This brand shoot was a pretty nostalgic experience for me. Like most people in the arts, I had to take a serious pivot when the pandemic hit. Enter stage right, my beautiful photography business and exist stage left, my lifelong dance career. I met Amanda while we were both professional dancers on cruise ships which feels like a lifetime ago! Amanda, along with her two colleagues, chose to pivot by creating Etude Productions.

Etude’s focus is to help create more opportunities for the performing arts community within Detroit. Here we are today, two creatives making it work in a changing world! I was thrilled and honored to be a part of their brand shoot. Check out their recently released website and give them a round of applause for launching their new endeavor!

A woman-owned Detroit arts center

Personally, growing up as a dancer, the arts have always been my passion. Any creative understands how hard it is to really make it in this industry. That’s why I have so much respect for Etude’s mission. This Detroit dance company aims to create an industry where artists can succeed regardless of education, professional experience, and socioeconomic background. Etude feels strongly about building sustainable practices to uplift and invigorate a new generation of artists. Artists that get hurt the most by traditional methods. Not to mention, Etude is fully woman-owned with big plans to reshape how we view artistry AND how we support it. That’s one hell of a pivot if you ask me!

Eightfold Collective Studio

Your brand shoot is only as good as your location. Eightfold Collective is a video production studio meant to support local Detroit artists. This location happens to be a two-story business. With a dream studio upstairs and a cute coffee shop downstairs. The space was created for the Detroit community. A place to gather and support one another through collaboration. I knew it would be the perfect location for Etude’s brand shoot. Having absolutely stunning aesthetic and strong support for Detroit local artists. The open space of this studio creates the perfect environment for a production company trifecta to do their thing. 

How to connect with your performing arts Detroit community

Etude’s new production, “Pretty. Odd” is inspired by Panic! At the disco’s 2008 album. This piece will bring you through a whirlwind of movements and emotions. From imitating nature to taking you through the individual journey of making it through our current culture’s rat race. The show begins July 16th, 2022, at 7 PM at the Andy Center for the Arts. If you are like me you are probably screaming, “How can I give my support?!” You can support this Detroit-based dance art center, Etude productions, by purchasing a ticket for an upcoming show or donate directly to the production company themselves! Stay tuned to their website for more ways to connect with this thriving community of performing artists.

Studio: Eightfold Collective