Dancing with scissors
With her hair flying, a woman grabs her shoe in her mouth during a high-energy performance at a national "scissor dance" competition on the outskirts of Lima.
The “Danza de las Tijeras” is a competitive dance from the southern Peruvian region of the Andes, which involves brightly dressed participants performing acrobatic moves to the accompaniment of harp and violin music, as they clatter together pieces of metal in the shape of scissors.
A dancer known as Rey Chicchi picks up the two halves of his "scissors," which are struck together during a performance like a pair of castanets.
Andean women wearing traditional clothes attend the national scissor dance competition, where participants are judged on their acrobatic skills and the quality of the music.
A dancer prepares his richly embroidered suit.
A young dancer is trained at the competition before he performs.
Dancers show off their skills.
A performer kneels in the dust during his dance.
A woman rolls in the dirt.
A dancer performs an acrobatic move, balancing on his head.
A performer lies exhausted on the ground after his dance.
