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Dancers defy gravity

As part of a summer-long ritual, students in the Washington School of Ballet’s summer intensive program cool off at the pool at McLean Gardens at the end of their eight-hour day in the Ballet’s stifling second and third floor studios. These are photos of temporary, passionate, burden-shedding.

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Abby Kulwicki, 15, of Hudson, Ohio, goes for a swim in her tutu after training for eight hours at the Washington School of Ballet. As part of a summer-long ritual, students in the school’s summer intensive program cool off at the pool at McLean Gardens, across Wisconsin Avenue, after dancing in stuffy studios all day. "It's not the coolness," Kulwicki said of the pool's therapeutic effects after a day of dancing. "It's being weightless that matters."

Daniel C. Britt / The Washington Post

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