A Whole New World

"A Whole New World", 10" x 12" acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting some of my favorite young dancers. This painting has a good story behind it - and posters will be sold - read more below! The painting itself belongs to The Princess (that's her on the left), but as always, inquiries may come directly to me. Oh, and in process photos are here

Production Numbers In the world of competitive dance, a production number is a dance that tells a story, and typically features every dancer from the team. Production numbers are nearly double the length of other dances, and are tremendous fun, as they usually include props, fabulous costumes, and incredible music mixes. This year, The Princess's production number tells the story of Aladdin. It's complete with neon orange beaded harem pants, a flying carpet, a marketplace and a magic genie lamp. It also includes lyrical movement, musical theater, acrobatics, pointe and tap, and stars every dancer from the team (30+, aged 6-18). It's tremendous fun. Every year I paint something inspired by our production number and sell posters to benefit the dance team. Two years ago the girls were Renegades (danced to Styx's song of the same name), and last year it was Miami Heat (an energetic hip hop/contemporary compilation that resulted in a pound of micro beads flying off the fringed costumes every performance!). Usually I shoot the references for my painting at our January dress rehearsal and that gives a few months to work up the painting. But that wasn't an option this year. Because The Princess has a costume change, a shoe change, and a second costume change, which meant I was busy in the wings holding various pieces of clothing, staging shoes for an easy transition, and adding headpieces/jewelry as needed. Not to mention letting off one of the confetti poppers at the end of the show! So there was no opportunity for reference photo taking, let alone even seeing the dance from the audience's perspective! I was getting nervous, and I was running out of time. And then, at our last performance, while backstage waiting for the music to queue, THIS is what I saw. The dancers lined up in the wings, ready to step into the light. THIS was my painting! Defying the event's "no camera rules," I snuck my cell phone out of my pocket and snapped a few frames just as the dance began. Anything for art, right? It's not like I was shooting photos that would take business away from the official event photographer. I know. I'm bad. But it was all for the Sake of Art. So next up is designing the poster, getting it to the printers, and collecting orders. Posters will be available for $25, with all proceeds benefitting our dancers. If you would like one, let me know, and we'll coordinate shipping and delivery details. And The Princess says "thank you!" Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork! Warmly, Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com