Ken Browar and Deborah Ory

Ken Browar (b. 1943) and Deborah Ory (b. 1952) are the Brooklyn-based husband-and-wife duo behind the NYC Dance Project, a celebrated collaboration at the intersection of dance, fashion, and portraiture. Prior to joining forces, Ken built a reputation as a fashion and beauty photographer—working extensively in Paris with contributions to Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire—while Deborah brought her experience as a dancer and editorial photographer for magazines like Self, Martha Stewart Living, and Real Simple.

Together, they craft each shoot as a full-scale production, meticulously designing lighting, styling, movement, and composition so dancers appear suspended in time—capturing moments that convey both power and grace. Their signature aesthetic contrasts dramatic lighting with minimal backgrounds, allowing attention to rest wholly on the dancer’s form and energy. By incorporating couture fashion into their images, they draw a seamless link between choreography, personal expression, and high-style narrative.

Their work has received widespread acclaim, appearing in Harper’s Bazaar, Italian Vogue, Dior Magazine, as well as mainstream outlets like CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, The London Times, and The Washington Post. In 2016, they published The Art of Movement, a collection of evocative dance portraits that earned an International Photography Award. A second book, The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance (2019), continued their exploration of fashion-dance synergy and also garnered international acclaim.

Ken Browar and Deborah Ory live and work in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, continuing to expand their practice and spotlight the art of dance through their visually stunning and highly expressive imagery.