Hunting for the Perfect Dance Picture.

The few following days after a dance festival are quite exciting. Not only because you’re still living in the dance bubble you went into during the festival or that you are getting FB friend requests from the dancers you enjoyed dancing the most, but also because of the dance pictures that are slowly but surely appearing to social media. I love that many dance congress organizers nowadays bring photographers to their events to memorialize the amazing dancing moments the participants are having in the classes and parties; it is the best kind of a souvenir to bring home from a dance festival (in addition to your amazing memories of course).

When it comes to Zouk, however, a perfect shot is hard to get. There is always this fear that something really horrible will come up and hopes that this time the photographer did an amazing job with you. If you were lucky enough to get the photographer's attention from hundreds of dancers, oftentimes there is some kind of “flaw” in the otherwise perfect picture: awkward body posture, not so flattering angle, weird hand positioning, hair in the face, some strange facial expression, bad lighting or an extra person on the way. It is not only that the dancers have to dance so that it looks good but it is also a matter of split seconds for the photographer to get the right timing for the picture. Maybe this doesn’t apply to the guys as much but usually at least we girls would like to get that beautiful and sensual shot of ourselves burning the dance floor, preferably with an amazing leader who also looks great in the picture (though not stealing the whole attention from us). You know, the kind of a shot you will save as your phone’s background picture so you can stare at it before you go to sleep.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, may I present you (drum roll) my perfect dance picture taken by Robert Malecki from III Zouk Libre festival:

[Edit: Unfortunately Mr. Malecki, unlike other dance festival photographers, didn't want me to publish any of his pictures here in this blog, but you can view the picture I'm talking about through this link.]

Not only the picture itself look stunning but this is actually taken from a dance after which I knew, even if it was from the first party, that it was going to be the best dance of the whole festival. It was the kind of dance which admiring dancers would gather around to watch the magic happen and which would draw also the attention of the photographer, as luckily happened this time. It was the kind of dance after which I couldn’t stop smiling widely until my cheeks hurt. It was the kind of dance people would come to comment and compliment on later during the festival. But most importantly, it was the kind of dance that truly connected two dancers and inspiring music into a beautiful and enjoyable moment that, as luck would have it, was immortalized as the perfect picture I have been hunting for.

(And yes, I did save it as my phone background picture.)