As one of her last projects before lockdown, London based photographer Laura Kate Bemrose photographed Natsuki Uemura, a freelance ballet and contemporary dance teacher. Born and raised in Japan, Natsuki joined a local ballet school and started training at the age of 8, after 4 years of training in street dance. Moving to London in 2016 to pursue her dream to become a ballet teacher, Natsuki graduated from the Royal Academy of dance in 2019. She now works as a freelance ballet and contemporary dance teacher in London, teaching a wide range of age groups.
“A lot of times dancers are asked to be someone else when they are dancing…
Natsuki in her own words, “A lot of times dancers are asked to be someone else when they are dancing. But these images capture my true self and passion for dance. The dark lighting emphasises my body parts such as my hands, fingers and legs in contrast to the black leotard and tutu which show the energy going through my body and highlighting those body parts. Although ballet is often described as ‘graceful’ and ‘elegant’, Laura’s images show the strong side of being a dancer”.“When shooting in the studio with a new dancer I try not to over plan and like to let the dancer’s personality and personal style shine through. I’m happy that Natsuki feels that with these images we conveyed her strength as a dancer and showed a different side of ballet”.
Photography: Laura Bemrose
Dancer: Natsuki Uemura
