Thanks Golunvolo. The lighting was not very good - the place was a church, the flood lighting was not precisely designed for such kind of public performance. Fortunately, in two times twenty-five minutes of performance, it is possible to have stats on your side, here about 150 usable shots. Here the lighting was basically OK with respect to her face (damned shadows). The ballerina's posture is as good as it can be - after more than 20 years of study, practice, and exams passed. But the step into making it a profession is extremely hard and risky. Here trademark is to deliver a flowing choreography, rather than rushing between successive postures (pose/rush/pose/...). When seeing her rehearsing at the dance academy and comparing with fellow ballerinas, this becomes very apparent.
On a static picture, this is not immediately visible of course. The lighting had to be improved artificially in PP, essentially by increasing contrast, and by filtering to lighten the skin tones and the dress, in contrast with the background.
Thanks Akira; as a matter of fact, she usually reverts to better photographers, so our cooperation is limited. Here I have tried to be as discreet as possible, shooting in a distance (normally I'd stay closer to the stage with a 24-70...) with a relatively silent camera, because I do not like to disturb public performances, these being challenging enough.
Concerning the "another world", this reminds me of my years in Taiwan, where watching sumo wrestling on NHK was frequently my religious experience on Sunday mornings. I do not appreciate ballet dancing that much because it is a "foreign language" I do not master, but the silence (of rehearsals), concentration, search for perfection, etc. have something in common with sumo ceremonies
