Chicago Gay Pride Parade - Post 8 - Outfits... or the lack thereof (beta) - 6.24.12

Okay, back from my trip down south.  And back to the Gay Pride parade... at least for the moment.  This is clearly a massive undertaking (I did mention starting with 4000 photos, right?)  So I'm going to post this group today and then go to do a few shorter events and then I'll go back to these when I have time.

Every year one of my favorite groups is Folia Brazil.  They're a Samba group and they are so bright and so colorful with so much energy, that to me, they kind of epitomize what the Chicago Gay Pride Parade is about.  They're way more fun than this group from the Chinatown event I went to a while back. Possibly because they fit into the venue, but definitely because of their costumes. And two years later, I'm still trying to understand Samba at Chinatown.

 This girl was very invested in getting the crowd worked up.  It's always fun when the performers have an interest in the observers. ;)

 This was the only guy in the group, but his outfit is amazing.  I can only imagine how that costume makes the dancing exponentially more difficult.  If it were me I'd be constantly worried that I bent a feather or something.  But the visual impact is astounding. He also had fun interacting with the crowd.

 This girl was an astounding dancer.  I have no idea how she could move like that without losing that incredible headdress.

 Here she is again with someone who clearly looks like her outfit was inspired by the sun.  Again, how do you dance in these headdresses without losing them?









I don't think  she was associated with the guy from above, but she also made awesome use of the quail (?) feathers.

 I really do love it when people just look like they're having the time of their lives in the parade.  By the end of the three hours you always see people who really look like they'd rather be anywhere else.  So it's really nice when you get the shots of people who are just *happy* to be there doing what they do.

 Now, I did find this interesting.  You'll notice in the shots above how easy it was for me to isolate individuals.  They had tons of space where they could do their thing and be in the spotlight.  Then there was this group in the back.  The costumes are scaled way down, and they're all in a line.  I'm wondering if this group is the apprentice dancers or something.

And, of course, they come with their own accompaniment.  I'm not sure why, but their drum major decided they needed to stop, right in front of me and play.  I don't know if he was bidding to get their picture taken and posted somewhere, or what, but here they are!  The drum line for the salsa dancers. :)

Okay, so now I'm going to pop out and work on the photos for a few shorter trips/events.  I suspect I could post on this parade for months, but it's time to shake it up.