Dance Photography with an amazing dancer

I love dance photography and organised a portfolio day at the beautiful Cumbrian location of Blaithwaite House just outside Wigton, taking photos of Jordyn Louise who runs a dance studio in Carlisle.

The drive out to Blaithwaite House was quite wet and I was a bit worried that the photoshoot might have to be rearranged, but on arrival at the location the rain was quite light and as Jordyn Louise didn’t mind the rain we worked with it, sometimes sheltering in Mary Janes’ Summer House which was built in the late 1800s and is set on a little island at the bottom of the gardens.

I’m always interested in why people do what they do, and so I asked Jordyn how the Jordyn Louise Dance School came about.

“I started dancing when I was 2 years old and have done it ever since. I did my first professional show when I was 8, which was a Christmas pantomime. That’s when I knew I loved performing, I did 2 shows a day for a month and as an 8 year old I never got sick! I continued to do pantomime every Christmas until I was 17 as well as my dance school shows and youth theatre shows. I always wanted to try and pursue dancing and performing as a career, but stuck in with school and finished the sixth form so I always had some qualification to fall back on.

I auditioned at 17 for various dance colleges and theatre schools and was successful. I chose to go to Phil Winstons Theatreworks in Blackpool. I did a 3-year vocational diploma in musical theatre and dance. It was the most amazing time. Dancing, singing and acting all day every day. Whilst I studied there to be a professional dancer and performer I also took my dance teaching qualifications with the international dance teachers association.

I was selected, whilst at college, to be a dancer and illusionist in two different magic and illusion shows, one of the shows travelled to Qatar which was an amazing experience to have alongside my training. In my final year of college, I started to audition for professional contracts including cruise ships. I was offered a job with P&O cruises to be a production dancer and singer that summer which I took. This was my first professional job out of college which I was so grateful for as professional work is very hard to get straight out of college. My contract was just under a year which included 2 months of rehearsals and being on board for 8 months solid. It was the most incredible experience, travelling the world and performing in our shows every night. I have the most amazing memories of that time and I would encourage anyone auditioning to try for Cruise ships. After that contract, I went on to perform in the magic show again and then went on to tour with the UK tour of Fast Love. I have also worked for the Vegas showgirls and done lots of corporate jobs in between contracts.

In January 2019 I opened my own dance school in Carlisle ‘Jordyn Louise Dance’. I always wanted to teach once I had finished performing and as I was about to get married I felt this was the right time to do this. I absolutely love passing on my knowledge and passion to my students and watching them progress and achieve things is a fantastic feeling. I have never felt like I am at work when I am performing or teaching and know I am very lucky to have a job I love”

If you are a dancer and fancy and indoor or outdoor photoshoot in the Carlisle area then please Contact me and we can share some ideas.  If you would like to receive a monthly newsletter with information and special deals regarding dance photography then please sign up here