In addition to photographing high school seniors and families in the Phoenix area, I also get to do some dance photography -- both performance and dance portraits. My daughter Allie dances with Arizona Dance Artistry and Phoenix Youth Ballet Theatre so I've been lucky enough to photograph their Nutcracker show for the past four years.

It's so magical watching these kids go from "so cute" little kids on stage to beautiful artists performing in featured roles. My initial intention in this blog post was to share some of my favorite photos from the show. But there are just so many beautiful and fun moments that I have to break it down.

So here, in this post, are some of my favorites from Party Scene, featuring Sofia Pettee in her debut as Clara. The party scene is always a favorite for dancers. The scene is about 25 minutes long, so if you're a party girl or boy, you get lots of stage time. And this act features the most acting, which the kids tend to love.

Click here to view my gallery of outdoor dance portraits

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