The Mercury Project: Dancers Painted Silver Form Ballet Imagery for the West Australian Ballet's 2014 Program.

To celebrate its Season 2014 launch and Artistic Director Aurelien Scannella's first year of programming, West Australian Ballet collaborated with Artist and Photographer Emma Hack to create a series of striking images for its 2014 program.



WAB commissioned the well-known body illustrator and artist who painted the dancers' g-string clad bodies in silver and then positioned them so that they created human sculptures to represent next years' performances.

Snow White:

A close-up of the apple:


Inspired by the beauty, the fluidity and the smoothness of the element mercury – a metaphor for dance – Emma created a series of images to celebrate Aurélien Scannella’s first curated season. She has also worked with WAB dancer and upcoming choreographer Daniel Roberts on a performance piece which will be unveiled at the company’s launch event on 17 October. Together, Scannella and Hack developed the project to showcase what ballet is capable of.

Radio (that's not a typo) and Juliet:

close-up of lips and chin:


In painting them silver, all dancers merge together as one to create beautiful things. It embraces the traditional elements of ballet by creating silhouettes that are classic looking, paired with something as progressive as body painting and building structures of twisted bodies. It has never been done before.

La Fille Mal Gardée:


Giselle:

detail from above image of Giselle:



Images from behind the scenes, courtesy of The West Australian:





Check out this behind the scenes mini-documentary, the making of 'The Mercury Project':



WAB SEASON 2014


•RADIO AND JULIET: BALLET AT THE QUARRY
7 February > 1 March, Quarry Amphitheatre, City Beach

•GISELLE
9 May > 24 May, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth

•LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
5 September > 20 September, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth
15 October > 18 October, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra

•SNOW WHITE AND THE 7 DWARFS
21 November > 14 December, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth

Bookings:
Season Package Subscriptions are available from West Australian Ballet from 10am, 18 October. Call (08) 92140707, go to waballet.com.au, fill in the form inside the Season 2014 Brochure or visit the West Australian Ballet Centre. Individual tickets are available from 18 November.

For Radio and Juliet: Ballet at the Quarry contact Ticketmaster on 136 100, visit waballet.com.au or any Ticketmaster outlet.

For Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardée, and Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, call Ticketek Theatre and Arts Hotline 1300 795 012, visit waballet.com.au or any Ticketek outlet.

See more of Emma Hack's work in these previous posts:

•Emma Hack Takes Body Art To A New Level With Her Latest Collection

•Body Painting Artist Emma Hack Goes "Pop!"

•Some Serious Bodywork. Car Wreck Made Of 17 Painted Bodies by Emma Hack For Anti-Speeding Ad (and A Look Behind the Scenes).

•New Body Art From Emma Hack. Beautiful Women And A Look At Painting Them.

www.emmahackartist.com

Technicolor Twinkle Toes. Embroidery on Vintage Photos of Dancers.

Now living and working in Berlín, Chilean-born Jose Romussi formally studied landscape design when growing up, but over the past few years has gained a significant following for his screen prints and collages in which he combines vintage black and white photographs with colorful forms of embroidery.



In this series, Dance, the supernatural power of dancers and their poses and movements inspire him with their precision and elegance. Romussi brings these pictures back to life with bright vibrant colors, underlining the dynamic of these frozen movements. With each new line of embroidery he invites the viewer to dream with him and to experience each subject's hidden vitality.












Artist Jose Romussi at work:


See more of Jose's unusual work here

Michael Toschi Redefines The Ballet Flat For Women and Children With LUV Footwear.

The influential relationship with his 9 year old daughter was the catalyst for footwear designer Michael Toschi's new LUV Footwear brand and their new Dream Flats for Adults, youth and toddlers.







Through a modern ballerina flat that serves as their first canvas, LUV celebrates art through the wearable form of footwear for toddlers, youth and women. Always looking for ways to improve upon form and function, Toschi spent years developing the brand’s signature ballerina flat. In addition to a seasonal core collection of solids, prints and innovative fabrications, LUV’s vision is to create a platform that will enable others to print original artwork on the ballerina flat and thus share their creative vision with the world.








Check out their 2012 debut collection catalog below.
Adult/Youth - Printed Lycra:




Adult/Youth - Patent, Metallic and Rhinestone:



Toddler - Printed Lycra:




Toddler - Patent and Metallic:


About:

LUV Footwear believes art is empowering and inspiring. LUV’s logo, the infinite hearts, represents the boundless possibilities of creativity. Our intention is to host a borderless platform to encourage meaningful ideas and heartfelt emotions expressed through the form of art. Through a modern ballerina flat that serves as our first canvas, LUV celebrates art through the wearable form of footwear. LUV Grows.


below: Michael Toschi


An accomplished and respected designer with many achievements, Michael Toschi began his career in footwear at the ripe age of fifteen.

During the next decade spent working at the side of his mentor, Michael traveled worldwide slowly building a keen knowledge of his craft and appreciation for artisanal culture. These formative years provided a foundation upon which he has built several brands, and an unrivaled reputation among the international design community.

Iconic footwear brands which include Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Ugg, Esprit, Banana Republic have looked to Michael to passionately encourage in-house design teams to innovate. Paired with his technical expertise, the infectious way in which he communicates this knowledge has proven to spark many golden ideas, supporting the ideology that he may very well be the King Midas of the footwear industry.

Today Michael sits at the helm of Michael Toschi International, a men’s footwear brand of luxury shoes and fine leather goods hand-crafted in Italy. Based in California, Michael visits factories regularly in Italy to work alongside production, guiding and instilling an unmatched level of quality control within all products. Through this level of detail and craft, the Toschi brand has earned the reputation as the “Ferrari of footwear.”

Alongside his professional accomplishments, as a father Michael has developed a heart-felt passion for supporting creative expression among young girls.

LUV Footwear