Before the Curtain

Michael was honored to have the opportunity to work behind the scenes of the Atlanta Ballet during famed director Bobby Barnett's last year and Robert McFall's first year as Directors of the company. Barnett's last year was also Maniya Barredo's last year as Prima Ballerina for the Atlanta Ballet. Michael spent days during each performance run with unparalleled access backstage, on stage, and in the seats capturing unscripted moments as well as known and yet to be known faces. From critiques by the directors to the beauty of the final performance as seen from the seats, Michael was there capturing thousands of frames. These images were captured on black and white film and hand processed by Michael in his darkroom. During the run of Carmina Burana, Michael was asked to exhibit some of his prints from the time he had spent with the ballet. After weeks in the darkroom hand-printing 16"x20" silver gelatin prints, he created a series of 27 images. As these are the only exhibition images he produced, they are literally one of a kind.