Brooke Linford // Chicago, IL

Third time is the charm. I tend to visit Chicago once a year, and for four years in a row have happened to visited each time in September. Brooke - to me - was a sort of celebrity ballerina. I constantly saw images of her all over social media; I was constantly using her images as inspiration for shoots. The first time I reached out to her, she was too busy, but gave me hope and said next time maybe. September 2019, “the next time”, she told me she was injured. 

After having photographed another dancer - Anais - in Brooke’s company (Joffrey Ballet), Anais offered to take me on a tour of their dance studios, located right next to the iconic Chicago Theater. While Anais was changing for class, I bumped into another dancer, and without knowing who she was, was starstruck. I asked Anais who she was, and she replied “Oh, that’s Brooke. Too bad she’s injured, she’s beautiful and would photograph very well for your project!” Moments later, Brooke messages me and apologizes for not recognizing me and saying hi. 

Come 2020, I thought for sure Brooke would say no, but was delighted when she said ‘yes!’. When she arrived at the shoot, she had every bit of elegance and grace that she exuded online… but she was the most gracious and kindest person ever. A stickler for perfection, she was incredibly easy to work with. 

After the shoot, I confessed how I thought that she was going to be a diva, and how she was the exact opposite. Turns out third time really is the charm - and Brooke just happened to be shoot #100 in the project. 

September 13, 2020