2021/22 Photography Award: STEP TOGETHER

The Youmanity Photography Award has announced that Clelgen Luiz Bonetti from Sao Paulo, Brazil, won 1st place. Entitled “Ballroom dancing with good old shoes”, Clelgen’s photographic entry is a close up of a couple’s eccentric dancing shoes at a ballroom performance.

The Youmanity annual photography competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography. The theme this year was dancing. The photography competition was inspired by the research of Dance Psychologist, Dr Peter Lovatt, who revealed how dancing to rhythm produces happy hormones that stay in the body for up to a week after we have last danced. Dancing, therefore, can be a good way to combat stress and anxiety.
The second and third places were awarded to Abdollah Heidari from Iran for capturing a spontaneous cafe scene. Here children can be seen singing and dancing in a special cafe that welcomes youngsters affected by autism and Down syndrome; and ‘Deepa’, United Arab Emirates, for a beautiful image portraying the Maasai Mara’s famous jumping dance.

Speaking for the jury, Angelo Iudice said:

“It is always incredibly difficult to announce the Youmanity Photography Award winner. All of the entries this year were outstanding - all reporting a wide range of dancing styles from around the world. Different customs and traditions attesting how dancing correlates with mental wellbeing.”

The judges in 2022 were Anne Williams - Documentary Photography Historian, Michael Pritchard FRPS - Director, Education and Public Affairs, The Royal Photographic Society, Fabienne Bowden - Dance Therapist, Maria Falconer FRPS - Dance Photographer, Niall McDiarmid - Photographer, Simon Samaki - Director, Speaker Box Street Party, Angelo Iudice - Chair of Youmanity.

Selected images from the STEP TOGETHER Photography Award will be showcased at the Padington Library from 1^st December 2022 until 13^th January 2023.  

You can view the winning entries HERE

You can view the finalists' submissions HERE