Cheryl Mann: photographer.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Back surgery was a painful, yet pivotal point in Cheryl Mann's careen She was 27 years old, had been with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for two and a half years, and dancing was her life. And then suddenly she was sidelined, watching in the wings while her fellow dancers soared on stage.

But there in the shadows, Mann took out her camera and started shooting--trying to capture the grace and athleticism of dancers in motion. "The reaction that I would get from the dancers [to my photos] was so great that I just kept trying and trying," she says. Then the following year, in 2000, Hubbard Street invited Mann to exhibit her photos at a gallery show. And Io and behold, the dance critic from the Chicago Sun-Times bought a portrait of one of the dancers. "I think something clicked in my head at that time," Mann says. She recovered from surgery and returned to the company, but she kept on shooting, too.

But then in January 2006, she tore her ACL, and was once again forced to sit on the sidelines. "That gave me a lot of time to really think about 'How much time do I have left in this career?'" she says. That was when she made up her mind to take her photography seriously. She went to Jason Palmquist, executive director of Hubbard Street, who helped her create a business plan--a detailed estimate of how much she could expect to earn in a year, how many clients she could expect to get, how much equipment she'd need and more.

Mann quit Hubbard Street in October 2007 and officially opened Cheryl Mann Photography in 2008. Already, she's taken photos of all of the major dance companies in Chicago and countless headshots of dancers, keeping her connected to the community she left behind. "I feel lucky to have the best of both worlds," says Mann. Now, she's expanding her business to include wedding, product and business photos, as well.

Her dance experience informs her photography, Mann says, helping her see lines and formations, and her performing experience helps her connect with her subjects. "You have chemistry with people. When you look at someone on stage and you're supposed to love them, you really feel like you're in love with them," she says. "Photography is an intimate thing for me. It's personal, just like dance was for me."

Mann understands why so few dancers are prepared to transition out of the career they love. "It's a certain passion that dancers have and only dancers know," she says. "We can be tunnel-visioned." That's why she advocates for dancers to start thinking about alternative careers early.

"Do one different thing every month," she suggests. "Get a feel for what you're interested in." Remember, she says, dancing isn't your only skill. "You can find other interests. They're there, you're just not developing them. People have a lot more talents, more than they know."