Dancers After Dark

A celebration of the human body and spirit in more than 100 photographs — all nude, all taken at night. These photos illustrate the hard work and the dedication it takes to succeed in dancing, acting, photography — or really any creative endeavor that at first may be incredibly frightening or make you feel vulnerable, but once achieved offers an exhilaration previously unimagined. The photos were shot over 200 nights, with 300 different dancers, in more than 400 locations, in all kinds of weather. The photos are grouped by theme – Vulnerability, Ferocity, Stability, Ecstasy — and include shots from sunset to dawn, in spectacular black and white and glorious color. Many will be accompanied by an inspiring quote. Additional text will include Jordan’s introductory essay, describing how he came up with the book idea and how he is inspired by the dancers he photographs, as well as “Behind the Scenes” stories of how the shot was achieved and “In Their Shoes” – words from the dancers on what it was like to be photographed in nude in public.

Says author Jordan Matter: “At its core, Dancers After Dark is about a willingness to say yes rather than no, about finding a passion and pursuing it without apprehension or doubt. The willingness of these performers to throw themselves into the streets without fear of failure (or incarceration) has led to results we could not have imagined. Celebrating their unadorned physiques allows the dancers to demonstrate their grace, strength, and perseverance. The quiet beauty of the dancers plays well against the fearlessness of the process. The more I shoot Dancers After Dark and collaborate with spectacular dancers who have dedicated their every waking moment to a low-paying passion and whose careers end at 35 years old, the more this phrase gets stuck in my head: Fearless Beauty. The images, poses, bodies and settings are beautiful, but most importantly, the dancers’ cool serenity in the face of intense circumstances (metaphorically and literally) is, for me, the definition of beauty. Their ‘calm in the face of the storm’ poise never fails to amaze me. The spontaneous and serendipitous process itself requires fearlessness from all the participants, including me.”

Author Biography

Jordan Matter is a portrait photographer whose work has been featured on Today, CBS, NBC, and the BBC, in The Daily News, Time Out New York,The Huffington Post, and Slate, and on blogs and newspapers around the country and the world. Mr. Matter lives with his wife and two young children in New York.