoots approximately every three to four months, with Monique bringing together around six dancers for each session. The atmosphere is supportive and collaborative, giving everyone the freedom to experiment and contribute to the images.

Working with Profoto lighting and a Leica S medium format camera system, I photograph at 1/1000th of a second to freeze movement. Light reveals the shape and tension of the body, while gestures, flying hair and shifting fabric retain the feeling of motion. For me, it has been an exciting exploration of how a still photograph can express the physical and emotional energy of dance.

I contribute my photography pro bono, and each dancer receives JPEG images for personal use. The intention is to support dancers seeking professional opportunities by giving them photographs that convey their individual qualities. Participants have since found professional dance work, which has been particularly rewarding.

Alongside this shared purpose, the project is developing into a collection of limited-edition photographic prints that will be available to purchase. The work owes much to Monique’s involvement, the creativity of every dancer and the welcoming environment made possible by Studio Wayne McGregor.

Please check out this interactive gallery where you can walk through an exhibition space showing more of the photographs we created.