Dedication of young dancers captured on camera
WHEN IT comes to keeping active, the lockdown has proved that necessity really is the mother of invention.
Swimmers have had special pools installed in back gardens, runners have fashioned makeshift gyms in their living rooms and one of Switzerland’s top skiers even went so far as to create a parkour course in his studio flat.
The UK’s young ballet dancers have also found ways to practise their routines away from their usual studios.
Performing against a backdrop of gardens, ordinary front doors and garages, the nation’s dancers have been perfecting their pliés and pirouettes in the hope that it will soon be business as usual.
Photographer Len Copland was keen to highlight the athleticism and resilience of the
I could sense the frustration of the young dancers.
Photographer Len Copland.
close-knit dance community and turned his lens to capture a series of mid-air shots for posterity.
The Somerset-based freelancer said: “I could sense the frustration of the young dancers. One young ballerina, Paige Travers, has still been getting up for 6am for her practice session and I wanted to show that dedication.”
Other dancers, such as Natalie and Reagan Hyde, aged 24 and 12, are pictured dancing in their surgical masks, while teenage siblings Rhian and Luke Spencer, have continued to practise their ballroom routines as a duo throughout the lockdown period.
Mr Copland added: “The first dancer I photographed was 16-year-old James Bamford. He’s a bit of a local legend. His YouTube channel contains an impressive collection of choreography. He’s a real star.”