If you’ve ever watched a ballet, you know it’s about motion. The breathless leaps, the dizzying spins, the fluid grace of a body in flight. But what happens when you hit pause? Photographer Brad Walls answers that question with stunning clarity in his series, *PASSÉ*.
This isn't your typical dance photography. Walls freezes dancers from world-renowned companies like the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in moments of perfect, almost architectural, stillness. The title, *PASSÉ*—a fundamental ballet position where one leg is bent with the toe touching the opposite knee—is a perfect metaphor. It’s a transitional pose, a moment of poised potential, and Walls explores this space between movements.
The series is a masterful fusion of two distinct art worlds, as the subtitle suggests: **Degas meets De Stijl.**
You can feel **Degas** in the intimate, behind-the-scenes reverence for the dancer's form. There's a raw, human element—the tension in a foot, the concentration on a face, the sheer physicality of the craft. It’s a modern, high-resolution echo of Degas’ pastel sketches of ballerinas in their rehearsals.
Then, **De Stijl** crashes in. Think Mondrian. Think rigid lines, bold geometry, and a reduced palette. Walls composes his frames with a graphic designer's eye. A dancer's limbs become stark lines against a pure white background. The curves of a back and an arm create a perfect circle. The composition is stripped down to its essential elements: form, line, and space.
This collision is what makes *PASSÉ* so compelling. The organic, breathing humanity of the dancer is framed by an almost severe, abstract composition. It highlights the incredible discipline of ballet, showing us that these seemingly fluid movements are built upon a foundation of precise, geometric alignment.
**My Take?** This series does more than just capture beautiful dancers. It reframes how we see their art. In a world that often celebrates the explosive, the high-flying, and the dramatic, Walls finds profound beauty in the quiet, preparatory moment. He shows us that the *passé* is not just a step on the way to the grand jeté; it is a work of art in itself—a sculpture of potential energy and perfect balance.
For anyone who loves dance, photography, or simply beautiful composition, Brad Walls' *PASSÉ* is a breathtaking reminder that sometimes, the most powerful movement is no movement at all.
