Passersby on Astor Place in New York City speak a silent language as they walk past the reflective surface of a storefront window. Heller wanted to capture the “unwritten choreography of the street,” the dance of glances.

Astor Place was inspired by the work of the Lumiere brothers, who were mindful of the authority of the static camera and asked who was looking at whom. This study of how people stage their identities is a performance of the urban ballet previously described by various urban theorists. Bodies walk in perfect synchrony, crossing, turning, running, hopping, or shuffling slowly toward their unknown destinations.