Edison Light & Motion is a photography studio in Orlando, FL specializing in dance photography.  Run by husband and wife team Edison Atikune and Pilar Sixto, with the occasional assist from their daughter Xiomara, they are committed to capturing the love and emotion of dance in photographs.

My love for photography started almost 20 years ago, towards the beginning of the digital camera revolution. Armed with a 3 megapixel Toshiba point and shoot camera, I started taking casual photos of family and friends. Over the years, I learned about composition, lighting, and how to find beauty in the little moments that pass by in our daily lives.

In 2006, Pilar talked me into taking ballroom dance lessons at Arthur Murray dance studios. While not un-coordinated, thanks to my extensive martial arts training, I spun my wheels for the first year, until Pilar and I were selected to compete in a “Dancing with the Stars” style pro/am competition at the dance studio. No longer was I able to hide behind my wife’s love and enthusiasm for dance. I had to figure out a way to (god forbid!) perform in front or an audience and be judged! Instead of falling into a mound of quivering jello on the dance floor, I was paired up with a fantastic instructor who not only got me through the competition, but managed to teach me to truly LOVE dance.

Because of our performance in the local studio competition, both Pilar and I were selected to compete in an Orlando-wide competition which culminated in the pair of us performing and competing live in front of 15,000 people at the intermission of the 2007 Dancing with the Stars Tour stop in Orlando, FL. Pilar shook her tail feathers to a first place finish!

Over the next couple years, we competed as an amateur couple in USA Dance competitions throughout Florida and Louisiana taking home multiple first place wins. In addition, we performed many exhibitions in Orlando to spread the art and sport of ballroom dancing.

In 2010, we went from the ballroom to the delivery room (literally, Viennese waltz practice in the morning to the hospital that afternoon) to welcome Xiomara into our lives. At first, Pilar and I continued our dancing while Xiomara watched from the arms of our instructors but by the time she was two and a half years old, the tables had turned and we sat and watched as she joined the incredible Xplosive Dance Academy family.

When Xiomara entered our lives, my photography transformed as well. My photography became dominated by portraits of our daughter and photos from children’s events. When her first dance recital came up, I set up a home studio and started doing recital photo shoots for Xiomara and her friends.

As Xiomara progressed in her dancing (joining the competition team, getting her first solo, winning her first scholarship), I continued to hone my skills as a photographer. After thousands of hours and tens of thousands of photos that we cherish and enjoy, we want to bring that feeling to other dancers and their families because for us, a photo is not just a picture, but a magical snapshot in time of a unique moment in a dancer’s life.

Come join our family as we take this dance journey together.