KEN BROWAR & DEBORAH ORY

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The photographs document the Martha Graham Dance Company in celebration of its 100th anniversary through the release of a dedicated book. As the oldest dance company in America and one of the most influential in the world, the MGDC has been photographed by Browar and Ory over many years in preparation for this publication. Their work spans more than twenty-four of the company’s most renowned ballets and includes images of dancers performing outdoors in natural settings, full-company portraits, and intimate studio photographs. The book will be available for purchase shortly.

THE STYLE OF MOVEMENT & THE ART OF MOVEMENT

The Style of Movement is a book that explores the dynamic relationship between fashion and dance. Featuring dancers dressed in designs by iconic fashion houses such as Valentino, Dior, Iris van Herpen, and Thom Browne—alongside rare vintage pieces by Halston, Givenchy, and Bill Blass—the book situates movement within a rich sartorial and historical context.

The Art of Movement is Browar and Ory's first volume, presenting more than seventy dancers from leading companies including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Royal Danish Ballet, and the Royal Ballet. The Art of Movement has received an International Photography Award and has been featured in major publications such as CNN, Italian Vogue, and The Times.

DEGAS SERIES - MISTY COPELAND

Drawing inspiration from Degas’s iconic ballet dancers, Browar and Ory use a contemporary lens, blending classical ballet with modern photography. The series captures Misty Copeland, the first Black woman to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. This collaboration between artist and dancer becomes a dialogue of past and present, honoring the history of ballet while asserting a distinctly modern vision of the dancer’s body and artistic agency.

KEN BROWAR & DEBORAH ORY

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Nicolas Auvray Gallery is proud to announce an upcoming exhibition with the NYC Dance Project's Ken Browar and Deborah Ory.

Ken and Deborah have been documenting the Martha Graham Dance Company for several years now, attending and photographing over twenty-four of the company's most renowned ballets. The exhibition is both in celebration of the company's 100th anniversary and their release of a dedicated book of Browar and Ory's photographs.

KEN BROWAR AND DEBORAH ORY

Ken and Deborah together both form the collaborative partnership that is the NYC Dance Project, merging their experiences and creative passions to create unique and beautiful portraits of the dance community. The project is not just a collaboration between the photographers, but is also one with their subjects. Each shoot is prepared as though it were its own dance production, with attention paid to every detail - the movement, lighting and the feeling each photograph evokes.

NYC Dance Project has been featured in many magazines, including in Harper’s Bazaar, Italian Vogue and Dior Magazine. Their work has been featured internationally in press such as CNN, The NY Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The London Times, and many others. Ken and Deborah’s photography book on dance, The Art of Movement, was published in 2016, and a sequel about the intersection of fashion and dance, The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance, was published in 2019. Both books have won International Photography Awards and have been bestsellers on Amazon and other bookstores.

Ken Browar and Deborah Ory have had their work exhibited worldwide and have their work represented by several galleries and museums. They are currently working on a new book for the 100th year anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

BIOGRAPHY

Ken Browar grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Paris with a plan to become a photographer at the age of 19. Staying in Paris 20 years later, his love for photographing movement began by capturing dancers at the Paris Opera Ballet. Browar went on to become a renowned fashion photographer. His work for many European magazines, including Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire, continued to highlight his excellent eye for grace and motion.

Deborah Ory, a dancer since the age of 7, maintains a passion for the art of movement, which is evident in her photography. She began photographing the rehearsals she was supposed to be in using a camera her father had brought home, foreshadowing an early connection between photography and dance. Her work includes editorial assignments for House & Garden, Mirabella, Self, Health, Martha Stewart Living, and Real Simple.

KEN BROWAR & DEBORAH ORY