These Dreamy Photos Make Dancers Look (Even More) Superhuman

I love photographs that capture not only beautiful dance positions, but also the feeling of dance—that crazy kinetic kick you get watching somebody move.

Photographer and former contemporary ballet dancer Jesús Chapa-Malacara has figured out a cool lighting technique that allows his images to do that perfectly. They’re artfully blurred, conveying a sense of movement—but that amazing moment when everything’s fully stretched and pointed is still in perfect focus.

It gets even better: He’s recruited a group of gorgeous ballet models, most of whom are members of American Ballet Theatre. The roster currently includes Michaela DePrince, Jared Matthews, Yuriko Kajiya, James Whiteside, Sterling Baca, Elina Miettinen, Sean Stewart, Cassandra Trenary and Patrick Yocum, and it’s growing quickly.

Chapa-Malacara is hoping to create an art book, Esprit de Corps, out of his beautiful images. And he’s turned to Kickstarter to help him raise the funds he needs to do so. Take a peek at a few of his photos below—then check out his campaign here.

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