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EMPFUNDENE BEWEGUNG
THE MAGIC OF DANCE

Photography
1980

For seven years, I had the privilege of serving as the official photographer of the Vienna State Opera. It was there that I developed a profound admiration for ballet—not just as an art form but as a language of movement, emotion, and discipline. Capturing dance through the lens presented constant challenges: low light, fleeting moments, and the ever-present demand to balance technical precision with artistic expression.

Yet, beyond the constraints of traditional theater photography, I discovered something deeper. Ballet is not merely a sequence of frozen poses; it is a living, breathing expression of music and form. Over time, I moved beyond the instinct to "freeze" a perfect moment and instead sought to translate the ephemeral beauty of dance into a visual language of its own—one that conveys motion, feeling, and the very essence of performance.

These photographs are not digital constructions; they were created in-camera, directly onto film, in the moment, long before Photoshop existed. Each image is a singular, unrepeatable imprint of movement, shaped by an intimate understanding of dance and a reverence for the artistry of its performers. This body of work is not just about ballet—it is about the soul of performance itself.

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