DIVA DANCESPORT SHOWCASE 2013 Presented by Becky Simon and Susan Cole, April 14th 2013, Itasca Illinois

Hello to all dance teachers and students participating in this spectacular event. All of the performances were absolutely outstanding! You really did "bring it" to us. I am so honored to have been asked to photograph this event.

My wife and I performed three dances and were very excited to participate. We have been studying with Susan Cole and Josh Torres for almost four years. They have helped us improve greatly, and have inspired us every step of the way. Susan and Josh understand students need honesty, encouragement, and empathy for the learning process. They have communicated to us the precise elements we need to accomplish our goals for ballroom dancing.

I am an amateur photographer and I want my dance photographs to show the dancers in the best light, shapes, and movement. I always look for the passage in the dance which shows some kind of connection with partners and enough of both faces for recognition. "Stretch" and "Balance" are the main elements of ballroom dancing, and the reason it is considered a "dancesport".

In addition, I am also concerned about the basic elements and principles of design in each photograph. Composition, rhythm, movement, balance, light and dark, figure/ground versus an overall field of multiple images. Good posture, soft knees, and proper placement of the feet for the rise and fall, all form the creation of the American Smooth dances; the waltz and the foxtrot. The tango is danced without any rise. Two partners moving together in unison; the male lead and the female follow. The male creates the frame to present his beauty, the picture. They each dance "their own dance"

Dancers are truly beautiful, all dressed up in sparkles and flash, doing their very best in full out  performance, sometimes in pain, and often to exhaustion. But always enthusiastic! When you watch a dance performance, they are….    
Well, that is what we are all struggling to accomplish. We are all at different levels and abilities. The best about dance students is that we support each other in our effort to learn the difficult task of training your body to stretch and balance in ways we never thought possible.       

exhilerating, uplifting. The expression of the human body reveals much about the soul of the dancer.

Below are examples of my previous dance photos from The Windy City Open Dancesport Competition is Chicago, Ill. in 2011