The Rock Ballerina
KIMBERLY NICHOLE
This lady and I go way back...
Our paths have crossed many times since 2009 when I first saw her perform at an old Harlem church-turned-performace space called Temple M, (pretty sure it's gone now). It was a tribute show featuring local independent artists performing Lauryn Hill's masterpiece "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in it's entirety. I was a newbie at covering live shows, so I can't say the photos were the greatest, but the show was phenomenal. Kim performed a duet of "Nothing Even Matters" with MD & pianist Steve Wallace, then closed out the show with what turned into a joyful sing-a-long of "Killing Me Softly".
Since then, I've seen her perform at the Apollo Music Cafe, AfroPunk, Sugar Bar, Rockwood Music Hall & other NYC venues - sometimes with a camera in my hand, sometimes as just a fan in the audience. The more I saw her perform, the more I had wild, elaborate ideas for a photo shoot that I needed to make happen...
In 2015, I was in talks with VIBE Vixen about a potential cover story on Kimberly. They were looking for up & coming artists to feature and Kim was fresh off her successful run to the Top 6 on NBC's "The Voice". Since we were already connected and had been loosely talking about working together for years, we began coordinating a shoot while we waited for the official green light from VIBE.
We decided to produce it ourselves in the meantime & proceeded to shoot a full editorial spread to present, including a cover mock-up. Unfortunately, the story was pushed back & ultimately never ran. But we did create some gorgeous press photos for Kim & some nice additions to my portfolio!
[Unpublished]
Photography Katie Piper
Wardrobe Styling Lonnie McQuarters
Makeup Sabrina Adaba
