The sublime art of ballet is about movement; and yet, few videos seem to do the ballet dancer justice like the perfectly captured still image.

Maybe it’s because each split second of a ballet dancer’s movements must be perfect to create a beautiful final product, and the camera allows us to see that frame-by-frame perfection. Maybe it’s because the still holds within it multitudes that video somehow loses. Whatever the reason, ballet photography never fails to mesmerize me.

I’m hoping this collection of 30 incredible ballet photos—some of the absolute best on 500px—will do the same for you. Scroll down and enjoy.

in flight by Katie Andelman Garner on 500px.com

Abandon Building Ballet by Greg Waters on 500px.com

Ballerina by Valentin Il

ballerina over NYC by Vik Tory on 500px.com

Roof by Vitaly Martin on 500px.com

Ballerina by Adrian McDonald on 500px.com

the dancer by Alexander Yakovlev on 500px.com

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px.com

the old theater by Henk van Rijssen on 500px.com

Black Swan by Kobi Alony on 500px.com

limitless by Juraj Gabriel on 500px.com

Erika Overturff by JL Williams on 500px.com

Ballerina on the street_11 by YoungGeun Kim on 500px.com

Ballerina by Daniel Waschnig on 500px.com

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px.com

**** by Nico Socha on 500px.com

Civetta by Mark Crislip on 500px.com

Up Up and Away by Mark Crislip on 500px.com

Street ballerina by Lau Yew Hung on 500px.com

Ultra by Tatiana Mikhina on 500px.com

Superwoman (Svetlana Bednenko of Mikhailovsky Ballet) by Allen Parseghian on 500px.com

The Art of Ballet by Adrian McDonald on 500px.com

ballerina cover 432 park avenue by Vik Tory on 500px.com

Danza by vicente esteban on 500px.com

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px.com

Desiree by Infinitive Studios on 500px.com

Window Dancer by David Lowe on 500px.com

Dancing with the stars by Jonas Kekko on 500px.com

Elements by Alina Shevelina on 500px.com

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px.com

There are MANY incredible images that didn’t make this collection for one reason or another… mostly because there just wasn’t enough room for all of the. If you have a favorite ballet or dance photo on 500px that you didn’t see here, drop a link in the comments!

And if you’d like to see more stunning dance photography, be sure to visit our viral spotlight on the talented Alexander Yakovlev.