Friday was an unforgettable evening in Jacksonville at the Zumba Master Class with Beto Perez. I really didn't know what to expect, except that my good friends Johanna and Gonçalo Santinho invited us to take photos at the event. Gonçalo warned me that this guy is a rock star. The hall filled with over 350 Zumba instructors from across the region, all eager to see, learn, and experience Beto's program. The place was filled with energy and enthusiasm for 2 hours as Beto lead the dancers through a series of moves, gyrations, and fun. It's always totally exciting for me to photograph excellence in motion. Trying to capture the essence of the dance and the friendship and devotion of the instructors was a big challenge.
Dorian held an off camera softbox on a folded up lightstand, and I had a flash on camera. I'm sure Beto was getting tired of us having a light in his face all night! Before the event we tried to circulate around to get shots of participants. It was so obvious that this group was not only fit but ready to do some serious partying! After the workshop we took pictures of those who wanted to pose with Beto. I could tell that Beto loves his fans and what he does. The depth of his smile is genuine.
My favorite shot of the evening was after the workshop when Beto was posing with his fans. He went to the corner to change out of his shirt which was soaked from his performance. A small crowd started screaming. He put on a hoodie and began to zip it up, turned to me with a big smile, pointing to his body. I got off two shots. He laughed and I showed him on the back of the camera, "got it" I told him. I made posters of this and another image from his performance.
For those of you who attended and looking for your photo please contact Johanna, Christine, or Ananda at Zumba in Jax for the link.