Samba Nova turn up the heat
If the most rhythmic thing you’ve done with your body lately was struggling to keep from falling on an icy sidewalk, you might want to try doing some real dancing—-the fun kind—-at the 5th Annual Brazilian Carnaval (North Street Church on Friday, February 6. Tickets are on sale now at Lost & Found, $15 in advance/$18 at the door. Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm. Call 431-9377 for info. Prizes will be awarded for best costume, so you’d best be on point.) Presented by Massa Music, the Carnaval features performances by Brazilian beat collective Zumbini Circus (whose performance will feature Brazilian folk dance performances by Pernabulando Dance Company), the 15 to 25 piece percussion group Samba Nova and local capoeira group Dende do Recife, who will demonstrate music, dance and acrobatics. This year, the Carnaval is dedicated to Paula and Azeitona da Silva, the festival founders, who are “currently on hiatus in Brazil undergoing the lengthy process of acquiring Canadian citizenship,” says this year’s organizer Lulu Healy. “I have tried to maintain the same energy, colour and community feeling that the Carnaval has had since the Silvas threw the first edition of this party in 2004.” Pretty good timing too, it seems. “Carnaval is a global tradition occurring each February in advance of Lent—-it just happens to fall in the middle of our cold Canadian winter,” says Healy. “However, it definitely wasn’t lost on Paula and Azeitona that Halifax was in serious need of a hot party at this frigid time of year so the timing was perfect.”
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2009.
