2024 North Country Fair Samba Parade Dance Classes!

Name: 2024 North Country Fair Samba Parade Dance Classes!
Start: 2024-07-18T17:30:00-07:00
End: 2024-07-18T19:00:00-07:00
Location: Redwood Raks Collective

Schedule

Thu Jul 18 2024 at 05:30 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Redwood Raks Collective | Arcata, CA

Samba do Mar Humboldt and Samba da Alegria invite you to participate in the 38th North Country Fair Parade season!
This year the Dancer Ala (Section) will be focusing on Samba no Pé from Rio de Janeiro. These 10-weeks of classes will include the following:
* Samba no Pé exercises focusing on hips, arms and footwork
* Practice exercises to improve musicality, speed and endurance
* Learning the parade choreography
* Improvisation practice
* Performance training including building confidence
* Community building through dance
Class Dates: Thursdays, July 18 - September 19
Time: 5:30 -7:00 PM
Location: Redwood Raks Collective World Dance Studio, 824 L Street, Arcata
Drop-In Price: $15
Session Price: $120
Pre-registration is not required
Class Info Contact: [email protected]
All levels of experience welcome!
Parade Date: September 21 OR 22 (We are waiting to hear from the North Country Fair Board)
*** Parade E-Registration and Costume Information will be made available on Saturday, July 20. Registration and Costume Fees will be due no later than Thursday, August 1. ***
2024 North Country Fair Samba Parade Theme
Background/Inspiration:
This year’s music arrangement is based on Unidos do Viradouro's 2024 Samba enredo (song with theme, pronounced en-HEY-doo) “Arroboboi, Dangbé,” which has themes that focus on strength and empowerment. The repeated chorus of the enredo, 'Arroboboi, meu pai / Arroboboi, Dangbé,' invokes the protection and power of Dangbé, the deity of the African Vodun cult that is often represented as a rainbow serpent. Dangbé’s force manifested itself in epic battles on the West Coast of Africa by the all-female Mino Warriors from the Kingdom of Dahomey. These warriors were spiritually initiated by Vodun priestesses, a dynasty of women chosen by Dangbé. The energy of the cult was established in Brazil with the installation of terreiros (houses of worship) in Bahia by Ludovina Pessoa, a Dahomean priestess who came to Brazil with the mission of perpetuating belief in Vodun. Ludovina also became a leader in Catholic brotherhoods and in the formation of what is today Candomblé Jeje, a Afro-Brazilian religion. The enredo mentions the Terreiro de Bogum, a centuries-old temple in Salvador, Bahia, dedicated to the serpent. One writer describes the enredo in the following way, “It celebrates the strength inherited from ancestors and the continuous flow of African heritage, like a serpent or a river, into the vast ocean of Brazilian culture.”

Samba Parade Theme: “The Power of Community”
For the 38th North Country Fair Samba Parade, we are gathering inspiration from Viradouro’s theme and celebrating the strength and power of our community members, as well as the power of Samba that influences our lives.
References:
1) https://unidosdoviradouro.com.br/viradouro-definiu-o-enredo-para-2024/
2) https://www.lyricslayers.com/unidos-do-viradouro-rj/samba-enredo-2024-arroboboi-dangbe/
Recording of Arroboboi, Dangbé:

Autores (Composers): Claudio Mattos/Claudio Russo/Julio Alves/Thiago Meiners/Manolo/Anderson Lemos/Vinicius Xavier/Celino Dias/Bertolo/Marco Moreno
Intérprete (Singer): Wander Pires
About the Instructor:
Maria Vanderhorst took her first Samba no Pé and Afro-Brazilian Dance classes in 2000 and has been hooked ever since. She has studied in both Brazil and the U.S. with Brazilian teachers including Dandha da Hora, Tania Santiago, Rosangela Silvestre, Ana Laidley, Alvaro Reys, Janete Silva Aide, and Danielle Lima. Currently, she trains with Alex Coutinho, Director of Passistas for Rio de Janeiro's Escola de Samba (Samba School) Paraíso do Tuiuti and the creator of the worldwide Poderosas do Samba Project. She is currently the Artistic Director of Samba do Mar Humboldt and the Dance Director of Arcata's North Country Fair Samba Parade Project (adult and children's dance sections). She has directed 8 North Country Fair Samba Parade Projects. Previously, she was the Co-Director of Samba na Chuva Brazilian Dance Performance Troupe for 15 years. She has been a guest dance instructor at Cal Poly Humboldt, University of California Riverside, North Coast Dance Studios and Pacific Union School. Maria also studied Jazz and Modern Dance at Cal Poly Humboldt. She believes that dance has the power to nurture both the individual and the community.