Katerina Schweitzer // Omaha, NE

Thematically, golf and ballet surprisingly have much in common. There’s a polite golf clap, and then there’s the raucous applause at the end of the ballet. Both require immense pressure to perform well, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it look effortless and easy. Equally frustrating I can imagine, is the constant drive (no pun intended) to achieve excellence. 

This image was not pre-planned nor rehearsed. Hours before the shoot, we still didn’t have a location in mind, and I happened to drive past this golf course on my way to my cousin-dentist, whom I was in town to visit. When I suggested to Katerina that she ask the group of golfers who passed by if she could borrow one of their golf clubs, she couldn’t believe I would even suggest such a thing. After explaining that there’s zero chance that they would turn her down, she apprehensibly approached them; sure enough they were more than happy to let the beautiful ballerina use one of their putt-putt sticks - you’ll have to excuse my lack of proper terminology. 

If ballet and golf were to somehow combine, this is what I imagine it might look like: Katerina on relevè in sixth position, ready to putt in the winning golf ball at the Super Bowl during March Madness. 

September 22, 2020