Grace and Restraint

“Grace and Restraint”
Location: Havana, Cuba
Date: February 2024
Photographer: Wendy Pramik
Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts & Culture
Award: Second Place
2024 International Photography Exhibition

“While attending a photography workshop in Cuba in February 2024, I had the opportunity to photograph ballerinas from Cuba’s acclaimed Ballet Nacional de Cuba at a mansion in the Vedado neighborhood. We worked individually with the dancers, requesting that they pose in various spaces. I focused on adding depth to my photos by incorporating elements in both the foreground and background. I particularly liked this photo because I felt it captured the significance of ballet in Cuban culture—where ballerinas earn a respectable wage of $30 a month—while also highlighting the limitations on freedom of expression in a country where the government controls all media and restricts access to outside information.”