Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders prepare in their locker room

Members of the Loh family stand before a Lunar New Year ceremony

A sauna ritual inside the Russian Banya of Dallas

Created by Elizabeth Lavin and Holland Murphy

Rituals

Discover the series

An ongoing photographic series

The things we do together become the story of a city.

Rituals is Elizabeth Lavin’s documentary study of Dallas culture—its performances, preparations, celebrations, and inherited gestures. Each chapter enters a different community and watches what happens before, during, and after the public moment.

Silhouetted dancers wait in the wings against bright stage light

Dallas

Waiting in the Wings

Backstage at the famed high school’s Flyinghorse festival.

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Campers fill the infield at Texas Motor Speedway at sunset

Fort Worth

Camping Inside the Speedway

The party never stops during Texas Motor Speedway’s NASCAR race week.

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Lion dancers perform amid smoke and firecrackers during Lunar New Year

Grand Prairie

Luring Good Fortune

A celebration for all during Lunar New Year.

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A sauna ritual inside the Russian Banya of Dallas

Carrollton

Baring It All

On the Wednesday agenda: vodka, beet soup, and unclad perspiration.

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The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders perform a kickline in black and white

Arlington

Ten Game Day Hours

The iconic squad granted us insider access to their tightly scheduled day.

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Sequins and cowboy hats glow beneath red light at the Cattle Baron’s Ball

Parker

Dancing in the Mud

The annual North Texas fundraiser sparkles, rain or shine.

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Photographed by Elizabeth Lavin

One city.
Many ways of belonging.

View the complete series at D Magazine