Dancing into the Sunset - Battery Dance Festival
On August 9th my dad and I went to the Battery Dance Festival in New York City. We arrived a little late, so all the seats were already taken, but we still found a good spot in the back to enjoy the performance.
Luckily, we were prepared for crowded situations. My dad brought a 90mm lens with his Leica M10-P camera, and his friend, a professional dance photographer, let me borrow his Nikon D850 with an 85mm lens. Both lenses gave me a good reach to the stage even from the back.
The whole program happened right during golden hour, the light was magical. The stage was right on the waterfront, so the Hudson River sparkled behind the dancers, and the Statue of Liberty was literally in the background.
Battery Dance Festival @ The New Wagner Park, NYC
There were two performances that I was able to catch night, and they were both incredible and technically challenging but also pretty contrasting in genre.
The Frontiers
So much emotion and control was poured into this dance. The dancers moved with so much smoothness and power at the same time. I loved how they interacted with each other on stage, simple and empowering.
A Choreographic Offering
Performed by the Limón Dance Company, this piece was visually stunning. All the dancers wore bright bodysuits in reds, yellows, and oranges — they looked like they were glowing against the sunset. They leapt in perfect sync with strong technique, and everything felt so bold and powerful.
By the time they took their final bow, the sun had already set and the stage lights were on.
Comparing the two cameras that I used that night: even though the Nikon D850 has autofocus and is super fast, it kept focusing on the background instead of the dancers.
Meanwhile, with the manual focus Leica M10-P, I could just keep the lens locked on the stage and the dancers stayed sharp. It felt more calm and assuring.