AMUSING images have brought together a pairing you never knew you needed – ballet dancers and DOGS.

The stunning pictures show a man balancing on his head while doing the splits as his bemused dog looks on, a fleet-footed dancer leaping in the air as her dog copies her and another using his huge Irish wolfhound to help him stretch.

Other striking shots show a pup leaping through a happy dancer’s arms, a small dog trying to copy a red-dressed ballerina’s tip-toe pose and a tutu-wearing dancer sprinkling some love on her pet dogs.

Hilarious behind-the-scenes footage shows the many mishaps along the way as the excited dogs got to dance with their ballet partners.

The funny photographs form a new book, Dancers & Dogs, that has been put together by St Louis-based professional photographers Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich, a husband-and-wife team who work with the Saint Louis Ballet along with dancers around the country.

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