Last summer, my awesome sister-in-law held her 2nd Hearts for Dance workshop. This dance camp invited disadvantaged hispanic girls from around Wayne County to come and finally learn how to be a ballerina. These girls are the most grateful and excited dancers ever. They sleep in their tutus, they've mastered the perfect ballet bun, and dance truly encompasses their hearts. As Tess and her crew at Dance for Christ live by, let us "praise His name through dance!" (Psalm 149:3). [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/72153079 w=500&h=281]

I took this on as a personal project after graduation. And a year later, due to (thankfully!) getting a job & a crazy first-year of marriage (loved it!), I finally have it finished! Personal projects are something that feeds your soul, and this project definitely brought me back to my photojournalism roots. I've dabbled quite a bit in fine art photography & design this past year, but it's good to know that my lovely professors pounded photojournalism, multimedia, and all the ethics to boot into my noggin! I'm so blessed to have been given a great education & even more blessed to get to use it on a daily basis at my job and as my stress reliever!

Finishing this project has been amazing. I find video to be a challenge, a puzzle, if you must. The tedious editing, the countless command+z's, and the final product are so very rewarding. I suppose it's because it's not as instant as digital photography, despite the fact that it's digital video. It's something you must work for and something you will cherish, more like film photography when you do it all yourself in the darkroom. It has to have an idea that is deeply conceived, than overly brainstormed, then creatively shot, then painstakingly edited & lastly, eagerly awaited to be uploaded to the internet. What a world we live in these days. This project has taught me to breathe. To take time for myself, and to remember my roots. It's something that I'm going to work more towards this year, becoming an all-around healthier person. I'm going to take the time to edit those old photos on my hard drive, I'm going to search for some new story to work on, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it because it's something I love to do! If you have thoughts on personal projects, or would like to continue the personal project conversation, leave me a comment & we'll talk!

My final project. And I mean, my FINAL project. Whoa, I can't believe that was my last photojournalism class. It took a whole lot to get to this point and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/33447719]

The idea of my project came from my Grandpa. An inspiring man who strongly believes in never forgetting your roots. He is strongly rooted in his heritage and as a result of him, his children, grandchildren, and even his great-grandchild are proud of their culture.

I worked with three dance groups, Ballet Folklorico, Bhangra, and Native American, and documented how dance has preserved their culture. Here are some shots I took of Bhangra Elite and Ballet Folklorico Espiritu Latino, to go with the video! I'm so thankful these dance groups accepted me into their groups. They are so dedicated to dancing and proud of their culture. It was very inspiring to work with each group.