An Inspiring Experience with "How Philly Moves"
“Everyone is Photogenic and Everyone can Dance.”
Says Who?
Says JJ Tiziou, the photographer behind “How Philly Moves.”
Even if you haven’t heard of him by name, you’ve surely seen his work if you’ve ever driven by the Philadelphia airport. You know that gigantic mural spread across the parking deck? The one where dancers splash the black background with intense, flowing color? Yup, that’s the one.
Photograph by JJ Tiziou, "How Philly Moves," Fall 2008
JJ Tiziou is a Philadelphia photographer known for his dance photography, and has been working on his “How Philly Moves” project since 2008. In 2010, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program commissioned him to create the design for the 85,000 square foot mural at the airport from his images of Philadelphians dancing. There’s also a permanent exhibit featuring 162 of the images inside of the airport at the B/C baggage claim.
A few years back, I had the opportunity to dance as a participant in one of the community dance photo sessions, and this December, I got to experience it from the other side; as a volunteer. Both roles were equally as amazing, equally as feel-good, and equally as inspiring as a dancer, an artist, and just as a human being…
Tiziou encouraged all types of people to come and move however they see fit. There was no “Are you a dancer?” that day, because the answer was automatically yes! Some of the participants were professional dancers, others were self-identified “kitchen dancers.” Some were very old, some were far too young to even know what exactly was going on (What are all these lights? Where is this music coming from? What are all these crazy people doing dancing around?) Some came with friends, some alone. Some were confident, some were almost too nervous to go through with it (but did!). Some serious, some goofy. Throw in every race/gender/body type as well.
Photograph by JJ Tiziou, "How Philly Moves," Spring 2008
My favorite moment came when I took one participant upstairs to be photographed. She had already given her music to another volunteer to be played during her photo session.
“What type of dance are you going to do?” I asked her as we walked upstairs.
“I don’t know... I signed up for this to break out of my shell a little bit, but I don't really dance..." she answered timidly.
“Yes you do! Seriously, anything you do up there will be awesome!” I encouraged her, but she wasn’t convinced.
She asked me how many people would be watching (not many), and told me that she wished she had brought somebody to dance with instead of dancing alone. As the previous participants finished up, she asked me if it was too late to back out. I smiled, told her she would be nothing but amazing, and introduced her to Tiziou.
She told him she was nervous. He walked across the room to talk to her on a personal level, right next to her. He told her that anything she did would be perfect and to just “be your beautiful self, which you’re already doing.” She smiled, stayed put, but still looked scared.
Her Beyonce track came on, and she started to move as Tiziou followed her with the camera. I could see that she slowly got more comfortable, and more confident. Finally, she threw her head back, laughed, and really started gettin’ down. Success!
The way I understand TIziou’s mission, this exchange represents exactly what “How Philly Moves” is all about. Positivity, Beauty, Inclusion, Honesty, Movement, Human Moments.
JJ Tiziou working on the "How Philly Moves" Project
As a volunteer, I got to see a lot of the participants dance, and I can’t wait to see how Tiziou’s photos captured their movement and their emotion. Tiziou will be presenting the photographs from this recent photo session in February during an event will be open to the public (and free!) and will include food, music, and lots of incredible dance photography! Don’t miss out! Event details will be posted here soon!
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
