MINNEAPOLIS — There is an uproar in the Minnesota dance community ahead of the season’s peak.

The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is restricting photography access at league tournaments, meaning photographers aren’t able to cover meets like they have in the past. 

Cobey Rouse had been a dance photographer for nearly a decade.

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“I shoot action photos at all their comps and give them to the parents and coaches for free,” Rouse said. “The photo I took of my daughter in the state for her last leap in jazz, her last time dancing. That was my favorite photo. That’s the gift that I feel like we give to a lot of these athletes, and that is being taken away.”

Rouse is one of several photographers contracted by high school dance teams to capture their season through video and photography.

But less than 24 hours ahead of the sections tournament, MSHSL cracked down on the policy.

“The night before the event, photography was revoked. There was no reason given,” said photographer Alyssa Kristine.

A former dancer herself, Kristine has built her entire photography brand around the sport.   

“It’s just all dance all the time (laughs)!” she said.

Outside of jeopardizing her livelihood, it’s the athletes she feels for. 

“One of my clients I think has 18 seniors, like almost half of their team, and they didn’t qualify for state and they don’t have any photos of their last dance, period,” she said.

The MSHSL says it isn’t a change in policy and its designated team photographer program was discontinued three years ago. The league says schools can utilize a DTP during the regular program if they choose. 

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Video is still permitted postseason, but with restrictions that Kristine and Rouse say weren’t enforced in years past. 

“We were permitted to shoot performances only from one specific designated chair, and only up to three minutes,” Kristine said.

The crackdown is causing an uproar in the dance community. Photographers say the lack of enforcement and communication from MSHSL is only adding to it. 

“We’re not there to profit off of photos from sections and state,” Rouse said. “We are there to finish that story and I would just hope that people would realize that we’re in this for the right reason.”

Teams across the state are in the midst of their section tournament. The state tournament is slated for mid-February.

Beret Leone

Beret Leone is a native Minnesotan who joined the WCCO team as a reporter in September 2022 – and she’s thrilled be back home in the Twin Cities! Beret grew up in Chaska and graduated from Bethel University.

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By Laura Sharman

Published: 19:01 EST, 5 February 2024 | Updated: 04:40 EST, 6 February 2024

A new photography exhibition offers a candid glimpse into the early golden years of the Sanremo Music Festival through hidden back-stage moments.

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This year’s Sanremo Music Festival is soon to be underway, and Turin’s renowned Gallerie d’Italia is getting into the spirit with a stunning new photography exhibition.

The festival began in 1951, in the post-World War II era, as a proposal to revitalise Sanremo’s economy and reputation by establishing an annual music event in the city.

Notably, it served as the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest and has launched the careers of some of Italy’s most accomplished artists, such as Andrea Bocelli and Eros Ramazzotti.

The Gallerie d’Italia’s new exhibition titled “No Age: The Sanremo Festival in Black and White 1951-1976,” features 85 gorgeous photos from the Publifoto Intesa Sanpaolo Archive. 

From the singers’ rehearsals, the artists’ catwalks around the small Ligurian town of Sanremo, as well as the makeup rooms, the photos on display highlight the hidden off-stage moments when the festival was held at the historic Casino of Sanremo.

The exhibition runs from 1 February to 12 May 2024.

Snapshots from all over the world taken by amateur photographers were entered in the National and Regional awards category of the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards. The winners have just been announced by the World Photography Association.

Photographers of all abilities took part in the awards, which give the chance for local talent to be shown on an international stage. All entries into the open competition of the awards are automatically considered and images can be taken on any camera type or device. The participants came from 54 different countries this year.

The overall winners in the student, youth, open and professional competitions will be announced on April 18, and their work will go on display as part of an exhibition at Somerset House, London.