News Story
We've been working with Canon and Canon Ambassador Clive Booth on a photographic project that supports pioneering research on Relative Energy Deficiency in Dance (RED-D), led by BRB Clinical Director Nick Allen, a condition that significantly impacts the physical and mental health of dancers. In essence, RED-D arises from an energy imbalance, if the body doesn't receive the necessary fuel to meet the demanding physical requirements of elite dance.
Captured during the 2024/25 season by photographer, filmmaker and Canon Ambassador Clive Booth, these photographs document our dancers in the precious moments before, during and after their performances, intimate experiences normally unseen by the audience. Though the physical toll is immense, for most dancers the thrill of performancing outweighs the mental and physical sacrifice. But what happens once the applause fades and the curtain falls?
The first showing of Clive's amazing photographs will be at the World Expo 2025, which takes place in Osaka, Japan. We're thrilled to have been invited to take part (from 25 June to 2 July, during the Company's tour to Japan). (We're working on a UK presentation of these revealing images.)
The ongoing research into RED-D aims to develop a biological passport for each dancer that monitors physiological changes. This will offer insights into overall health and identify potential risks in both current performance and long-term wellbeing, ensuring that future impacts, often overlooked in the present, are addressed with care and foresight.
I’ve long been fascinated by ballet, for me the ultimate art form. From the perspective of an audience dance can appear effortless, perfect, beautiful, magical, moving and mesmerizing. But stand in the wings and there’s another story to be told. Thanks to Birmingham Royal Ballet I’ve been given unique access to shoot the portraits of dancers just seconds off stage. ‘The Silence After Applause’ is helping raise awareness to the company’s world first research into the physical and mental wellbeing of their dancers.
For me photography is the perfect medium to record these captured moments in time, the myriad of feelings and emotions; relief, joy, ecstasy, tears, pain and exhaustion. Thanks to Canon I’ve been able to use new and cutting-edge cameras, lenses and fine art archival printers to bring this story to life and share it with a global audience. Forming a bond with the dancers and being a part of their world has been one of the greatest privileges of my career and the most moving part of this on-going journey. They are a family like no other!Clive Booth, photographer, filmmaker and Canon Ambassador
