Seeing is believing: dance in the eye of the photographer.

Getting Closer: A Dancer's Perspective By Rosalie O'Connor. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2004. 119 pages. Cloth. $29.95

Angel Corella's face is pressed to his partner's chest in a fervent embrace during a rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet. John Selya explodes in a split leap that appears to soar over the heads of two dancers standing casually at the bane. A series of photographs documents Julio Bocca's playful energy, humor, and passion as he lovingly partners Susan Jaffe in the studio.

Former ABT dancer Rosalie O'Connor does not capture perfect forms, poses, or gestures. An injury led her to expressing her love for dance by means of her photographs, and today she conveys the inner workings of the dance world--behind the scenes and in performance--with compassion and genuine understanding.

A Dancer's Perspective documents elation, tension, pain, and the unique relationships that emerge from dancers working together. O'Connor takes us into the studio, backstage, and onstage. Many of the photographs depict the "in-between" time when dancers are sitting still, chatting, or just hanging out.

Nearly every photograph is accompanied by quotes flora the dancers. They reminisce and explain the circumstances, pulling us further into the photographs. O'Connor also incorporates her own commentary into the book, painting a portrait of the dancers' lives that is vivid, inspiring, and real.--Ani Raymond

Dance 2wice Edited by Patsy Tarr and Abbott Miller. Text by Nancy Dalva. New York: Phaidon Press Limited. 2004. 160 pages. Hardcover. $39.95

David Parker's face is enveloped in bubble wrap with only one ear showing. Stephen Petronio struggles to remove himself from his jacket sleeve. Mark Morris, clad in a gingham suit, clutches a watermelon. This is not your traditional dance photography. Dance 2wice, a retrospective covering seven years of the elegant journal 2wice, creates a partnership between photographer and dancer. Through this collusion, a performance takes place on the page.

What a picture cannot fully express, Nancy Dalva provides through text. Her insight and fantasy become imbedded in each work. "Quicksilver, eager and versatile ... He is the incarnation of Mercury, the messenger of the Gods ..." she writes about the image of New York City Ballet's Tom Gold adorned in metallic body paint. Like the element, he transitions quickly from one form to another, body gliding from the sky to the stage.

This integration of multiple media results in stylized photographs, their stories often unfolding like a dream. David Parsons, included in the issue titled "Animal," works with photographer Martin Schoeller to create "a snowy landscape where the naked are warm, as in a Norse night kitchen." Against the harsh backdrop bodies are painted in a stark contrast of white and black. The series of four photographs culminates in the image of a shadow figure walking among mountains of snow and skin.

Fact can be as intriguing as fantasy. Albert Evans' transition from dancer to choreographer is documented in Christian Whitkin's photographs. Through a "classical conversation," Evans' movement is translated from his own body onto that of fellow NYCB dancers Janie Taylor and Sebastian Marcovici.

In an event staged for 2wice, Merce Cunningham brings his company onto the roof of its Manhattan studio, demonstrating the strength of collaboration between choreographer and photographer. In Whitkin's photograph, the dancers move with the New York City skyline in the distance. The image of one dancer's raised arm, seemingly parallel to the Twin Towers, embodies Cunningham's belief that movement reflects the realities of the world. With a click of the camera, time stood still, history entangled in a dance.--Jessie Male

Masters of Movement: Portraits of America's Great Choreographers By Rose Eichenbaum. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 2004. 288 pages. Cloth. $39.95

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then we now have 59,000 words with which to contemplate some of the most famous makers of dance in America. In her collection of fifty-nine portraits, Eichenbaum, who often contributes photos to DM's pages, offers glimpses of contemporary choreographers' creative souls. Legends of the concert stage, Broadway, film, and television are captured, including Judith Jamison, Helgi Tomasson, Bill T. Jones, Anna Sokolow, Paul Taylor, Vincent Paterson, Lar Lubovitch, Christopher Wheeldon, and others. Artfully composed photo graphs deliver insight into the originality of each choreographer David Parsons, balancing precariously on the branch of a tree, Mark Morris' direct gaze in a mysterious double exposure, the late Gregory Hines clutching his tap shoes in a loving embrace.

Transcending the artists' public personas, Eichenbaum exposes raw emotion or candid spirit within each of her photographic portraits and accompanying interviews. In her Author's Note, she writes, "The source of dance knowledge resides not in the process or even in the finished work, but in the humanity of the creators."

True to her word, Eichenbaum captures something of each choreographer's essence, exposing the creative spark, and surprising us with revealing details.--Elena North-Kelly