Wild Women: Ballroom and World Dancer from Sireli Dance Karen

Karen of Sireli Dance is one of the featured women in The Wild Women Exhibition and is a talented local ballroom, waltz, foxtrot, rumba, chacha, swing, bellydance, salsa, and brazilian samba dancer who teaches lessons and preforms for events and wedding parties with costumes equally as beautiful as her dancing.  When Karen found out she was nominated to be a featured as a wild woman, she was pretty excited and thought that the exhibition would be a good opportunity for her to connect to the larger community.  When it came time for Karen to come into the studio for her dance portraits, the first thing we did was put on Karen’s favorite dance music, some pop and hip hop, and essentially just cranked up the tunes.  We talked, laughed, and basically had a studio dance party which left feathers and sparkles everywhere that I found days after our session, although, I think that’s a pretty fair price to pay for a personal dance performance!

What do you think of the Wild Women Exhibition?

“I think the Wild Women Exhibition is a great opportunity to feature local artists and entrepreneurs.”

What did you think about your portrait session?

“I was concernced that I may run out of interesting “dance poses”. I’d done some research on dance photography to try to find some interesting ideas, but posing has always felt awkward for me. Allison had the best idea though—put on some music and dance! She was able to photograph me while I was “in action”, and the best pictures came from that.  It was such a fun and rewarding experience for me. Seeing myself in my element, dancing, reinforces my belief that this is an important part of my life. I hope that my pictures inspire others to do what it is that they love.  Allison is such an easy photographer to work with. She understands how important it is to catch those moments of you being you, and she knows how to do that.”

What advise do you have for other women to stay wild?