São Paulo – Up to December, those travelling on the São Paulo metro may see the beauty of Arab dance movements at presentations in the city of São Paulo. Exhibition "Art and Movement in Arab Dance” brings a small sample of the work of photographer Adelita Chohfi, who has spent the last five years dedicated to recording presentations of the sort in São Paulo and also in the interior of the state.
"My grandparents were Syrian and I have always had contact with the Arab world. I have friends who dance and it all enchanted me. I started picturing my friends and that became a profession,” explained Adelita. Up to late October, 12 pictures by Adelita may be seen in Artur Alvim station, on the red line of the metro. In November, the exhibition should be taken to Paraíso station and, in December, to Ana Rosa station (on the blue and green lines).
Graduated in economics, Adelita became interested in photography ten years ago, but her hobby became her profession five years ago. Today, she dedicates herself fully to recording belly-dance presentations and Arab folklore presented by specialised schools, as well as photographing dancers in her studio in Bela Vista. "I like to freeze a beautiful movement. I see women dancing and they donate themselves to the act. I see great beauty in the delicate movements, the complex steps. I race to register that movement in the dancers,” she said.
In her collection, Adelita has at least 200,000 photographs. "At each event, I take three to five thousand pictures,” she says. "In a two-hour event, for example, I make three thousand pictures.” She explains that in the last edition of the Mercado Persa (Persian Market), a large dance and Arab culture event, which takes place in São Paulo each year, she recorded 15,000 pictures in three days. To a lesser extent, she also photographs pregnant ladies and martial artists in her studio.
Aged 39, this is the first time that Adelita exhibits her work outside the dance school circuit. In the past, she had already shown her pictures in three editions of the Persian Market, from 2007 to 2009. If it is up to her, the exhibitions should continue. “I would like to go on, if there is an opportunity.”
Her favourite picture was made at a presentation in Santo Agostinho theatre, during event "Super Noites no Harém" (Super Nights in the Harem), of the traditional Khan El Khalili tea house. "The picture ended up being my visiting card,” she reveals. "The posture of the dancer, the movement of the veil and the lighting made the picture beautiful,” she points out.
Service
Exhibition "Art and Movement in Arab Dance"
Up to December in the São Paulo Metro
Admittance is free
Photographer’s site: www.adelitachohfi.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament