Gabriella Yudenich – Pennsylvania Ballet Soloist – Maternity

It had been a long desire of mine to do a maternity shoot on pointe. Ballerinas are beautiful. They are graceful and elegant. An expecting mother is also beautiful. She may not feel that way most of the time, but to be with child is an amazing thing. “Mothers to be” possess a certain glow. They are part of a miraculous process. They are creating life. You look at a pregnant mother and you can’t help but smile. Well, at least if you are already a parent, you can’t. You know how much joy their life will be full of as a result of this spirit they are carrying. Plus, the time leading up to the birth is such a fun and exciting time for them and the family, apart from pains, discomfort, morning sickness and odd cravings.

Sorry, I think I went on a rant there. Anyway, because of the above stated things, there is a joy in maternity shoots. It allows the mother to have this life changing period of time documented. I always felt that maternity on pointe would make for some dynamic photos. One thing that didn’t really dawn on me until talking to Gabby at this shoot was just how special it is to capture a dancer’s maternity period DURING her career.

I had just completed my first en pointe maternity shoot with Fang from Koresh Dance Company when I approached Gabby about doing one. We had talked before about working together. However, it can be a daunting tasking trying to schedule around a professional dancer’s schedule. Throw in that dancer being pregnant and boy oh boy, good luck Charlie! So, it was a pleasant surprise almost when she agreed to the shoot and we kept up on communication!

Going into the shoot, I had really little communication or encounters with Gabby. We had never met and only communicated on Facebook a small handful of times. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had always heard such wonderful things about her. However, with little exchange with her myself, I really could not get any kind of read. I mean she was always pleasant when I did correspond with her.

So, we compared schedules and set up our date and time which happened relatively easily. I think with her being in her third trimester and not actively dancing, just doing a party parent in Nutcracker, it makes it easier. I will take it!

The day of the shoot came and I arrived to the studio early to set up and prepare physically and mentally as I always do. Ok. As I always try to do and sometimes actually do. Also, as normal, when I have morning shoots, I usually run to the coffee shop down the corner from the studio for some java to keep me up. This day was no different. However, as I was turning around to walk out of the shop, I saw a woman flash (speed, not the other way. get your mind out of the gutter) by with a bag in her hand. Although she seemed to be keeping a faster pace then I would anticipate someone who is pregnant, she had the look or blur of a dancer. Sure enough, it was her!

We greeted and hustled up into the studio to start chatting and begin work. I was really caught off guard by how bubbly and almost silly she was. She was very fun – light, bubbly and always laughing. This was SOOOO cool! It put me at ease straight away and allowed us to really sync from go. That ALWAYS helps the sessions. If you can connect and develop some kind of chemistry right off the bat, it will prove to be a fruitful session!

Let me also say that Gabby is drop dead gorgeous. Just stunning.

Gabby comes from a storied ballet family! Both of her parents were principal dancers for Pennsylvania Ballet. Her mother, Barbara Sandonato, was the first dancer hired for Pennsylvania Ballet when it formed in 1962 and remained with them until 1977 with the exception of one year spent with National Ballet of Canada where she performed with Rudolf Nureyev. Her father, the late Alexei Yudenich, joined PAB as a principal in 1964 until he left in 1972 to join National Ballet of Canada as a principal. Her parents also won bronze in the 5th IBC in Varna.

She herself met her husband in dance, in school actually at the School of American Ballet, the same school her mother attended. They then reconnected while at work for Pennsylvania Ballet, marrying in 2006. Her husband has since retired and joined the corporate world post-college.

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to work with her and really happy it was for this shoot. It is always nice to be a part of something special and this was just that! Here are some teasers from our shoot. Hope you enjoy!!!

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Ballets Femme ~ Alex

Sometimes as I am working, a name or title will come to me. Ideas will simply pop in my head. Sadly, there is no shut down mode for me except when I am asleep. When a title comes to me, I think about what the project would look like.

One day, the title, Ballets Femme came to me and I sat there and wondered what on earth this would look like. At the same time, I recalled a friend who said that I should do a book on Barre Boys and have it be a part of a Duet with a female counterpart. So after thinking about it some, I decided that this series will be an edgier series then I usually do.

Ballets Femme will showcase the strength, power and beauty of the ballerina but it a much less flowery way. I don’t even think you will see a single tutu. This will be very dark and edgy? lol It will not be fairytale like or princessy. My hope with this is to also challenge myself artistically and get away from my standard high key lighting set up. I want this to be a relatively new angle for me.

So, as I am thinking about this project and who to shoot for it, I immediately thought of my friend, Alex, who dances with Ballet Arizona now. She stuck out immediately due to her physique, her legs especially. She has an amazing presence when I shoot her. Her legs, however, are amazing. Gosh that sounded creepy. lol. No but, when I shoot dancers, one of the things that makes the most impact and can elevate the intensity of an image is their muscle tone. You can see this in Alex’s legs. There is an energy through them and you can see that tone when she poses, almost like she is flexing them.

Herein, lied the problem. Alex now dances for Ballet Arizona. Arizona is not in Pennsylvania and is in fact in the southwestern part of the country, not the midwest like I thought lol. Ugh. The one person who I knew off the bat had to be part of this was not available. Well kiddies, the game changer took place when I was on Facebook last week and saw on my feed something about her coming home. I immediately messaged her on Fb and sent a text. I had to have her in studio while she was home. I was just hoping she would have time!

Since my first shoot with her and her sister, Genna, I developed a friendship with the family. Well, I haven’t met the dad yet but I think he would like me too. I grew fond of Alex and there was an energy we shared when working together. I shot her during her run at BIBC then did some fun location work in the streets of Boston. I have always tried to be as supportive of her and her career as possible and they have done likewise. I am really honored to call them friends and just am so excited to watch her career blossom!

Anyway, so I got her in for a couple of hours and I tried some new lighting on a gray drop and the results are just wonderful!!! So excited to try more out! Below are a few of her favorites from the shoot! Hope you enjoy!!!

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Abby Kurdin ~ Children’s Miracle Network Ambassador

When Abby’s mom first reached out, little did I know that I would have a miracle coming into my studio and in front of my lens. My first real conversation with Jan came the night before my shoot with Abby. I was sitting in Tampa Intl Airport and we chatted over the phone about the shoot and moreso she gave me Abby’s full story. I was blown away and really could not wait to work with her. What a truly amazing and just inspiring story of hope it is.

(note my footwear!)

By all accounts, Abby’s life seems to be relatively normal. She is 13. She loves to shop. She loves to dance. Her dream is to pursue a career in dance. She does the various intensives along with regular classes. Again, this is pretty “normal” or typical for a young girl this age pursuing dance further. What you don’t know by looking at her, what you can’t tell by watching her is the fact that she is dancing at all is a miracle.

No one in their right mind would ever think that falling off a monkey bar as a 4 year old preschooler, bumping her head and getting knocked unconscious, may have been the best thing that ever happened to someone. But this is exactly what happened to Abby. She fell off the monkey bars at recess, was knocked out and taken to Dayton Children’s where a CT scan showed no concussion but there was something there at the base of her brain.

It was revealed that Abby had a rare malformation, Chiari, which was causing her brain and spine to grow together and causing pressure. It was likely present at birth and is usually not detected on cat scans. So it was truly amazing that the radiology tech actually caught it. Had this still gone undetected, she could have experienced many serious problems such as headaches and coordination issues, just to name a few, but it could have also lead to her being paralyzed. To correct this, Abby had to have brain surgery in 2002 at Dayton Children’s and recovered quickly from it.

Now, years later, she is back in the mix and you would never know anything ever happened. She started her summer at the Rock School and is currently doing an intensive at PNB in Seattle. She has traveled the country dancing, winning awards and loving her life. Come fall, she will be back at the Rock School in Philly and pursuing her dreams of joining a company one day.

Abby was a blast to work with. We worked in the studio and went to Valley Forge Park for some as well. Below are some of the images from our session as well as her video story from CMN! I encourage you all to watch it!!

Alston

Alston is a beautiful young dancer from Savannah, Georgia. I was friends with her and her mom on Facebook for a while. I took notice when I saw she was attending the Rock School for Dance Education. Her mom mentioned that Alston was interested in getting her pics done by me.

We worked it out that she came in to see me just as she was leaving Rock for the summer. She will be attending SAB for the summer! Alston was such a joy to work with! She was very disciplined and so sweet. We did a nice mix of settings between the backdrop and wall area. I was so so happy when I was editing her pics. I am thankful that she came in. Thankful that she chose me for her images!

Here are some of the images from our session!