News
3rd September 2020
Announcement : Dance Photography Workshop. October 2020. London.
Following the success of The Dance Photography Workshop in Leeds, in August 2020. Dancer, photographer and film maker Jack Thomson is bringing this dance photography workshop to the city of London.
This photography workshop is aimed at photographers who want to develop their relationship with dance and movement, and how it translates onto camera. It is also for dancers who have a vested interest in photography and wish to harness their dance knowledge to deepen their photographic practice.
Within the workshops participants will be exploring the intersection between dance and photography, focusing on form, composition and creativity . We will also be covering...
- Perspectives and approaches on capturing movement in a still form.
- Tools to keep your dancers/subjects constantly inspired by offering stimulus to provoke their physicality.
- Tapping into your own physicality in order to achieve your desired image.
- Dance photography as a collaborative act.
- The body and space/architecture.
Participants will be working with two professional dancers throughout the day, in the morning a classical ballet dancer and in afternoon a contemporary dancer. Following the workshop days, all 16 participants will be invited to join a 2 hour zoom session which they will opportunity to share images from the shoot followed by an hour seminar covering dance photography and its history.
To join this one day workshop and online tutorial/discussion is £95 per person.
Early Bird price of £85 if booked and paid for before 1st October
Participants should be above 18 years of age.
Please Note: due to weather reasons, participants will be asked to give availability for up-to 3 dates. Confirmation will be no later than 4 days before the workshop. If the workshop is cancelled for weather reasons, participants will get there money back in full.
Workshop Dates (4 photographers per day)
- Saturday 17th October : 11am-6pm
- Sunday 18th October: 11am-6pm
- Monday 19th October : 11am-6pm
- Tuesday 20th October : 11am-6pm
Zoom Session
Sunday 25th October 2020 : 10.30am-12.30pm.
To find out more or book a place or email jack@jack-thomson.com
Charlotte will be joining us the morning session's on 17th and 18th October.
Sam will be joining us the afternoon session on 17th October.
Jacob will be joining us the afternoon session's on 18th October.
Marina will be joining us the afternoon session's on 19th and 20th October.
Kanika will be joining us the morning session's on 19th and 20th October.
Corona Virus Considerations
- This workshop will be taking place outside and participants will asked to respect the the 2 meters distance rule.
- What would usually be a single day workshop, has been to spilt across 4 dates. We will work in small groups of participants to ensure that it is achieved within the social distancing measures the government has outlined. This is 6 people from different households meeting outside. Each day will have Jack, the 4 participants and one/(two) dancers (the dancers will be rotate one in the morning session and one in afternoon session).
- All participants will also be provided with masks or visors for the workshop day, depending on their preference.
- A one hour lunch break will be given in the middle of the day, and participants are encouraged bring their own meals and also to eat outdoors.
- Participants are encouraged to try and not use public transport to attend. Ideally by car, bike or foot
26th August 2020
We Are Ready Now First Festival/ Gallery Screenings.
We Are Ready Now, has been selected and screened in various festivals through-out August and September 2020.
August
7th : FuoriFormato Festival , Genova
7th-8th : IFF Improvisation Festival, Canada/online
11th-14th : IF………Experimental Films (Elysium Gallery), Swansea
September
6th : Tanzahoi Dance Festival , Hamburg
14th July 2020
Announcement : Dance Photography Workshop. August 2020. Leeds.
Dancer, photographer and film maker Jack Thomson will be leading a dance photography workshop in the city of Leeds. This photography workshop is aimed at photographers who want to develop their relationship with dance and movement, and how they translate onto camera. It is also for dancers who have a vested interest in photography and wish to harness their dance knowledge to deepen their photographic practice.
Within the workshops participants will be exploring the intersection between dance and photography, focusing on composition, light and form. We will also be covering...
- Perspectives and approaches on capturing movement in a still form.
- Tools to keep your dancers/subjects constantly inspired by offering stimulus to provoke their physicality.
- Tapping into your own physicality in order to achieve your desired image.
- Dance photography as a collaborative act.
- The body and space/architecture.
Participants will be working with two professional dancers throughout the day, in the morning a classical ballet dancer and in afternoon a contemporary dancer. Please note this workshop will take place outside and participants are to bring their own camera and lens.
Following the workshop days, all 16 participants will be invite to join a 3 hour zoom session that will cover a photoshop tutorial , the opportunity to share images from the shoot and a discussions about dance photography and its history.
Corona Virus Considerations
- This workshop will be taking place outside and participants will asked to respect the the 2 meters distance rule.
- What would usually be a single day workshop, has been to spilt across 4 dates. We will work in small groups of participants to ensure that it is achieved within the social distancing measures the government has outlined. This is 6 people from different households meeting outside. Each day will have Jack, the 4 participants and one/(two) dancers (the dancers will be rotate one in the morning session and one in afternoon session).
- All participants will also be provided with masks or visors for the workshop day, depending on their preference.
- A one hour lunch break will be given in the middle of the day, and participants are encouraged bring their own meals and also to eat outdoors.
- Participants should be able to get to Leeds City centre without using public transport. Ideally by car, bike or foot.
20th May 2020
'We Are Ready Now' Broadcasted on BBC4
'We Are Ready Now' will be broadcasted on BBC 4 alongside a series of other dance works, in an hour long programme hosted by Carlos Acosta . This Broadcast will be the premier of the short moving image.
BBC 4. Wednesday 27th May 2020. 11.30pm.
10th March 2020
Photograph's and poster for flamenco and contemporary dance performance, Humana.
French choreographer Redha Benteifour collaborated with Jack to photograph and create the new poster and series of lead images for a new show at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's wells, staring Karen Ruimy.
This collaboration ended with series of nine images and a leading poster image, the show has now had to be postpone, until later in 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
28th January 2020
Solo Performance in Niigata, Japan.
'Shoes off' was a short solo work, that was performed alongside Japanese dance artist 's Aika Tsuchida and Takayoshi Tsuchida evening of dance works in Niigata, Japan. The solo was choreographed and performed by Jack.
The performance took place on the 27th January in the City Hall in Niigata, along side a trio and duet.
'The solo was a short piece of work, around 8 minutes, I hope to expand into a long piece, maybe for film or site specific performances'.
8th November 2019
Short dance film commission by New Creatives.
In early 2019 Jack was commissioned by New Creatives, a BBC Arts and Arts Council England Talent Development Programme.
The commission was for short dance film which was developed during the summer of 2019. The film was shot in mid October.
'We Are Ready Now' will be release in 2020 on BBC Platforms.
17th October 2019
'Business is Brutal' was 'Highly Commended' in SHOWstudio's Fashion Film Awards.
SHOWstudio's Fashion Film Awards, in partnership with the esteemed luxury department store Harrods, takes place Thursday 17 October 2019. Emerging fashion filmmakers from around the world present their skills, ideas and creativity on the very platform credited as inventing the medium. Our selection of the world's most exciting and talented filmmakers are showcased on SHOWstudio, with an expertly-picked selection given the privilege of being displayed at Harrods' iconic Knightsbridge store.
May 20th 2019
'Portraits Of The Cast' for Festspielhaus St Polten performance of Ohad Narhin's, Decadance.
A self -led project to photograph the 33 unique performers in the evening of 'Gaga' works presented by Festspielhaus St Polten, was taken further when the theatre decided to feature the portraits alongside the program notes for its 1000+ audience on the premier of the evening of dance.
18th April 2019
Image taken by Jack in 2017 featured in a collection of images by FORMAT pushing back against Gender Censorship on social media.
Jack was contacted by FORMAT to join 50 other photographers looking at the issue of Gender Censorship on social media. Jack suggested the image taken of dancer Esther Huss in 2017 as a contribution alongside a short paragraph on the topic.
The collection of images is featured on FORMAT's website along side publications, I-D, Paper Magazine and Another Magazine
'If we cannot move past the image of a nude female breast being taboo, any imagery showing the expressiveness of this body part will be held hostage within the sphere of the controversial, and limit dialogue for the artist and for the people who engage with his or her work.'
28th February 2019
Photography work to be featured in and on the cover of choreography book.
Choreographer and writer Kate Flatt, approached Jack to ask if she was able to use a few images in a new book she is writing aimed at young Choreographers.
Alongside the images in the book, Crowood Publishers and Kate choose to use the image Jack has created with French dancer Noémie Larcheveque in late 2018 for the cover.
The book will feature other images by distinguished photographers Chris Nash, Hugo Glendinning and Gina Glover.
Set to be released and published in Summer 2019.
22nd January 2019
Announcement : Dance photography workshop lead by Jack Thomson. Saturday 2nd March.
Jack will be leading a photography and movement workshop, as part of talks and workshops supporting Mark Baldwin OBE debut exhibition ‘Embodied Knowledge’. The workshop will be held in the exhibition space, at Bermondsey Project Space on Saturday 2nd March 2018.
Within the workshops participants will be exploring the relationship between dance and the camera, focusing on composition. The workshops will be in two parts, the first part will place focus on the role of the photographer with the second part placing a focus on the role of the dancer/subject and how these roles can work together to create composition.
(12pm-1pm) Part one will focus on how the person behind the camera can…
- Keep your dancers/subjects constantly inspired by offering stimulus to provoke their physicality.
- Use you own physicality to capture the most suitable images for either your intention or your clients intention.
- Know when to move on….
(2pm-3pm) Part two will focus on how the person in front of the camera can…
- Utilise and maximise your role as the creator in the process.
- Nuance difference parts of your physicality, emotional being and ideas as a suggestive tools and as a form of self-empowerment.
- Know your space, the awareness and harnessing of light, angels and clothing as spaces to move your body within in and though.
Although each of the workshops has a specific focus on the role of either the photographer or dancer, Jack would encourage participants to attend both workshops as a cross discipline experience will be richer and more provoking.
Tickets are at subsidised rates
Full price per session - £10
Concession price per session -£6
Session one and session two package - £15
For more information and tickets
2nd December 2018
Best Interpretation Award - Inshadow, Lisbon
Business is Brutal was awarded one of three awards by the official jury at the Inshadow Film Festival in Lisbon.
Awards.
Best Interpretation - Business is Brutal, Jack Thomson (UK)
Best choreography - Scalamare, Jiří Kylián (NE)
Best screen dance - Some ways to get rid of a body, Hannes Renvall, Ria Bäckström (FI).
'It’s an honour to have this film reconsigned along side other artists like, Jiří Kylián , Hannes Renvall and Ria Bäckström.'
The jury did mentioned that Chihiro Kawasaki and Sam Coren performances contributed massively to the interpretation of the proposals made in the film .
This is what the judges said about the film....
‘The consistently and pertinently interpretation runs away from the normative body standards, questioning the democratic body, his institutionalisation in society, and breaking the formal patterns of the use of space.
In this way demonstrating the crudeness and rudeness of acting as a way of emphasising his message.
Technically and artistically the work is very well executed and clear towards the emerging proposal
1st December 2018
Dance Editorial for Dancing Times - Dancer of the Month.
A series of 4 studio portraits of London born dancer and good friend Sharia Johnson, the images featured alongside an interview highlighting her career as a dancer. These photograph featured in 'Dancer of the Month', a three page spread in Dancing Time's 1300th issue, December 2018.
Clothing : PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE
12th November 2018
HIDE - Series of photographs exhibiting at Nolias Gallery (Dec)
The Hide Series will be exhibited as part of Spontaneous, curated by Ingrid Anderson. 'Nolias Gallery will be the setting for fourteen established and emerging artists from all over the world to come together to celebrate 'spontaneity' through their process, subject or content.'
Hide is a series of three photographs taken by Jack, that looks under surface layer of performers and encourages us to look at the complexities they have has emotional beings.
Asking... "What is concealed consciously and who is revealed reluctantly. Bare or hide."
Nolias Gallery, 60 great Suffolk Street, Bankside, London, SE1 0BL
Private View : Thursday 6 December 6-8pm
Exhibition run : Tuesday 4th December - Saturday 8th December
4th October 2018
'DRIFT' Exhibition - Touring with choreographer Anthony Middleton
In early August Jack was asked by choreographer Anthony Middleton to collaborate on series of images, highlighting the melting of the polar ice caps ; the inspiration of his new performance work Drift.
Jack and Anthony worked with form, fabric and movement to create a series of drifting icebergs in the vast ocean.
Anthony's performance work was premiered at the York Mediale (04.10.2018), as part of the evening Jack exhibited the main piece of work that came from this collaboration, titled DRIFT.
DRIFT is printed on a single roll of recycled uncoated paper, 280cmX60cm and will continue to be exhibited alongside the performance as it tours across the North of England in 2018/2019.
14th September 2018
Bucharest International Dance Film Festival 2018 - Attendance and Interview.
Jack had the privileged opportunity to be in invited to Bucharest to attend the BIDFF.
"It was a fantastic weekend the standard and artistry of the film was incredible high and I felt very lucky that Business is Brutal was part of this international selection."
The editor of 'Films In Frame' got in touch after the festival to interview Jack about his efforts creating Business is Brutal.
26th August 2018
Business Is Brutal - Wins award at the New Renaissance Film Festival.
Jack and Chihiro (the female lead) attended the Awards Ceremony of the London NRFF 2018. The Film was nominated for two awards and took home, Best Art/Artist Lead Film.
It was a great evening and finished with a great surprise of winning an award.
24rd August 2018
The Release of 'Be A Man' - BBC 3
Director Thomas Payton-Greene conceptualised ' Be A Man', Jack was asked to both feature in and collaborate on this film, as the movement director and performer back in April 2018.
The film looks at the stereotypes attached the masculinity, to offer new ideas and prompt conversations about what it means to be a man in 2018.
The was finally released onto BBC 3's channels in August.
2nd August 2018
Short dance film, Business Is Brutal - Nominated for Two Awards
Business is Brutal has been nominated for 'Best Dance Short' and 'Best Art or Artist-led Film' at the New Renaissance Film Festival 2018.
The film will be screened on Thursday 23rd at 'Closeup Film Centre', between 9.15pm-9.55pm, as part of 'Block F - Dancing the Night Away.
The awards ceremony will be held Sunday 26th August in Soho London.
Stay tuned for results.
25th July 2018
HIDE - Series of photographs on Exhibition in London
Hide #2 and Hide #3 are currently being exhibited as part of Open, an exhibition at the Apthorp Gallery, in Artsdepot London.
Hide is a series of three photographs, that looks under surface layer of performers and encourages us to look at the complexities they have has emotional beings. Asking...
"What is concealed consciously and who is revealed reluctantly. Bare or hide."
Private View : Wednesday 25th July 2018
Exhibition run : 26th July 2018 - 1st September 2018.
1st July 2018
EYE SPY - Official release in the July Issue if Volition Magazine .
"Deja vu, piercings gazes and faux fur.
I wanted to explore the energy posture and personality of cats and bring these qualities outwards through movement and fashion. Throughout history cats have being associated with mystery, myth and elegance this series embraces this cultural and ancestral memory of the feline and reimagines them with a 21st century gaze."
13th June 2018
Business Is Brutal - Additional Festivals announcements
Business is Brutal has being accepted into Lisbon Screendance Festival , TDP'18 international dance festival's , RIFF FESTIVAL NORWAY, New Renaissance Film Festival . These screenings will be between August 2018 - December 2018.
More information on these screenings.
18th May 2018
Kerry Nicholls Dance - Live Action Photographed
Jack was invited to photograph, the dynamic and physically testing professional week long masterclass that Kerry Nicholls is renowned for. He spent Monday - Wednesday of the week participating as a dancer, gaining physical knowledge of what is feels like to be in the steps, musicality and energy of the group. Then drawing upon those rich sensations and memory of the energy as he captured the unfolding class on the Thursday and Friday.
'Working with Kerry in this way a great experience in bringing together the different hats I wear as a creative. Firstly exercising my craft in dance and taking the understanding that your being, energy and decisions physically create the act of dancing as time unfolds, and then switching that role and of instead of creating moments having to capture the unfolding of those moments, with my photographers hat on. "
23rd March 2018
End of research and development period - Funded by RACNC
As part of Jack ongoing research into the possibilities that lie between live performance and photography/film. Jack was funded by Random Acts Network Centre North for a period of R&D looking to kinaesthetic relationship between LCD monitors and polarising filters.
This period ended after months of deconstructing and playing with LCD monitors, finally presenting his findings and discussing how to take the next step with RACNC.
If you are interested about this R&D, please contact Jack via email, he will send you a short film taking about his experience and findings.
January 28th 2018
The Upper Hand - Official release on to Mode & Motion
Ath-Leisure wear and dancers collide.
15th November 2017
Official Release of Business Is Brutal - Channel 4 Platforms and further.
She has being waiting in anticipation for her release into the wild.... and it is finally here.
1st September 2017
Dance Editorial for Dancing Times - Dancer of the Month.
A series of 4 studio portraits of London born dancer, Stephen Quildan was featured along an interview highlighting his career as a dancer. These photograph featured in 'Dancer of the Month', a three page spread in Dancing Time's September issue 2017.
3rd June 2017
'Cut From The Same Cloth' Performance - The Hepworth Wakefield
After weeks of thinking and creating today Jack presented 'Cut From the Same Cloth', a dance work commissioned by The Hepworth Wakefield. Jack danced alongside Travis S C- Knight.
Inspired by the conversation between two forms , fashion and sculpture or in case of the performance Jack and Travis. The duet played on the ideas of examination, finding points of reference and points of division .
The Performances took place at 11am, 3pm and 5pm.