Dogs dance ballet with artists: Joint photo session that will make you smile

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

“Art washes away the dust of everyday life from the soul” - Pablo Picasso. An unusual idea was visited by a married couple of professional photographers from St. Louis - Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich. They managed to combine the incompatible: such a special refined art like ballet and such spontaneous and playful animals as dogs, in one photo shoot. The result exceeded the expectations not only of the photographers themselves, but also of all participants in this action.

Photographers Kelly Pratt & Ian Kreidich work with the local ballet troupe, accompanying them throughout the country on all trips and tours. They are commercial photographers specializing in dance and motion photography. In early 2017, Kelly Pratt came up with an unusual idea: to try to photograph professional dancers with dogs. Jan Kreidich did not really understand how this could be done, it seemed to him absolutely impossible. It seemed impossible to combine in one frame the subtle art of professional ballet and constantly chaotically moving funny animals! But the idea so sunk into the souls of both that they decided to try it all the same.

The first, almost by accident, photo of the dancer Eric and the English bulldog Baxter won the hearts of photographers. This is how the DANCERS & DOGS project (dancers and dogs) was born.

Kelly says: “I could clearly see the whole picture: clean background, simple dressing style, lighting … Now I can say that we have learned a lot during the implementation of this project. After all, before that we have never professionally filmed animals! But in the process, we learned to work with dogs at their level. We worked with some of the best dancers and trainers in the country and became friends."

For two and a half years, more than a hundred dancers and a hundred dogs have starred in the project. At the same time, the photographs were taken in dozens of cities during the tour of the ballet troupe. One of the important aspects of the project is bringing the dancers to the set, where they just have fun and don't worry about looking their perfect. Each session lasts approximately 90 minutes. For the first 20 or 30 minutes, the dancers warm up and stretch, and the dogs get used to their surroundings and get to know the dancers. Then comes the shooting itself. Photographers know in advance what poses they would like to shoot. But if the animal shows something unexpected and interesting, everyone adjusts to it.

Photo artists put it this way: “Many people consider ballet too strict, unapproachable and even boring. In our project, dancers show such aspects of their nature as sensitivity, vulnerability and even foolishness. It helps people to appreciate such art as ballet from an unknown side”.

The most difficult thing for photographers in this project was to choose the right dogs. They had to be calm and balanced, easily making contact with strangers, and not afraid of sudden movements. About a third of the dancers have filmed with their own pets, with whom they have perfect contact.

At the end of October this year the project was transformed into a thick hardcover album "Dancers & Dogs", which contains more than 200 pages of photographs and materials about the project, as well as the dancers and dogs participating in it. The book will go on sale this November. The site of photographers contains information that the photo album is 99% ready. A portion of the proceeds will go to Stray Rescue, a charity in St. Louis, which helps abandoned pets find a home.

This is how, at first glance, a strange idea, was embodied in such a large-scale project. Dancers & Dogs gives people all over the world a smile, which means that the goal of the project has been achieved. For those who love animals and are interested in this topic, read our article. Based on materials