Benjamin Tarquin (cinematographer, editor, and co-director) is an international videographer, photographer and editor, at the intersection of the classical arts, documentary, and street dance. Based part of the year in Japan and part of the year in his hometown Oakland, CA, Tarquin uses visual and electronic media to synthesize movement, light, and acoustics into new and evocative artistic expression.
Tarquin grew up to the sounds of the Oakland underground before studying architecture at La Villette in Paris, France. His experience in design led him over the last decade to help build YAK Films into an internationally acclaimed video production company capturing new forms of street dance emerging from the United States, Europe, and Asia. Several viral videos brought this youth-led artistic and political content to the cultural mainstream, giving inner-city youth a powerful and constructive outlet and helping to establish an international street dance scene. In this capacity, Tarquin collaborated with high-profile artists like Lil' Buck and Les Twins on projects for clients like Sony, Redbull, Adidas, Yonex and Apple. YAK Films has over a million subscribers on YouTube.
His more recent work under Yabe Media expands beyond street dance to produce music videos, short films, and commercials. He has collaborated with Post:ballet since 2019 on projects including Waltz of the Snowflakes, Playing Changes, and Swan Lake, taking a fresh perspective to ballet.