When I spotted the photo above, I had two thoughts. 1. that is the most perfect ballet foot I’ve ever seen, and 2. her poor knees are going to have so much to say to her when she’s fifty!

These are the wonderful, painful, visceral photos by St. Petersburg ballet dancer-come-photographer Darian Volkova. The dancer started documenting her daily dancer’s life for her own amusement, but her photos caught the interest of the social media world. At least now she knows what she’s going to do when she can’t dance anymore. I have known a lot of dancers who really struggled with that question, and I’m happy for Volkova.

When I tried to go to her website, my virus software went crazy, so I’m not going to link to it. Her Instagram, however, is safe and fantastic. Enjoy!

All images property of Darian Volkova.

(Via)