Category: dance

So much fun being back amongst the glitter and feathers, preparing for a samba parade! This time I was on the other side of the camera, instead of playing percussion with the bateria as I used to back in the UK,  as I was the official photographer covering Brazilian Day LA for organizers Samba Lá and the Brazilian Consulate in LA.  The event in Hancock Park was bigger than ever with two parades, a raft of performances and busy stalls selling authentic regional street food, and everything from Havaianas to  Contemporanea drums and ‘fio dental’ bikinis.

Renni Flores and Katia Moraes were such fun hosts with boundless energy and humour, singing numbers in Portuguese including the specially-created enredo (parade song) and presenting a really impressive array of performers. On stage were Capoeira masters to samba kids, cheeky Carmen Miranda dancers, and more with the bateria of Samba Lá sounding really tight, and samba and forró bands leading the partying all day with impromptu dance instruction.

Photography-wise there was so much to capture my eye – everyone’s costumes were exquisite for the big parade,  with popular sartorial choices for the crowd being confections in the patriotic yellow, green and blue flag.

The beautiful musa, madrinha, reinha, princesas and their consorts were such fun with the crowd and the elegant porta bandeira, the mestre-sala with the million dollar smile, and sunny tia baianas and passistas made the parade such a joy to photograph. The atmosphere took me right back to Rio’s Sambodromo during carnaval!

All the photos are up on the official site at Braziliandayla.org Thanks to  David de Hilster and all involved, Can’t wait for next year! Images have also been used by the Page Museum, Los Angeles for their offical website, and their blog.