shashasha

"No matter how hard one attempts to use words to praise a photographer’s life of 89 years, a single phrase from the photographer himself is most convincing: ‘photography, out of the magic box.’ "

• Excerpt from Akita Tanno Obituary published by Zen Foto Gallery in August 2015, written by Ayako Koide.

Published by Image House in 1995, Akira Tanno’s The World Ballet 1952-1972 in Japan documents the many international ballet companies which performed within Japan from 1952-1972. This publication beautifully portrays both Tanno’s beginnings as a photographer taking images of the stage as well as his passion for documenting the theatre. Within, Tanno captures the many international ballet companies who danced within Japan during the countries early post-war years. From The Royal Ballet, The Ballet School Opera de Paris, Bolshoi Ballet, and the Leningrad Kirov Ballet, Tanno’s images gracefully present a world present within his home country of Japan.