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Dynamic Photos of Ballet Dancers in Motion on the Streets of Puerto Rico

By Jessica Stewart on February 16, 2017

Courtney Stohlton

After New York, Mexico, and Cuba, photographer Omar Z. Robles goes home with his set of ballet photos in Puerto Rico. As usual, the talented photographer recruited local ballerinas to participate in his shoot, capturing them in the urban landscape for breathtaking ballet dancer photos.

While in Puerto Rico to visit his ailing grandmother, Robles reflected on his roots and what it means to return home after time away. For him, coping with family hardship involved visiting the places of his youth, and capturing the nostalgia of times past. And, of course, as a photographer, these childhood memories naturally transformed into the backdrops for his photo shoots.

“These photographs carry a weight far more important than any other place I’ve visited recently,” Robles writes. “These photos are the way I bring home back with me.”

By injecting such personal experience into his work, Robles' latest set of dance photography becomes that much more poignant. As the ballerinas shape their bodies, they are somehow also paying homage to the photographer's past, creating art from the places that shaped his life.

And in light of recent world events, Robles is grateful that he can travel home freely and visit his elderly relatives. “As a Puerto Rican, I count myself lucky that I can freely visit home. I understand that as a privilege today, one sometimes takes for granted.”