JONAH HALE
I have been a creative person for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Minnesota, most of my childhood was spent either outside playing or in theatres and on stages.
I started taking dance classes at the age of three and performed in my first musical at the age of four. Fast forward a few years, I graduated high school, packed my bags, and moved to New York City.
Once there, I attended Wagner College, graduating with a B.A. in Theatre Performance and a Minor in Dance.
Somewhere along the way I also took an interest in photography. And what was nothing but a high school hobby has now morphed into a second passion and second career.
The past 6+ years have been filled with successes, failures, and a lot of learning. But they have shaped me into the photographer, performer, and person I am today.
For a long time, I felt torn between performing and photography. I thought I had to choose one or the other. Or at least keep them separate.
But if the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that there are no rules to success. That it’s a personal journey. A choose your own adventure if you will. My adventure just looks a little different than everybody else’s, but that is exactly how I like it.
If anything, I think these two art forms have only helped each other.
My photography is informed by my life as a dancer, my awareness of bodies, movement, and shapes enhance my ability to capture beauty, emotion, and action in still images.
My life as a performer - whether singing, dancing, acting, or choreographing, - is informed by my photography; I am creating dynamic, physical images and experiences, ones that I hope will be etched in the minds and memories of my audiences for long after the show.
I am grateful to reimagine my life as an artist that does not include sharp boundaries between my passions but rather encompasses them both into one larger package that is me.