Mikhail Baryshnikov snaps his camera for ‘Dance This Way’

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Mikhail Baryshnikov has turned his focus to fellow dancers. The ballet legend’s solo photography exhibition, “Dance This Way,” opening Friday at the Gary Nader Art Centre in Miami, serves up shots of hip-hop, ballet and modern dances from around the world.

The Latvian-born dancer, now artistic director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, is also the subject in several images.

Baryshnikov’s career with the New York City Ballet among other major ballet companies offered an understanding and access that surpasses most photographers.

Instead of static images of dancers seemingly frozen in time, the 64-year-old creates layers of movements mid-dance in a single frame, blurring his images so they appear more like a live performance.

Not all dancers in the exhibit photos are professionals -– the Miami show has barely dressed women in nightclubs alongside Hawaiian hula dancers, plus a handful of images from Baryshnikov’s previous collections “Dominican Moves,” shot in Dominican Republic cafes, and “Merce My Way,” his collaboration with the late American choreographer Merce Cunningham.

But one theme remains throughout: The dancers are far from holding still.

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-- Jamie Wetherbe