Brazouka

Posted on April 29, 2014

A new Brazilian show is headed to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Directed by Arlene Phillips and written by Pamela Stephenson Connolly, the show tells the story of freestyle lambazouk dancer Braz Dos Santos, with a new Brazilian troupe dancing lambazouk and other Afro-Brazilian styles.

Braz Dos Santos learned the lambada while working as a teenaged fisherman in Brazil. He and his brother, Didi, were invited to dance in Paris, despite the disapproval of their father, a shaman in the Candomblé religion.

Pamela Stephenson Connolly discovered their story while studying dance in Brazil, and founded the Brazilliant Dance Company with them. Harley Medcalf, founder of Burn The Floor, is lead producer on Brazouka.

After launching at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brazouka will tour to South Africa and Australia, with further dates to be announced. The show will be at Edinburgh’s Assembly Hall from July 31 to August 25. Visit www.edfringe.com for tickets.

Picture: Braz dos Santos, Pamela Stephenson Connolly and Gilson Damasco

Photograph: Johnny van Bergen

Nicola Rayner

Nicola Rayner was editor of Dance Today from 2010 to 2015. She has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out Buenos Aires, where she cut her teeth as a dance journalist working on the tango section. Today she continues to dance everything from ballroom to breakdance, with varying degrees of success. Her debut novel, The Girl Before You, was published last year in paperback, ebook and audiobook.