Shooting dancers in a natural environment: All about photographer Sam Kumar’s book

Chennai-based photographer Sam Kumar combines movement and Nature in his new book, Environmental Dance

Nature and dance: Both subjects fascinated photographer Sam Kumar.

When he was working as an IT consultant in Singapore, Sam found a way to incorporate these twin interests. Called the Environmental Dance project, Sam’s goal was to shoot dancers in a natural environment. His first subject was ballet dancer Marianne from Holland, and the venue was Fort Canning Park, a historic site in Singapore.

That was way back in 2010. More recently, in 2019, Sam shot with Odissi dancer Anandini Dasi, who hails from Argentina. His 10-year passion project, which has now been published as a book, features 18 international dancers in its 126 pages. “The dancers were initially reluctant to be photographed in costume in open spaces, far away from their comfort zone of the stage and photo studios. But once I explained my project, they were eager to participate,” says the Chennai-based photographer.