If you look for examples of images of two female ballet dancers together, you won’t find much. This session was for fun, since Rachel was retiring from ballet, but a simple image can have a much deeper meaning. I think dancer Elaine said it best about the subject:
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“Eight years ago this morning, while obergefell v. Hodges was being decided, I was busy scouring Instagram for any evidence of other queer women in ballet and drawing blank after blank. It was easy to construe the lack of visibility to mean that, were I to come out, I wouldn’t be able to have a career in ballet. I had a lot of fear that this facet of myself would lose me the respect of my peers and mentors and make me a less desirable candidate for roles and company jobs. It’s been so meaningful and refreshing to meet more queer ballerinas in the past few years, to see more of us succeed. Even as many ballet studios remain less-than-safe spaces for queer people, I have hope that this (ever-gendered, heteronormative) art form will eventually catch up with the rest of the art world - and also that other young gay ballerinas could see our photos and know there is space for them too!”
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Dancers -
@elainerand &
@rachelvharrison
Camera -
@nikonusa Z9
Lighting -
@profoto @profotosharethelight
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#dancephotography #dancephotographer #balletphoto #queerballet #balletpride #balletphotography #balletphotographer 
