Introduction

Whenever a prima ballerina takes the stage, she is the very picture of perfection. Inspired by this elegance, Japanese photographer Hajime Yoshida searches for the reality to be found elsewhere: backstage and in the halls of ballet schools.

In his series Dancers, Yoshida reveals intimate moments in analog black-and-white photographs. He shows how young dancers prepare for their performances. In their composition and the use of light and dark contrasts, the works develop a fascinating tension that can only be deciphered upon deeper inspection.

There is a clear sense of Yoshida’s proximity to fashion photography. At the same time, his work evokes associations with the paintings of Edgar Degas and Pierre Carrier-Belleuse, French artists at the start of the 20th century who depicted young ballet dancers at their rehearsals. Yoshida utilizes the subject’s inherent elegance to create graceful, extremely beautiful masterpieces.

Curriculum vitæ

Hajime Yoshida was born in Japan and specializes in fashion and portrait photography. His work is highly acclaimed and has won awards and honors at the 2017 Tokyo International Foto Awards as well as the 2017 LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards. Yoshida is one of the artists in the PhotoVogue Collection, and his work has appeared in exhibitions in Arles, Paris, Tokyo, and London. He lives in Sapporo, Japan.