Poems, on Pointe...

Working with so many creatives is one of the blessings of our job as photographers.  Actors, writers, chefs, painters, models and crafters all need professional pictures. And at balance we love providing them with personalized shoots to promote their art!

We've been lucky enough to work with dancer Samantha, the creative director/founder at the New Chicago Dance Studio, for many, many years. In fact, we first met her shooting her engagement photos and headshots -- waaayyyy back in 2004, almost a decade ago! Check it out: this headshot was made on Ilford Black &White 35mm film... those were the days.

It's been inspiring to watch Samantha make her dreams come true. When we met, she was new to the area and getting started here. Within a few years, she had founded her very own dance company and in 2009, she got her own commercial studio space! Now, the New Chicago Dance Studio offers classes for youth, adults and has a youth dance company. They are located at 7505 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 203, Greenbelt, MD 20770.


Samantha is just as gorgeous now as she was in 2004, but when she called us to shoot the promo picts for NCDS's new production, an Ode to an Ode, she decided to go with another dancer as model. Who is also lovely! The pictures were done on-location at Centennial Park in Clarksville, MD last summer. The show is a collection of dances inspired by classic and modern poets, and performed by students, teachers and guests of the New Chicago Dance Studio.

You can still buy tickets for the performance tomorrow night, January 8th, 2013, at 8pm. Students & seniors are $15 and adults are $20 with general admission seating. The show will be at the Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Road, Cheverly, MD 20784.

Thanks for sticking with balance these last nine years, Samantha! We're so proud of all you have accomplished!!!  Can't wait to see the show - and learn what's next for you!

~Rissa