BEHIND THE POINTE: BEAUTIFUL PAIN FROM DANCER’S HARD WORK

In the world of ballet, “ugly” feet are consider a rite of passage. Blistered, calloused, cracked, and blackened, the results that you find under the layers of pink satin wrappings are rarely what one imagines when watching a perfect pas a deux. But these very scars, hard-earned war wounds common among troupes, are celebrated in the photography of Henry Leutwyler, who spent a year backstage with the New York City Ballet. Among the piles of tulle and graceful courtesies, it is these testaments to a dancer’s inner strength that we find truly beautiful.

See Leutwyler’s striking images at the Manhattan’s Foley gallery until January 12, 2013, or buy his book, Ballet: Photographs of the New York City Ballet through the company’s site.