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Dinner at Tiffany’s!

Tony Powell — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:43:48 +0000

The Tiffany 2009 Blue Book Collection is the defining symbol of luxury in the World of fine gems. Teardrop Diamond Drop Earrings are $40,000, a flower Jardinet Diamond Bracelet in 18K gold is $320,000, and a 6.19 carat brilliant diamond – flawless and colorless with a double border diamond setting – a mere $1,475,000!

The dinner that was thrown at the Tysons Corner location November 20th, in honor of the collection, was just as luxurious as the stones being offered.

After cocktails and shopping in the store guests were ushered out into the large foyer for dinner which was transformed into a Winter scene: every inch of the ceiling covered in white balloons and streamers nearly reached the floor – simulating falling snow.

Catering was provided by Tiffany neighbor “Chef” Geoff Tracy who was accompanied by his wife, MSNBC correspondent, Norah O’Donnell. Other notables included Tiffany & Co. CEO Michael Kowalski, Michael and Susan Harreld, and Newt and Callista Gingrich.

The woman behind my involvement is Tiffany & Co. Vice President Diane Ray Brown, for whom I am greatly honored to have worked with now, twice.

Posted in Events, Fashion, Nightlife Tagged: 2009, Diane Ray Brown, Fairfax Station, Geoff Tracy, Norah O'Donnell, November 20, Tiffany & Co., Tiffany 2009 Blue Book Collection, Tony Powell, Tysons Corner, Virginia

jackquinn

Tony Powell — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:15:06 +0000

To view and purchase all photos click here!

The most impressive and anticipated holiday gathering to date this season occurred last week on the entire roof level of the W Hotel.

When Susanna Quinn calls to say she’s having an event and wants it captured it MUST be important.

Each party she throws seems to be better than the last and the Quinn Gillespie & Associates Holiday party she hosted was the best yet! (they got it to snow inside!)

Posted in Events, Nightlife, Politics Tagged: 2009, Brit Hume, December 8, Ed Henry, Holiday Party, Jack Quinn, Joe Crowley, John Warner, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Susanna Quinn, Tommy McFly, Tony Powell, Virginia Hume, W Hotel

In STEP with Molissa Fenley

Tony Powell — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:23:04 +0000

© Tony Powell. Molissa Fenley

Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell

September 15 and 17, 2009

Venue: Judson Church, 8pm
Location: 55 Washington Square South, New York City
Program: Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape, music by Alvin Curran and poem, STEP, written and performed live by Bob Holman
Mass Balance, music by Cenk Ergun, prop by Todd Richmond
Cosmati Variations 1-4, music by John Cage

Performed by Kristina Berger, Molissa Fenley, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Katie McGreevy, Cassie Mey, Elisabetta Minutoli, Paz Tanjuaquio and Alyssa Lee Wilmot.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape – the New York premiere of a work performed twice: once as set to a score by Alvin Curran and then again danced with STEP a poem written and performed live by Bob Holman.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

This work was created while Fenley was in residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, February 2009. Alvin Curran’s score was created by his recording the sounds of the Nantucket ship horn against the sound of John Cage’s voice reciting the five monosyllabic words of Curran’s title.

Bob Holman, also in residence at the ACA, watched rehearsals of the work underway, taking notes of phrases said during the choreographic process, directions taken, relationships expressed, movement described. These notes were then translated into the poetic form that is Holman’s work.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

Standing in the middle of the stage and surrounded by the dancers moving through the choreography, Holman is sometimes in close proximity to the dancers, sometimes encircled as the dancers continue through their spatial constructions.

Mass Balance – music by Cenk Ergun, prop by Todd Richmond (NY premiere). A solo for Fenley, the work marks the beginning of a new investigation of dances made using a prop designed or suggested by a visual artist.

Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell

Fenley carries a 10-foot wooden dowel throughout the piece, experimenting with images of balance and weight. “Mass Balance” refers to the difference between the accumulation of snow and the ablation of ice of glaciers. Yearly measurements have shown a disequilibrium caused by global climate change.

Cosmati Variations are a series of works that Fenley choreographed while in residence at the American Academy in Rome, February-August, 2008.

Cosmati Variations. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

Each variation is inspired by an aspect(s) of the 11th Century Cosmatesque mosaic pavements present in many of the basilicas and churches in Rome.

The inspirations are in terms of design: T-square and serpentine eyelets; in terms of measurement: movements or spatial travel that require three feet; in terms of ardor: demand of execution and in terms of form: triangles nested within squares.

Posted in Art, Dance, Events Tagged: 2009, 55 Washington Square South, Ape, Cassie Mey, Cosmati Variations, Crew, Dew, Elisabetta Minutoli, Food, Ice, Judson Church, Katie McGreevy, Kristina Berger, Mass Balance, Molissa Fenley, New York City, NY, Paz Tanjuaquio and Alyssa Lee Wilmot, September 16, STEP, Tony Powell, Wanjiru Kamuyu

Celebrating Martha!

Tony Powell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:58:46 +0000

Martha Hill circa 1922

With my Juilliard professors Laura Glenn (Limon technique) Janet Soares (Dance composition) and Danny Lewis (Limon technique)

To say that a quarter of The Cathedral NYC’s ballroom last night was occupied by living legends of the dance world is not an over statement. Each year around 200 dancers, choreographers, and educators gather to celebrate the life of pioneer in-the-field, Martha Hill. I have the great honor of being the official photographer of the Martha Hill Dance Award Gala and look forward to it each year with great anticipation.

Martha Hill is credited with singlehandedly uniting the chiefs of modern dance, during it’s infancy, and also for laying the groundwork that enabled the discipline to be studied, as a major, in colleges all across the country.

Tony Powell. Choreographer/Dancers Murray Louis and Beverly Blossom

I was very fortunate to have been one of the last students hand-picked by Martha to attend The Juilliard School - where she presided over the dance program for over 30 years. Well into her eighties at the time, Martha Hill was an inspiration like none other, full of energy and insight, wisdom, and compassion.

Ten years ago an award was created to celebrate her life which recognizes 3 individuals each year in 3 different categories of the life arc of a dancer: The Young Professional, The Mid-Career, and The Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year’s event was presided over by choreographer and dancer Murray Louis with awards going to Jacqueline Green, Virginia Johnson, and Beverly Blossom respectively.

With my Juilliard classmates choreographer and dancer Rebecca Stenn on the left and author and dance educator Dr. Elizabeth McPherson (Beth just wrote the new book about Martha Hill)

Posted in Dance, Events, Leisure, Nightlife Tagged: 2009, Awards Ceremony, Beverly Blossom, Dance, Jacqueline Green, Martha Hill, Martha Hill Dance Award Gala, Mary Anthony, Mary Hinkson, Murray Louis, November 30, The Cathedral NYC, The Juilliard School, Tony Powell, Virginia Johnson

Pole Pressure!

Tony Powell — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:55:54 +0000

An unlikely set of circumstances led to my introduction to top-ranked pole dancer and Pole Pressure studio owner " target="_self">Jessalynn Medairy last week which culminated today in one of the most productive and meaningful photo shoots I’ve ever organized. Productive in that Jessalynn has a work ethic similar to mine and meaningful as it proved to be the right time, the right place, and the right person with which to attempt a fully bare-body outdoor shoot. I’m preparing new work for an exhibit, in the new year, of my large-scale photography, and some of these images are prime candidates for the show.

We almost didn’t meet. After a long night of shooting for Tiffany & Co. in Tyson’s Corner last Saturday, I remembered that my friend Lani Hay had invited me to Jayne Sandman’s 30th birthday party at the The Rookery. I really wanted to celebrate with Jayne and also to hear (Lani’s husband) Mark T. Smith, Jay Scott, and (Jayne’s husband) Jeff Dufour’s rock band, which headlined the B-day bash – but my body was asking to get some sleep. I’m glad that better thinking prevailed.

When I arrived, the band was already in high gear and the place was a sea of familiar faces and friends: Holidae Hayes, Winston Lord, Amanda and Curtis Polk, Susanna Quinn, Cindy and Evan Jones, Lindsay Czarniak, Jessica Gibson, Patrick Gavin, Lee Brenner, and Alexe Nowakowski.

I spied an attractive blonde woman hanging out with Sharon Yang and something about her seemed special…but I didn’t know what. I later discover that she was none other than Sharon’s pole dance teacher, Jessalynn Medairy, among the top 12 pole dancers in the US for 2009 and in the top 15 for 2010.

The woman has NO inhibitions – and that distinction shone through, lending the resulting images we created an immediacy that only authenticity can provide. She IS her art and, at least for the 4 hours we were together, we breathed as one. I can’t remember a time when I was more in sync with the person in front of my lens than with Jessalynn. Shooting started early in the afternoon – indoors at the Carriage House Studio, home of the DC Photographers Coop – near 9th and O Sts. The 9.5 foot tension-based pole she brought with her was securely erected within minutes – snugly fitting between floor and ceiling, providing the necessary support for the myriad moves she executed over and over again.

As luck would have it the rain stopped as soon as we finished in the studio so we headed over to Rock Creek Park to a secluded area near The Nature Center. We were able to get in a hundred shots of what I really wanted to shoot: the bare form in space, outdoors, in nature. We erected her portable stage and 10 foot pole right there in the middle of the woods. My strobes were being powered outside by one of two sine wave inverters that I own, which gives me roughly 300-400 full power bursts of light with as many lights as needed, attached. The only disadvantage of working with an inverter is not being able to use the modeling light on a strobe head for any length of time, as the battery will deplete quickly or worse yet, the inverter can become damaged.

An additional sign of support from the Universe came in the form of the Sun – it showed it’s face the second I was set up and ready to take my first shot. That bit of Sun changed everything for the better so the portable lighting was repositioned to allow the Sun to be my rim light. We’ve planned our second shoot together once she returns from an International pole dance tour of England and France.

She’s heading to Europe today for a week of competitions, teaching, and workshops. A dancer, choreographer, and teacher of dance myself, I found the newness of her very specific movement style intriguing, forever expanding my limited conception of movement and portraiture.

Posted in Art, Dance, Photography Tagged: 2009, Alexe Nowakowski, Amanda Polk, Carriage House Studio, Cindy Jones, Curtis Polk, DC, DC Photographers Coop, Evan Jones, Holidae Hayes, Jay Scott, Jayne Sandman, Jeff Dufour, Jessalynn Medairy, Jessica Gibson, Lani Hay, Lee Brenner, Lindsay Czarniak, Mark T. Smith, November 25, Patrick Gavin, Pole Pressure, Rock Creek Park, Sharon Yang, Susanna Quinn, The Rookery, Tony Powell, Washington, Winston Lord

Booshie Shoot

Tony Powell — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:28:33 +0000

You never know who you’ll meet or where it might lead when staying open to all possibilities! Choreographer and dancer Kate Jordan invited me to the most recent open house at the Carriage House Studio, just before Halloween. The loosely knit group of photographers (pros and hobbyists) that comprise the DC Photographers Co-Op come together there once a month to share ideas and also to work with a variety of models, in the studio, and throughout the adjacent alleyways in the historic Logan Circle corridor of DC.

The models that night a few weeks ago were dancers on loan from Kate’s dance company – they also rehearse there as part of an exchange. The stylist was a newbie seamstress and Booshie Design founder, Ginger Carlin – she only started sewing a year ago. What I first noticed about her was an overabundance of energy – she bounced around from model to model adjusting clothing (all her designs), applying makeup, and touching up tresses of hair, here and there. A veritable one stop shop for models, she seemed like an ideal partner for a photo shoot.

We hit it off right away. A casting call went out and we had 3 great new faces with which to work – Vanja Simovic, Juelles Chester, and Erica Dudley a.k.a. Model Keka. Makeup artist Carl Ray, Hairstylist Shannon Greene, and my photo assistant Kevin Smoot, rounded out the team.

Fast forward to the day before yesterday! Our grand plan for an all-day shoot at the Carousel, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park came to a screeching halt when Mother Nature showed us her plans for the course of the day! The steady downpour of rain forced us inside and thanks to Ginger we were able to get the Carriage House studio on short notice. After a long day of shooting and some homemade chicken and steak fajitas back at Ginger’s Q Street crash pad we were ready for round 2! But where? Still raining, Ginger, model Juelles, and I drove all over NW DC looking for a quirky indoor location. A gas station? Safeway? The nightclub Heaven and Hell? Tryst? At midnight I finally decided to try the lobby of the Donovan House on Thomas Circle. After a series of emails and phone calls to the director of PR and Marketing, we got the green light. The PR director remembered my name from the summer when I would come up to shoot parties on the roof by the pool each week.

Posted in Art, Fashion, Leisure, Photography Tagged: 2009, Carl Ray, Carriage House Studio, DC, DC Photographer Coop, Erica Dudley, Ginger Carlin, Juelles Chester, Kevin Smoot, Model Keka, November 23, Shannon Greene, Tony Powell, Vanja Simovic, Washington

Capital City Ball

Tony Powell — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:24:24 +0000

Click here to view and purchase all the photos!!

Posted in Charities, Events, Nightlife Tagged: 2009, Capital City Ball, DC, Dupont Circle, Innocent's at Risk, November 21, Polaris Project, Tony Powell, Washington, Washington Club

Birthday Bash

Tony Powell — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:28:15 +0000

For Politico coverage click here!

My good friends- DC Film Commissioner Kathy Hollinger, far right, and Kimball Stroud, threw me the best birthday party I can remember! Fifty or so friends came out to Cafe Milano to help me celebrate last week in style!!! Thanks Kathy and Kimball!

Posted in Events, Leisure, Nightlife Tagged: 2009, Birthday Party, Cafe Milano, DC, Kathy Hollinger, Kimball Stroud, November 12, Tony Powell, Washington

Art Soiree

Tony Powell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:29:21 +0000

Art Soiree presents a perfect way to end the FotoWeek DC in an elegant and memorable fashion.

Join us Sunday, November 15th at 7pm for the most unique event in the city

“THROUGH THE EYES OF MEN”

You are invited to an exclusive photo-exhibition featuring five most esteemed local male photographers at a brand new, upscale and sophisticated venue – The Reserve – latest addition to the DC Restaurant and Lounge Scene. The Reserve is the perfect place for a casual yet elegant evening of dining, wining and lounging in an industrial, modern two level loft-like space. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to see Women’s Beauty through the lens of these prestigious photographers, savor great wines from around the world and delight in complimentary food samples from Chef De Pue.

We are proud to present:
5 photographers 5 personalities 5 passions 5 imaginations 5 techniques

HISHAM IBRAHIM
TONY POWELL
SERGIU ODAINIC
JERRY R. HARKE
ANTHONY BRICE

Our Art Soiree is all about exhibiting exceptional art in a unique setting for ONE NIGHT AND ONE NIGHT ONLY. This time you’ll be able to meet and interact with the photographers and appreciate their work. Come early to groove to new beats from DJ MOVA and continue into the night with DJ ODAINIQ.

Posted in Art, Events, Leisure, Nightlife, Photography Tagged: ANTHONY BRICE, Art Soiree, DC, HISHAM IBRAHIM, JERRY R. HARKE, Photography, SERGIU ODAINIC, The Reserve, Tony Powell, Washington

Courtney Portraits!

Tony Powell — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:12:38 +0000

To see the entire photostream click here!

Posted in Art, Fashion, Photography Tagged: 2009, Courtney Caldwell, DC, Georgetown, October 22, Portraits, Tony Powell, Washington