Christina Hennessey
Contemplating Beauty
When I took this photograph, Mona, the ballerina, amazed me by her restful and contemplative pose. She seemed to be preparing for another challenging class - that would stretch her beyond her normal ability.
The fact that her face is concealed in the photo, adds a sense of mystery and a want of inquiry to the composition of the photo. The viewer has the liberty to interpret her face, as whatever their personal definition of beauty allows, thus making this photo more personal.
This image depicts to me the serenity and peacefulness we can have if we only slow down, take a deep breath, and prepare ourselves for each day as it comes. Furthermore, it shows the viewer that we cannot do everything in life on our own - we need someone else near us to encourage and comfort us when the going gets tough. The photograph portrays this reality by showing a foot from another dancer in the upper left-hand section of the photo.
Where Mona is in her imagination, at the moment, is illustrated by the “glow” of light around her. She could possibly have been on stage, in her mind’s eye, with the spotlight shining on her and the audience applauding!
