Ballet in the Streets - At Le Troquet!

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé, 2012

I  might as well say it straight off the bat... #shamelesspromotion. My conscience is now clear and you were notified.

If you're (impatient and) looking for the event I'd like to which I'd like to invite you...click here.

If you read my blog, you'll have figured out the few things that make me tic. There's dance. There's photography. There are other artists and bloggers, and their awesomeness (in my world, that's a word). But once in a while, I like to combine those wonderful things - dance, photography, arts, literature - and share them with you and wrap it with a bow. Today, I'd like to tell you that one of those things became a photography project and it keeps growing, much to my astonishment.

You know, those things - art and people, mostly - that make my heart swell with so much joy and fill my head and (holy old school) notepads with ideas. These ideas often cause me sleepless nights, a few too many headaches than I think are worth the trouble and they cost me cups of java. Many cups of java, and tea, when I start shaking. Or you know, when I fear withdrawal. But back to it... 

These ideas that hit me and follow me around, they sometimes turn into great projects. Sometimes, people actually take me seriously, believe in me and say "let's do this!". Then I get caught in a bit of a whirlwind as I work at these projects. I listen to these projects, for their direction, because they're from ideas that come from dreams, that in turn, come from the bottom of my heart. I work so hard sometimes I even wonder what I'm doing. "Is this going to work? Am I really allowed to call myself an artist? And, let's be honest; am I helping anyone?" 

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2012

Once in a while, I look up from the grindstone and see that the pieces are coming together to form a "big picture" that is more than what I'd imagined initially. I am fortunate enough to see those pictures be hung for others to see as well and enjoy. And I wonder, if the people who joined in the crazy project ideas I've presented with so much enthusiasm, if they knew better all along, if they knew that my ideas would make sense. I wonder if they followed me blindly on faith. Regardless of why my friends, colleagues and strangers decided to support any of my projects, I am grateful. In 2011, I decided to find a way to join dance and photography. I wanted to help showcase dance in the national capital region. When I put it out there that I wanted this to happen, so many people came forward to model, to help find dancers, to offer advice or reference work, to critique and offer feedback. I cannot say how happy I am to have had these opportunities and met many new interesting people. The whole is so much more than the sum of its parts; that's what Ballet in the Streets means to me. That's the package, and the exhibit is the bow with which it's wrapped. With enough love and belief for the cause of dance, this beautiful project will continue to grow with dancers of many disciplines.

Ballet in the Streets, (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2012

Join me for Ballet in the Streets, vernissage on March 11, 2013 at Le Troquet at 5 p.m. Also note that a few pieces are also on view at Levante Bistro in Ottawa.

Thank you to Ariane Y. Nazroo (Le Troquet) and to Candace Power (Levante Bistro) for their wonderful support in showing the exhibit!

Thank you also to Lana Morton, an amazing dancer, for your support and recommendations.