Ballet Created by Louis XIV in the seventeenth century, as part of his court dances, ballet has evolved into the most ethereal of dance forms, which emphasizes beautiful lines, high extensions, brilliant jumps and turns, and breathtaking choreography. In the age of fast food and instant gratification, ballet is a welcome discipline, instilling strong work ethics, personal responsibility, and respect for self and others. Margot Fonteyn said that it takes ten years to make a dancer and Rudolf Nureyev said it takes a lifetime to make an artist. Any dancer, athlete or novice can improve agility, balance, control, speed and strength by taking ballet. Ballet is the foundation for all dance forms and the teachers at The Ballet and Dance Center strongly recommend that all dancers take ballet as part of their dance curriculum. Ballet dancers are beautiful, almost mystical beings. Their nimble bodies defy gravity and nature. They are ethereal, lithe and unearthly—some would even say angelic. For Philadelphia based dance photographer Brian Mengini, this was all the inspiration he needed to transform a community benefit project idea into a reality. When he started working on Spirit of the Fallen, a photo tribute to the fallen officers of the Philadelphia Police Department and a fundraiser for the FOP Survivor's Fund, he had no idea how big the project would become or how it would evolve. Now, it's taking on a life of its own, and Mengini, a relatively new photographer on the dance scene, is getting his wings in the process. Spirit of the Fallen started the way many other artistic endeavors begin—as an idea. Mengini knew he wanted to create an exhibition that would benefit society on a large scale, but he wasn't sure which cause he wanted to lend a hand to. "I like to give back as much as possible," he says. "I had already been involved with the special needs community, but I wanted a new project and a new venture that I could help do good with." After considering a variety of causes, it suddenly came to him one random morning. "I was in the car listening to AM Radio and they were talking about a memorial project that the local police administration were building paying tribute to the over 260 officers who had fallen during the line of duty since the inception of the police department," he recalls. "And I said, 'You know what? I think I got something here.'" Time: |
