The Talking Simian's Review of Alexander Yakovlev

Alexander Yakovlev

There are certain things in this world that I consider to be the finer things in life; wine, cuisine, symphony, theatre, opera, ballet, and Shirley Manson. One thing that I love is to watch people perform the things that they have practiced and practiced. If you've ever been to see a full orchestra perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 or a full production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, then you have experienced a group of people that spent years perfecting their craft and months preparing that work. Ballet is much the same. Years are spent learning the techniques and months are spent learning the choreography to a production. This month, my AotM is the brilliant photographer Alexander Yakovlev who has a backstage pass to the world of ballet, specifically Russian ballet. He lives and works in Moscow where he has obviously developed a reputation for documenting both theatrical productions as well as portraiture. You'll get to see a few of his works below, but you really need to go look at his website and his Facebook page. There are so many great photos to be seen. His work reminds me of Degas since both have an affinity toward the ballet. Like Degas, Yakovlev captures not only performance poses, but also backstage photos of dancers preparing to perform. Other than what I was able to piece together here, I don't know anything about Alexander. It doesn't really matter though. Be like me and just appreciate the work and dedication he's gone through to capture the kinetic energy of dance. Go here for more wonderful photos> ayakovlev.com & www.facebook.com/ayakovlev
Also, don't make the same mistake I did. There is a Russian fighter with the same name. I thought photographer AND fighter?! What a badass! Oh...wait...two different guys. Nevermind. Here's the photographer Alexander.

Alexander Yakovlev

Some of these works are from different series; The Studio, The Mirages, Ballet Time, Balletomania (the kids) and some are from specific ballets performed at the Stanislavsky Music Theater and the Nemirovich-Denchenko Theater. There are some photos that depict the dancers surrounded by what looks like pixie dust. In reality, Alexander went to the local grocer and bought bags and bags of flour. He then covered the dancers with it and had them snap into a posture. This caused the beautiful auras around their bodies.