I spent some time this past Saturday afternoon with longtime client, Planet Funk Academy at the Wortham Center in Houston’s theater district as they prepared to take the stage. I have photographed the renowned dance academy for nearly 5 years now and although the faces have changed, the energy is still the same. During my tenure as their chief photographer, I have seen kids go from Planet Funk to dancing for top tier pop/hip hop acts and tours, open their own dance studio or even star in feature films.

The group performed their latest theatrical dance show on Saturday night and I was there for a few hours during their prep and tech time. I photographed a few of their run-throughs during tech rehearsal, however I am always most excited to simply wander around backstage while everyone is getting ready and make images there. I have made several images that I particularly love during backstage moments from shows past and even though I had a shorter amount of time on Saturday, I still make some images that I enjoy. They are in the gallery below. I converted several to a very high-contrast black and white which appear first followed by color versions.