BALLERINA PROJECT VENICE
2014-2015 Venice, Italy
From New York to Venice. 1999-2014.
It's been 15 years since the New York photographer Dane Shitagi conceived the first Ballerina Project, photographing dancers of famous American dance companies in the most degraded areas of the Big Apple.
The project is based on the idea of creating images with a strong visual impact due to the contrast between the beauty and elegance of the dancers and the deterioration and squalor of New York metropolitan area.
Starting from this initial project, other photographers have adapted the idea to their city, among others the "Ballerina Project UK" by photographer Alex Yip, in which Giulia participated as a dancer in 2009, in London.
In 2014, joining her passion for dance gained in over 20 years of studies, and the profession of photographer, Giulia gives life to Ballerina Project Venice which has as its location the city of Venice. Venice is not only the historic center, which we all know and the world envies us, it also includes the most remote islands of the lagoon and the mainland with Mestre and Marghera. Each of these realities, although belonging to the same municipality, has completely different needs and characteristics: Venice is a city rich in art and history, while the mainland has been and still is - albeit in a lower way - the seat of industries and businesses.
If the original setting regarding the contrast between the subject and the setting remains, the direction taken by this project intends to face a further challenge: in a city considered worldwide as a work of art tout court, the photos are taken in locations completely unexpected and undoubtedly not aesthetically beautiful.
Beyond the aesthetic aspect related to photography, what Giulia want to do is to draw the viewer's attention to places that, despite being in one of the most beautiful and renowned areas in the world, are affected by degradation, abandonment or from depopulation.
The aim is, therefore, to focus on the possible recovery of urban areas still full of potential, which Giulia develops through a work in symbiosis with the dancers of classical and contemporary dance, who voluntarily joined the Ballerina Project Venice.
For more info visit www.ballerinaprojectvenice.com or Instagram @ballerina_project_venice or Facebook @ballerinaprojectvenice
