Art, Found in Motion

The only photography that I've had the opportunity to do, recently has been family photography and a Dance Recital.    My daughter is a member of this dance studio owned by two very good friends of ours.    Being only six, she decided last year that she was going to bail out of dance classes.  

Midway through the season, she decided she'd like to join but that that point, it really was too late.  Kids.

Since I'd been the pet, parent-photographer for the dance studio in years past, I was asked to shoot action shots for the dance recital.  The proceeds of which, go to the benefit of the studio.   I'm always happy to oblige, though this year it was a challenge.    A few days from closing on the sale of my house with several rooms still to pack, behind @ work, behind on emails and behind on voicemails, I unplugged on the appointed Saturday morning on Mother's Day weekend for a full -- very long - day of dance photography.

I set up a perch at an eye-level, opportune location and wandered around.    I'd liked to have rented a better lens or even a D3S but for free-work, hard to justify equipment rental.

I've never considered myself a very high-brow entertainment-type person.   I like slapstick, national lampoon's-style comedy, dark craft beer and mexican food.  So, a dance connoisseur I am not.   Still, as I watched these young people dance, number after number, costume change after costume change, it struck me that I was fatigued just from walking around between my tripod perch and side-stage locations, snapping photos.  How must they feel?

it also occurred to me that… with the level of skill, grace, dexterity and stamina that these kids showed, they are still not necessarily considered "professionals." 

Clearly, being marked a professional-is overrated.   I believe people would happily pay to see these athletes perform their art.   Aside from the stress of life -- I had a good time.  

That was, until it came time to short the some 6,000 photos taken from three of us whose camera-clocks were out of sync. (sigh).

Back to the point though, this particular Ballet representation of sleeping beauty, I found to be very well done and well deserving of the standing ovation they received.    As were all the dancers that evening.