Upping the ante on dance coverage and conversation

Join thINKingDANCE this Spring For In-Person Events in Philly!

tD is partnering with Philadelphia Dance Projects to host THREE WRITE BACK ATCHAs this Spring! Our next  is on Wednesday May 22nd  at 7pm after Dance Up Close: Joe Gonzalez. 

Then, join us the next day at  drINKingDANCE, a  social gathering at Dahlak in West Philly on Thursday, May 23rd from 6-9pm.
We hope you can grab a DrINK with us!

Philly Arts, Half-Naked
Photo: Irina Varina
Download PDF


Philly Arts, Half-Naked

by Irina Varina

I daydream a lot. Sometimes, I daydream about half-naked people. No, not in that sense. I mean, yes, in that sense too but not for this.

It was summer 2022. I was working on a solo show that would eventually become Ministry of Loneliness. I was hot, I hate heat. I was feeling stuck. Not with the content of the show, I think, just overwhelmed with the self-producing aspect of it and the isolation solo work entails sometimes. And did I mention I was hot?

That was when I started daydreaming about half-naked people. More specifically, how fun it'd be to dress this friend up in that see-through tutu or have that friend be on a toilet holding their cat (?) or... I was seeing them as pictures. It felt amusing. There was a moment where a part of me said, let's take these pictures. I'm always curious about that "moment" of decision and I never quite remember how it happens.

I called the whole thing  Philly Arts, Half-Naked. Because it sounded fun. Because most of my friends in Philly are dancers, movers, artists. And because they are indeed half-naked.

I wanted it to be the easiest and most easily satisfying project ever. What could be more satisfying than being with friends, taking pictures, and sharing them on Instagram? I'd bring one light, some props, but mostly just use whatever was in front of me in people's homes, where we were doing this.

If I asked for a vintage dress, I got it. A headpiece – here are ten. To try something weird – any time.

Looking at the photos now, I notice lots of fabric, softness. Glam? It also seems that, often, I was either seeking to emphasize a dominant part of a person (whatever I thought that was) or to bring up a side I don't see them playing with as much but that could be fun.

If I had enough eloquence in me, I'd write a beautiful love letter to the Philly theater-dance community here. But the photos are the love letter. So I just say thank you, again, for being up for anything, so funny, sexy, inspiring, inspired, generous, you.

A white artist with blond hair wears a headpiece decorated with large golden wheat sheaves. A pillow covers her naked chest.

Annie

A dark-skinned artist wearing a gold paper crown stands on the steps, one arm crossed over their breasts

Ciera

A white artist with long brown hair, mustache and beard sits in front of a gold background with a small bouquet of flowers and white tulle covering their chest and legs

Scott

A white artist with short brown hair tosses the green ribbons of their corset in the air sitting next to a green plant

Lily

A dark-skinned artist with a shaved head sits on white and brown stairs, draped in a white blanket.

Aaron

A light-skinned artist wearing a flowered headpiece, delicate necklace, and flowery fabric sits in front of a small painted portrait

Laura

A dark-skinned artist with dreadlocks holds a white curtain bundled in their hands in front of a full set of shelves

Desirée

A light-skinned artist with a shaved head and beard hugs themself, wrapped in a white sheet, outside in front of a tree

Jacinto

A light-skinned artist in a fluffy robe holds a glass of champagne

Erica

A lamp sits on top of a bedframe with two pillows and rumpled sheets. A light-skinned naked person leaves the frame, with only their arm and leg left to be seen.

Irina

For more from the series scroll down this Insta.

Philly Arts, Half-Naked; Irina Varina.



By Irina Varina
June 28, 2023

Have more to say?

Write a letter to the editor. Click here to get started