When I was about eight years old, my mom and sister dragged me to a production of 'Swan Lake' by some regional ballet company in Springfield, MA.   I actually looked forward to it, but about 15 minutes into the performance, I leaned over and whispered to my mom:

"When do they start talking?"

Disappointed with the answer ("they don't") I sulked for the rest of the interminably long show.  And thus ended my association, in any form, with the ballet.  

Decades later, and I found myself hired to shoot a couple of ballet classes for a good friend, Ana Dimas, a ballet instructor in Westchester County.   Ana is a life-long dancer. She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts for high school and then attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for her degree in dance.  So she knows what she's doing, and has an amazing way with kids that imparts her passion for ballet on even the littlest of them.

While photographing the classes, I was struck by what a great art form ballet is for still imagery.  The curves of the human form, the gentle light coming in through the windows, the grace of it all was amazing.

I processed the images with a bit of color desaturation.  While my original vision was to go completely black and white, I found the lively colors of Ana and her dancers' outfits just too charming to remove completely.

Interested in classes for your little one?  Ana can be reached at [email protected].