![\"Irene](\"http:\/\/www.danceanywhere.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Kinetech.jpg\")
<\/a>Irene Hsaio, Kinetech Dance Company by Afshin Odabaee<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0Afshin Odabaee approaches dance photography as a total- body, active and immersive experience. A dancer and lifetime athlete, he takes photos from within a dance. \u201cI get involved. I move amongst the dancers if I can\u201d.\u00a0 His images speak to moments in between two precipices, when the person drops away and something raw and primal emerges. \u201cI wait and see how something will develop. Its the in- between, the primitive nature of dance, that intrigues me\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Nol Simonese by Afshin Odabaee<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0A Silicon Valley engineer by trade, photography is a creative outlet for Afshin and a way of giving back to the Bay Area dance community. \u201cPhotography is not a business for me. I take photos to help friends and to offer my point of view\u201d. Afshin\u2019s foray into photography began as a small child when he would hike and take mental images of things he later wanted to draw. It was not until his brother\u2019s wedding, many years later that he first picked up a camera. \u201cWhen the images were developed, people said they were great and I said, \u2018Really? That\u2019s just how I see things\u2019. I realized there might be something there\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Breton Tyner- Bryan by Afshin Odabaee<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0Life experiences, and the creativity of others inform personal creativity.\u00a0 \u201cWe mimic. Everything we create is based upon something we were exposed to that we then adapted, commented upon or rejected.\u201d Afshin perceives that one\u2019s background and life story thus define the unique creativity of the artist. \u201cEveryone has such a complex storyline. Experiences and stories from people\u2019s lives are blended together and for every person a different mixture, or flavor comes out. That\u2019s creativity!\u201d.\u00a0 However, Afshin said that he is careful not to let his own creative agenda determine the outcome of his photos. \u201cI open myself up, to let things happen, without forcing my own ideas. It is always a collaboration with people, light, spaces…\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Nina Fischer by Afshin Odabaee<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0Much of Afshin\u2019s dance photography is site-specific in nature. \u201cEach location offers itself for a unique storyline.\u201d New and alternative dance spaces thus inspire Afshin as he is eager to discover what emerges from a space.\u00a0 \u201cI let myself happen TO the space. I am like a kid, taking in the environment, the people, the lighting\u2026taking it all in.\u201d\u00a0 He strives to step back as much as he can and allow the dancers and space to speak to him. \u201cI never duplicate an image. Every dancer\u2019s story is unique and I challenge myself to reflect their expression, feeling and way of movement. A photograph is a very personal journal of a dancer\u2019s experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Stephanie Sherman by Afshin Odabaee<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0Afshin expressed tremendous gratitude for his opportunities to photograph the Bay Area dance community. \u201cI don\u2019t belong in the dance world but wonderful artists have given me the opportunity to be a part of it. I am absolutely grateful and have learned so much\u201d. His photos are an opportunity to connect with people on a deeper level.\u00a0 \u201cI get a chance to know people with my photography.\u00a0 I meet a person with my camera and in a way it is like finding an unknown window in a wall- A whole new view!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n