Cover Image: Born to Dance

Born to Dance

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Member Reviews

I loved the photographs and the stories of young dancers included in this book. I really appreciated the diversity of dancers included. Any dancer, old or young, will find inspiration in these pages. Enjoy

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Born to Dance: Celebrating Moments of Joy, from Toddler to Teen by Jordan Matter is a celebration of what it means to be young and full of possibility. The book is full of lovely color photographs of young dancers (ages 4-17) by Dancers Among Us photographer Jordan Matter, along with Jordan's personal observations and quotes from some of the dancers about joy, life, dance, and family.

Born to Dance: Celebrating Moments of Joy, from Toddler to Teen is a lovely and stunning collection of images of young dancers caught in motion. I love the fact that these are individuals that are out in the world, not in studios and in traditional dance attire. They are all different, utilizing different styles, of different builds, races, ages, genders, and many are in unconventional moments that might not seem like dance on the surface- while others are much more traditional. I like the wide variety of subjects, motions, and backgrounds. Dancers, those that dream about dancing, and those that have always enjoyed watching the beauty of dance will be thrilled with this collection.

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Jordan Matter captures the essence of childhood dancers from the young professionals to the children at play expressing their joy through movement. A celebration of the diversity of our youth that are drawn to the world of dance.

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“Dance is storytelling and a language; it is a means of expressing emotions, both powerful and beautiful. Dance requires you to build your problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Dance is multicultural. It transcends boundaries; it creates and connects friends”
-Holly Hatcher-Frasier (Foreword)

This book beautifully captures young dancers on and off stage. Everyday life seems inseparable from a dancer’s heart/body connection. Each young person featured here told the photographer that they were born to dance. Dance had chosen them.

With a great eye and a quick finger at the cam, Jordan Matter captures dancers posing / jumping in natural everyday activities like playing at the park, the pool or in arcades, as well as in unconventional dance spaces like restaurants or places of transportation. Not a stone stays unturned in a dancers mind….one can dance while shoveling snow, eating ice-cream, at stores, the beach, in hotel rooms, on Christmas, in school, in museums, at the doctors, or on the job.

There are about 9 chapters dedicated to specific themes highlighting dancer’s emotions or thoughts such as love, dreams, growing up etc. Most all pictures have beautiful captions or poetry to go along, and on some of the pages you can use a QR reader to gain more insight about the photo shoots.

***

This book is absolutely true and gorgeous. If you have known, or are the parent of a wiggling little critter turning pirouettes in all of places, then you might have a dancer on your hand to support. Not everyone is born to dance, but those that are, know it. For them, there is no separation of any kind in the world, just dance. And the images as well as the dedications beautifully illustrate it.

As a former dancer of 30 years, I found a little me reflected in these pages. Capturing the joy, dreams and hopes shared with other dancers, forgetting the hard grueling training hours as they are outweighed by the love and need to express oneself full heartedly, body, mind and soul. Dancers are passionate & disciplined leaving spectators at awe and enthralled. Jordan Matter's photography portrait of young dancers doing naturally what they love complements this beautifully.

I received a digital copy of 'Born to Dance' from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you!

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Jordán Matter is my favorite dance photographer, his creativity and passion it's very contagious. Every picture has an history, and you can see in each photo his rigorous work. I follow his Instagram account, and I love the behind scenes of the sessions, and the last challenges, are so fun. If you're a dancer or gymnast this is very recommend book for inspiration.

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This book like Jordan's other collections of dance photography captures a variety of dancers this time rangeing from age 9 and under to late teens. Each photograph is taken in various locations with different types of dance poses and stances and each one is different much like the dancers showcased. It's a very youthful and fun collection and any dancer would love these images and this book. It would make the perfect coffee table book for dancers and dance lovers a like. Not only are there photographs but multiple throughout the book are interactive as they were shot as part of a 10 minute photo challenge photoshoot by Jordan and a QR code takes you to a video where you can see a behind the scenes look of how the photo was captured along with others in the same series. Overall some of the best dance related photographs I've ever seen.

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I was beyond ecstatic to receive this follow-up collection to Dancers Among Us by the talented photographer and YouTube star Jordan Matter, featuring gorgeous color photographs of well-known dancers as well as stars-in-the-making, ages 2 through 18.

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I am completely blown away by this book. The photos in this book are simply breathtaking! I simply loved every single photo. Every time I flipped a page I would fall in love all over again. The dancers are stunning, and its so evident that they are having so much fun while shooting the photographs. This would make the perfect gift for any young dancer. It is so inspiring.

I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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