Arts & Culture

Pirouettes and Pups

Two photographers travel the country to capture professional ballerinas dancing with dogs

“The idea is really simple,” says Kelly Pratt, a commercial photographer from St. Louis, Missouri. “We want to photograph one hundred dancers with one hundred dogs.” In January 2017, Pratt and her husband, Ian Kreidich, created Dancers & Dogs, a project that began with dancers from the St. Louis Ballet and all the willing, well-behaved pups they could find. “We wanted to show the lighter side of dance,” Pratt says. “While dancers are very serious about what they do, they’re really fun people. And a lot of them have their own dogs.” Even Pratt and Kreidich’s border collie/lab mix, Dillon, got the chance to model. Since their first shoot a year and a half ago, the team has traveled to New York, Chicago, San Diego, Cuba, and most recently Orlando, photographing forty-one duos to date. “The ultimate goal is to make a book,” Pratt says. “But really we just want to make people smile.” Mission accomplished. Take a happiness break and click through ten of their photos.

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Lauren Christensen, with Bronx, a Mastiff mix.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Lori Wilson, with Dexter, a Black Lab mix.

 

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Ericka Goss, with Baxter, an English Bulldog.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Lauren Lane, with Brooks, a Dachshund.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Liz Lloyd, with Trooper and Lola, Pugs.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Kaila Feldpausch, with Angus, a Bull Terrier.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Lori Wilson, with Dexter, a Black Lab mix.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Kate Rouzer, with Dillon, Pratt and Keidrich’s Border Collie/Lab mix

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Lauren Lane, with Brooks, a Dachshund.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography

Magus, a Cane Corso in a tutu.

Photo: Pratt Kreidich Photography