alexander yakovlev bathes ballet bodies in exploding flour dust

alexander yakovlev bathes ballet bodies in exploding flour dust
all images © alexander yakovlev

echoing the portraits by belgian artist jeffrey vanhoutte, which see female figures frozen in a shower of powdered milk, russian photographer alexander yakovlev has realized the ‘mirages’ series with flour and ballet dancers. looking at the art of dance through an unusual lens, yakovlev isolates each performer on a black or dark gray background and photographs them enacting elegant and expressive movements within the frame. pirouettes and horizontal jumps are frozen in time, surrounded by flourishes of white flour that envelop the scene. the floating particles highlight the dynamic motion of each female and trace the action of the human body in lengths of ephemeral dust, making the portraits immortalizations of an otherwise fleeting moment. 

yakovlev isolates each performer on a black or dark gray background

the images look at the art of dance through an unusual lens

the photos depict dancers enacting elegant and expressive movements within the frame

pirouettes and horizontal jumps are frozen in time