World-renowned celebrity portrait photographer Mark Mann celebrates the release of his new coffee table book Movement at the Still Point: An Ode to Dance with a one night only star-studded evening of dance at the Joyce Theater, Monday, April 10, 2023. Celebrating the power of expression, in movement and stillness, Movement at the Still Point: An Evening of Dance offers a multi-disciplinary and multi-generational program of ballet, modern, tap, hip hop, contemporary, tango, and musical theater with stars from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Broadway, Martha Graham Dance Company and more. This eclectic bill of world premieres and fan favorites captures the dynamism and the energy of mediums of both dance and photography.

At the depth of the Covid pandemic, choreographer Loni Landon helped Mann to turn his lens from luminaries such as Barack Obama, Jennifer Anniston, Bradley Cooper, Margot Robbie and Rhianna to her friends and colleagues– the top dancers in the New York City community. To be released by Rizzoli International Publications on March 21, 2023, the book captures 142 artists whose impact and legacies span many generations and disciplines. From Misty Copeland, Andy Blankenbuehler, Tiler Peck, Chita Rivera, Sara Mearns, James Whiteside, Carmen De Lavallade, Kyle Abraham and many others, these photos show the true strength in beauty and resolve during a time of incredible uncertainty. Bringing the dancers off of the page and onto the stage, the evening includes performances and appearances from New York City Ballet’s Sara Mearns, Megan LeCrone and Georgina Pazcoguin, Martha Graham Dance Company principal’s Lloyd Knight and Xin Ying and former principal and Artistic Director Terese Capucilli, Broadway’s Skye Mattox, Karla Garcia, David Guzman, Ricardo Zayas, Morgan Marcell, Ryan Vandenboom, and Curtis Holland, choreographer and Princess Grace Award recipient Rena Butler, vogue dancers Amadeo “Remy” Mangano and Ousmane “Omari” Wiles, Argentine Tango dancers Dardo Galletto and Alonso Guzman, Tap artist Evan Ruggiero, Gibney Company’s Artistic Associate Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, the legendary dancer and actress Carmen de Lavallade, former Merce Cunningham dancer Gus Solomons Jr., and more to be announced.

“For almost thirty years, I’ve made a living from photographing portraits of people, and finding the perfect moments of stillness,” explains Mann. “When our first dancer Rena Butler came into the studio in February of 2021, I was speechless,” he continues. “I realized I was watching a performance tailored exclusively for my camera and for the first few minutes I was so captivated that I actually forgot I was supposed to be taking photos. In that moment, as I began to photograph, my whole life as a photographer was turned upside down. Over the next nine months I learned to capture movement in single frames, following my intuition on when to press the shutter. Together, we remedied the isolation and the lack of human connection brought by the COVID pandemic. We danced, we laughed, and we shared a vulnerability that had been taken from us. The privilege of dipping my toe into the dance community will stay with me forever, and it is my greatest pleasure to celebrate the artists of this book both on the pages of this book and on the stage of the Joyce Theater this Spring. I can’t think of a better way to honor their talent, resilience, and voice.”

The evening is produced by Mark and Jacob Productions and curated by Loni Landon.

ABOUT MARK MANN

Mark Mann is a renowned celebrity and advertising photographer who originally hails from the sun-soaked streets of Glasgow Scotland. The countless list of famous faces photographed in Mann’s unique and recognizable style includes President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Iggy Pop, Rihanna, Martin Scorcese, Jennifer Aniston, Stevie Wonder, Eartha Kitt, Robin Williams, Emma Stone, Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Arthur Miller, Margot Robbie, Robert Redford, Queen Latifah, Michael Douglas, Gillian Anderson, Dave Chappelle, Olivia Wilde, Bradley Cooper, Willie Nelson, Sean Connery and many more. Mark’s editorial work has appeared in Esquire, Men’s Health, Vibe, Spin, Fortune, Billboard, Parade, and Complex, and his clients include Reebok, Adidas, Hennessy, Bombay Sapphire, Pepsi, Gillette, Vitamin Water, NHL, Zumba, Ford, Chrysler, and Svedka to name a few.

Always hungry for new subjects and challenges Mark has spearheaded his own projects over the years, one of which was creating a collection of LUCHA LIBRE wrestlers.  Where all the photographs were shot on a vintage Graflex camera using polaroid instant film. Most recently he was struck by the contrast of dancing bodies to his traditional portraits in a new body of work which culminated in a book titled Movement at The Still Point: An Ode to Dance published by Rizzoli International in March 2023.

Mark was born in Glasgow, where he lived until he was accepted to the prestigious photographic program at Manchester Polytechnic. Upon graduating Mark was immediately taken under the wing by innovative fashion photographers, Nick Knight and Miles Aldridge, where he learned the ropes and quickly built his own body of work. Three years later, Mark started shooting on his own and relocated to New York City where 26 years later he still lives with his wife and son, and their recently adopted Chihuahua, Shaq.