:) You may recognize this gorgeous dancer from last week’s senior session. She is 1 of 3 graduating in the Comienski family this year, and, if you haven’t guessed it already, she is incredibly passionate about dance! So, in addition to the “typical” senior portraits, Bethany really wanted some in her tutu, lovin’ life :)

Now, those of you who know me know that I am always UP for some dancing. This has played out in many different ways in my life…from my high school show choir days to  impromptu college dance parties in the dorms, to my frequent happy dances “just because” :)  HOWEVER, the one type of dancing I’ve never quite mastered is ballet.

My mom always loves telling the story about my one ballet recital growing up…how all the other girls were in a line, with their hands held graceful & properly posed….and then there was me: a few steps behind & more focused on cheesing it up & waving at the audience than going along with the routine :) In fact, I dug up one old tutu photo just for this purpose so you can really visualize my sassy 5 year old self:

Yeah. Pretty awesome if ya ask me :)

ANYWAY, never did I ever imagine that I would find myself photographing a ballerina all these years later! It definitely led to some set backs, as I wasn’t quite sure what Bethany’s poses were supposed to look like, but between the two of us working hard (and by that, I really mean Bethany doing each hold over & over & over again!!), we were able to pull it off quite nicely if I do say so myself :)

I especially love how these images capture all of the energy & spunk Bethany has! She puts so much emotion into each movement — an amazing accomplishment & and aspect of dance that always renders me speechless. Whether it was an elegant gracefulness without a care in the world or a powerful BAM-I-am-woman-hear-me-ROAR kinda’ feel, Bethany completely captured with all that she had. This session was definitely something different for me, but I kinda sorta loved the challenge :) Enjoy! 

:)