Dancers After Dark

Though not large in size, Dancers in the Dark is a very beautiful art book well qualified for the coffee table. The focus is certainly on the dancers, but just as outstanding is the photography. Jordan Matters spent two exhausting years taking thousands of photographs of some three hundred nude dancers from a number of dance companies in Europe and North America. Many of the dancers are by themselves, while others are in groups of twos or threes and as many as twenty-five. All scenes are shot at night and most are in front of famous landmarks, such as the Notre Dame and the State Capitol, but some are in unusual places, like tar pits and salt pits. The nude pose was necessary to show layers of the dancers’ muscles, yet there is no hint of erotic overture. In many, nonchalant pedestrians and bicyclists pass by the nude dancers. And in many, the positions seem impossible and unlikely, such as posing horizontally on a lamp post or hanging upside down from a beam over a subway station entrance. The introduction, scores of quotes by the famous, behind-the-scenes stories, and additional comments nicely complement this awesome book.