Written By Carrie Edelstein

Photos By Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich

Whether it’s a morning stretch from a pet or a stunt performed by a trick dog that is photo worthy, nothing compares to the images of professional dancers posing with dogs. Our dedicated “repawters,” Tanner and Rory, first noticed the Dancers and Dogsproject about a year ago when their colleagues were researching the Saint Louis Ballet. The main photographers for the Ballet, Kelly Pratt and her husband, Ian Kreidich, had a side hobby going at the time. And then it went viral. Now, after putting several years into what turned into a more serious project, a 200+ page book of those images is scheduled to be released in a few days.

“The whole idea was to show the lighter side of the ballet world,” Pratt says. “We wanted to make dancers seem more human and more approachable, and we thought bringing in dogs might be a fun way of doing that and letting us play around with something that hasn’t been done before.”

As the dancers showed a softer side, some of the dogs showed their more human side too with jumps and tricks, perhaps trying to emulate their posing partners. From rescue dogs to four-legged celebrities, pet enthusiasts might recognize The Super Collies of “America’s Got Talent” fame, who were part of the project. 

“It initially started with the Saint Louis Ballet dancers who brought in their own dogs,” recalls Kreidich. As the project progressed, “casting calls” were held for well-behaved or trick dogs. Dancers from all realms of dance and all over the country, like Orlando, Charlotte and Denver, were included, and eventually, many were even asking to participate. 

“It’s been a whirlwind trip traveling and shooting all across the U.S.,” says Kreidich. And it will be special to see the couple’s own dog, Dillon, a black and white mutt, featured in the book with one of the dancers.

As for any feline fans, there is one cat included among the Dancers and Dogspages. Sam the cat appears in a tutu toward the back of the book. Can anyone guess who his parents are? Here’s a clue: they’re great photographers!

Most recently, Pratt and Kreidich photographed the “Mutt-Cracker” project. Dancers from the Saint Louis Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” posed for pictures in their show costumes alongside mutts from the Stray Rescue of St. Louis. The goal is to get more of the rescue dogs adopted out to fur-ever homes. 

“The Nutcracker” performances will be at the Touhill Center November 29 – December 1 and December 18-23. For information about times and tickets visit www.touhill.org. They will also be collecting supplies for Stray Rescue. Saint Louis Ballet is running weekly contests for pet owners to dress up their animals in Nutcracker costumes for tickets to one of the performances. Details can be found at https://www.stlouisballet.org/muttcracker.

In the meantime, the Dancers and Dogs book will be out for release in mid-November. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Stray Rescue. Copies of the book will be available at dancersanddogs.com.