21 | October | 2026 | Dabour Photography

Young dancer Makenley performing a graceful ballet pose in a purple tutu on the stage of the State Theatre. — Dabour Photography Dance Ambassadors trip to the State Theaatre in Easton, PA 2026. Photo by DAVE DABOUR Photography

Happy Birthday to our fantastic Dance Ambassador, Makenley (@maken1021)! 🎉

Makenley dances at Showbiz Kidz (@sbkdance), and while she originally wanted to join our ambassador program last year, I asked her to hold off just a bit—and good things truly come to those who wait! Having her on board as an official ambassador now has been such a wonderful experience.

Makenley got to participate in our exclusive, ambassador-only dance portrait session on stage at the iconic State Theatre, where she absolutely shone under the stage lights. We kicked off her ambassador journey in the early fall with a gorgeous outdoor portrait session surrounded by bright sunflowers, capturing her joyful, sunny spirit!

Makenley, thank you for your patience, hard work, and incredible passion for dance. We are so happy to have you as a Dance Ambassador and cannot wait for all the amazing portrait sessions we have planned for the year ahead!

Please join us in wishing Makenley a very Happy Birthday in the comments below! 🥳🌻

When a dancer becomes comfortable in front of the camera, magic happens. Dance ambassador Claire (@claire.dancing) may be in her first official year with our ambassador program, but having worked with her across several photo sessions already, that familiarity truly pays off.

For her very first Spooky Dance Portrait session, Claire brought total confidence, ease, and artistic versatility to the set!

A Natural in Front of the Lens

Our annual spooky sessions encourage dancers to mix technical ballet execution with theatrical storytelling, character acting, and prop work. Claire took direction wonderfully throughout the entire shoot—effortlessly adjusting her poses, facial expressions, and movement to match the moody studio atmosphere.

Because we’ve built a strong working dynamic over multiple shoots, her comfort behind the lens shines through in every single image. Seeing her embrace the spooky season with such poise made this first-time themed session a standout highlight!

Session Highlights

Ease & Expression: Claire navigated every pose with total confidence, taking direction seamlessly to capture dynamic, character-driven frames.
Theatrical Polish: Blending Halloween mystery with high-level dance technique, Claire brought incredible performance quality to set.
Studio Chemistry: Drawing on her experience from our past sessions, Claire made every subtle adjustment en pointe look completely natural.

Some of my favorites of Claire from the session: