"Ballet inspires me. Human beings have the capacity to express themselves through many art forms, but when it comes to dance - and especially classical modern ballet - I am always amazed by that unbelievably elevated form of expression. It's so precise and so incredibly skilled; I admire that enormously." - Photographer and filmmaker Erwin Olaf "The fact that the photographer is looking through the camera lens means they have a different perspective from looking directly at the figure. That is voyeuristic. The camera can do something that the audience member can't: zooming in for a close-up." - Choreographer Hans van Manen The grand master of Dutch dance, Hans van Manen, celebrates his 90th birthday this year. That has given rise to international celebrations by leading ballet companies with the Hans van Manen festival from 8 to 29 June 2022, the exclusive publication Dance in Close-Up and the exhibition of the same name in Galerie Ron Mandos in Amsterdam from 19 June to 17 July 2022. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Hans van Manen was not only one of the world's leading choreographers, but also an internationally acclaimed photographer. It was during this period that the then very young photographer Erwin Olaf met the famed artist, who immediately took him under his wing and introduced him to the world of the visual arts and studio photography. This book celebrates their 40 years of friendship, with a photo series in which Van Manen directs moments from his choreographic career, recorded with the utmost precision by Erwin Olaf. With text contributions from the authors Nina Siegal and Michael James Gardner.

Photographer of excellence, and among the most appreciated in the contemporary art scene, the Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf (1959) is to be considered one of the greatest interpreters of modern portrait photography: he is known all over the world for a photographic style dominated by mysterious and contemplative atmospheres, for his mise en scène and theatrical compositions. In his shots Olaf weaves complex and dramatic narratives. His works are striking in their strangeness, their will to provoke, their sense of solitude and restlessness: they catch glimpses of truth, which reveal the imperfection and the fictitious nature of an apparently perfect world. This rich catalogue represents a journey through the artist's entire production, offering a complete overview of his work: from the beginning with Chessmen, the series that made him internationally famous, awarded at the Young European Photographer competition in 1988, up to the recent Palm Springs project (2018). The volume includes a critical text by Walter Guadagnini and a conversation with the artist. Text in English and Italian.