Dance photoshoot & headshots with Jessica

For a long time Jessica didn’t win any dance awards, despite entering competition after competition.

She’d started learning ballet when she was three years old, and loved it.

But then she discovered Latin dance, and loved the freedom, energy and excitement of that genre even more.

So, aged eight, she spent as much time as she could, getting to know the step patterns and memorising routines.

But it seemed that no matter how much she tried, her friends and peers were all placing at competition, whereas Jessica came home empty-handed.

Jessica could’ve given up. Instead, she doubled down, spending more time learning, training and practising. She kept turning up, kept trying.

And now she has the opposite problem.

The windowsills, shelves and other spaces in the family home are heaving with trophies and medals.

She has literally run out of space for the awards she has won.

And if she could go back in time, what she’d most like to tell her shy, bookworm thirteen-year-old self is this: “Hang in there. Keep going. It will happen for you.”

Jessica came to my Bicester studio for dance photos and headshots as 2025 looks to be bringing a whole new range of opportunities her way, and she wants to have professional images for the many roles and auditions she hopes to go for.

In the meantime, she’ll be having an enjoyable Christmas with her boyfriend Will’s family, but won’t be overindulging.

That’s because her next competition is in early January, when she’ll be defending her six-in-a-row Blackpool champion title.

As well as competing, Jessica and her partner Nathan have recently started offering performances at retirement homes.

This has been an unexpected joy, with the ability to relax and enjoy performing without the pressure of a panel of judges watching.

In addition, show dancing (as opposed to competitive dancing) doesn’t have the endless lists of rules to follow, so Jessica can wear her hair how she likes and even include a few lifts in their routine – which always achieves ‘oohs!’ and ‘aahs!’ From the audience!

After they’ve performed, they often lead a lesson, and love to hear how dance has been a highlight of the residents’ lives, too.

For example, it’s not uncommon for residents to tell Jessica that they met their own partner on the dance floor, many years ago.

The residents are often fans of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show, and one day Jessica hopes to be one of the professionals working on it.

So look out for Jessica on your screens soon.

Until then, she’s got plenty else to look forward to, including (hopefully!) her seventh win at Blackpool.

To find out more about Jessica, visit her Instagram profile.

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If you’re looking for a dance photoshoot and/or professional headshots in the Oxfordshire area, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater AMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

She is the Master Photographers Association Young Families Portrait Photographer of the Year and Newborn Photographer of the Year for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire) and achieved a Studio Portrait Finalist Award at the most recent National Competition.