Omar Z Robles | Dancers Practicing On The Streets Of Cuba

OMAR Z ROBLES PHOTOGRAPHY:

OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS I’VE DEVOTED MY WORK ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO PHOTOGRAPHING BALLET DANCERS WITHIN URBAN SETTINGS.

Cuba has one of the top ranked ballet companies, thus why I dreamt of visiting the island for a long time. Their dancers are just some of the best dancers in the world. Perhaps it is because movement and rhythm runs in their afro-caribbean blood, but most likely it is due to the Russian school of training which is part of their heritage.

Thanks to a grant from the Bessie Foundation I was able travel a few weeks ago to Cuba. To my surprise, on my visit I ended up documenting a different kind of dance. I found myself tangled between the rhythm of the ballerinas I set myself to shoot and the cadence of the Cubans in the streets balancing their lives in an effort to make it through each and every day. And I was swept off my feet by that dance. (more after the jump)- Omar Z Robles