Getting to the pointe.

 

“Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and dingier the tear,

Sing with me, it’s just for today,

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away,

Dream on, dream on, dream on,

Dream until your dreams come true.”

For many young girls, the desire to place dance shoes on their feet is immense. It seems to start a few years after their first steps and at the latest after they’ve started school. Our daughters are an example, every one took dance, every one had dreams, and every one moved on to different passions. 

Why? It’s very hard on your body and the commitment is intense.

When I was much younger, I remember we would be “forced” to attend a ballet performance; I constantly looked at my watch, or at least asked “What time is it?” a number of times. I am sure I ruined the performance for whomever I was asking, but I was bored to death and wanted to leave as quickly as it was over. I had better things to do, like play sports with my friends.

Then, several years later, when my daughters began dance, I started to understand why dance was so important to them. It is an art and a beautiful one at that. Sure, I enjoy sports more, but at least I got to the point where I didn’t look at my watch and have a yearning to go play sports with my buddies. 

It was only about 7 years ago when I got the bug for dance, specifically ballet—-not as a performer, but as a photographer. My two youngest daughters were taking dance at a local school and I had been selected as the photographer for a particular event. I don’t even remember, but for sure it was not The Nutcracker. How do I know? I was “volunteered” to be one of the parents in the play—-fortunately I did not have to wear the bottom half of the traditional outfit most men wear.

As I look back on those times, I now have a much better understanding of the grace and beauty of dance. There are a few photographers I follow who have done incredible shoots—-usually with a background of “everyday scenery;” these backgrounds bring any boredom I used to experience into pure excitement. 

The photo above is a still shot—-I would never have been able to capture this image had I not seen a bag of pointe shoes in a window of a local store. No cost, I just had to let her know my plans for them. She thought it sounded like a fitting (no pun) end for them. What I saw in them were dreams—some broken, some still moving forward.

Thanks for stopping by.