A thank-you to WCS photographers

Today I want to acknowledge, thank, and appreciate the event directors who hire event photographers.

These days we are all so good at recording videos and posting them. But photography is an art with a different power and a different beauty. I am the kind of person who still prints photos, puts them in an album, savours the memory. I know that when I am older, or when I feel sad, I will go back to those photos and they will bring a smile and a laugh to my face.

Having a photographer at the event is such a gift for the attendees. The history is captured. Sharing those photos is sharing joy — and that joy makes other people want to come to the next event, too.

I really love Garrett Thompson's photography because he is always there, present, ready to catch the memorable moment. He has a real gift for putting a smile on your face. I could already make an album from his photos alone — and there is a story behind every single one that makes me smile, laugh, or feel that warm feeling in the body.

And then there are the truly wild photos that make you wonder what was happening that night.

I want to acknowledge, thank, and encourage all our photographers — you make dancers so very happy by what you do. Garrett Thompson, Sergey Khakhlev Photography, Shantel DellaRose, Carl Lind, Dan Sweet, Chelsea Spika, Brad Whelan, Katie Meadows… the list goes on, and I am sure I am forgetting people, or there are others I don't even know about. Please tag the dance event photographers I am missing here, so they know they are seen and valued — they are a very important part of any dance event.

P.S. A special thank-you and a hi to my Belarusian homie, my favourite photographer ever — Андрей Касабуцкий. I miss you, your spirit, your jumps. You take the most soulful dance photos in the world. Please come visit us in the US and show your talent. I have never met an event photographer like you, with that eye for the most soulful moments — the ones where people are connecting heart to heart.