Dance theatre is rooted in movement that is often unexpected and unpredictable for the spectator… Photography captures a fraction of a second of the performance within the frame, allowing it to be viewed continuously, for as long as I desire. That is perhaps what fascinates me most about dance theatre photography. While preparing the photographs for this exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the MSTT, I went on an extraordinary journey through time—revisiting every photograph I have taken throughout my years of participating in the festival. Each one was, and remains, truly close to my heart.

Piotr Jaruga

I photograph. I do not dance. I photograph because years of work—on the body, on its awareness, on courage, on everything it takes to step onto the stage—years of sacrifice demand to be recorded. They demand that this fragment of the world’s most beautiful movement, which only seemingly defies its natural purpose, be held still. I photograph dance because it is one of the most natural paths toward work that is entirely filled with beauty.

Maciej Rukasz