TCF Ep. 657 - Deborah Ory & Ken Browar

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Ibarionex R. Perello

Arts, Visual Arts

4.8 • 768 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When photographers Ken Browar and Deborah Ory first began collaborating on what would become NYC Dance Project, they set out to create portraits that could honor the athleticism, artistry, and emotional force of dance. Their work has since become synonymous with a style of portraiture that is both elegant and explosive—capturing dancers in motion with a precision that reveals not only physical mastery, but also vulnerability, discipline, and grace. Over the years, their lens has been turned toward some of the world's most accomplished performers, translating movement into still images that pulse with life. That vision continues in their new book, Martha Graham Dance Company at 100, which celebrates one of the most influential institutions in modern dance. Through striking portraits and carefully sequenced images, the book honors the legacy of Martha Graham's groundbreaking choreography while foregrounding the contemporary artists who continue to embody and reinterpret that tradition. Rather than simply documenting performance, Browar and Ory create photographs that feel sculptural, theatrical, and deeply human—offering a tribute not only to dance, but to the enduring power of a company that helped redefine what modern movement could be. Resources Ken Browar & Deborah Ory / NYC Dance Project http://www.nycdanceproject.com/about-1 Martha Graham Dance Company at 100 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762487445 Altadena Photographers https://www.altadenaphotographers.org/ Workshops & Upcoming Education with Ibarionex Perello Japan Spring Workshop 2026 An immersive photographic and cultural experience in Japan, focused on visual storytelling, observation, and creative growth. https://www.nobechicreative.com/ibarionex-perello-spring-workshop-2026-japan X-Pedition Hanoi A destination workshop centered on street photography, culture, and daily life in Hanoi, Vietnam. https://www.f8photographicworkshops.com/x-pedition-hanoi Raw Photo Fest An annual photography festival celebrating emerging and established photographers through exhibitions, talks, and community engagement. https://therawsociety.org/rawphotofest/ Support Ibarionex & The Candid Frame GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/perello-familys-journey-to-re-establish-our-life eBook Purchases https://www.ibarionex.net/ebooks Websites The Candid Frame PayPal Contribution Link https://www.paypal.com/donate Sponsors Charcoal Book Club https://charcoalbookclub.com Frames Magazine https://readframes.com Education Resources Momenta Photographic Workshops https://momentaworkshops.com/workshops/ Candid Frame Resources The Candid Frame Newsletter & Substack Blog http://ibarionex.substack.com/welcome Support the work at The Candid Frame by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate You can follow Ibarionex on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ibarionex/?hl=en and Twitter https://twitter.com/Ibarionex?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's something extraordinary about freezing movement at its most expressive moment.
0:15.3	Not just the height of a leap, but the breath before it.
0:18.9	Not just technique, but emotion suspended in air.
0:23.5	Photographers Ken Brower and Deborah Orie, the creative forces behind NYC Dance Project,
0:30.3	have devoted their collaboration to capturing exactly that.
0:35.0	Together as husband and wife, they have built a body of work that transforms dance
0:40.2	photography into something both sculptural and deeply human. With backgrounds that uniquely
0:46.7	compliment one another, Ken coming from fashion photography and Deborah as a former dancer,
0:52.5	their partnership allows them to photograph movement with both precision and empathy.
0:57.0	Their images celebrate strength, grace, and discipline.
1:02.0	They honor the dancer not just as a performer, but as a storyteller.
1:07.0	Through studio portraits and location-based imagery, they've created a visual archive of some of the world's most accomplished dancers.
1:16.0	Their work reminds us that still photography can hold motion and that the body, when fully present, becomes a language of its own.
1:24.7	This is Yvadi Annax, and welcome back to The Candid Frame.
1:33.5	Okay. Well, Deborah, Ken, welcome to the show. It's exciting to have you. I've thoroughly
1:40.2	have enjoyed your book. I've always been quite the fan of photographers
1:47.0	that photograph dance and movement,
1:51.0	but I don't envy you the task that you had with this particular book.
1:56.0	You know, this book is representative of not just performers, you know, performing in front of a backdrop
2:03.6	where you're just trying to capture, you know, movement or freezing movement or performance.
2:09.6	Here you're really trying to illustrate each of the seminal dances that were created by
2:15.6	Martha Graham and her group over decades.
	...

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