Japan to Brazil - Brazilian Carnaval 2012NEW

Ever Wondered If Drums Can Talk? Find Out at Carnaval Seattle 2012 SEATTLE 12/12/11 -- Too late or too broke to book a ticket to carnival in Brazil? Not to worry.

Date
Saturday, February 18, 2012

Time
9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. (doors open at 8:30)

Location
Nectar Lounge, 412 North 36th Street in Seattle's Fremont District, come see Seattle Samba (and Axé, and Samba Reggae, and Frevo….)

At the eighteenth edition of Carnaval Seattle, featuring performances by international and local favorites Show Brazil! and One World Taiko whose founding members Gary Tsujimoto and Nancy Ozaki will open the festivities.

Admission
$15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the door. No one under 21.

Tickets to this annually sold-out event are available online at www.showbrazil.com

Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsDncdVFzm8 The theme for Carnaval Seattle 2012, "Japan to Brazil," fittingly brings together the universal rhythms of Show Brazil! and One World Taiko in a masterful percussive salute to the more than 1.5 million Brazilians of Japanese descent, whose history in Brazil began in 1908 when 781 Japanese immigrants arrived at the Brazilian port of Santos on the steamship Kasato Maru and who now constitute the largest ethnic Japanese community living outside of Japan. So stop wondering if drums can talk and join the conversation which blends time-honored tradition with eclectic contemporary strings and keyboard, spiced with sizzling and soulful vocals. Internationally recognized and respected Show Brazil!, well known throughout the Northwest from events such as Bumbershoot and Brasilfest and recordings which include "Brazil and Me" (2009), has delighted carnival audiences in the United States and Canada for nearly twenty years. The ensemble features performers Eduardo "Mr. Carnaval" Mendonça, a native of Bahia and 2007 winner of the "Outstanding Brazilian Male Singer in the US," Adriana Fernandez, Dave Pascal, Josh Wilson, Kohen Burrill, Denny Stern, Steve Caxambu, and Jes Brown, with dancers Diana Murrieta, Anne Kosugi, and renown Bahia-born choreographer Dora Oliveira, who will conduct a Samba Dance workshop between the opening and main acts. Japanese drum ensemble One World Taiko has performed a unique brand of traditional Japanese festival drumming at numerous local and international venues, including Epcot Center Japan Pavilion at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (1993-1997). Founded in San Francisco in 1990, the troupe has called Seattle their base since 2001. Under the direction of founding members Gary Tsujimoto and Nancy Ozaki, One World Taiko fluidly combines jazz, world music styling, and Latin touches with ancient Japanese cadences on traditional percussion, wind, and string instruments, enhanced by tightly choreographed and infinitely playful movement. The Brazilian Carnival experience, the largest celebration in the country's yearly calendar, represents an extremely rich fusion of Amerindian, African, European, and Asian cultural elements. Each region of the vast Brazilian territory possesses its own personality and pageantry, in a constantly evolving mixture of popular and traditional forms. For Carnaval Seattle 2012, Show Brazil! offers a tour of regional styles, exploring, in the South, Samba from Rio de Janeiro; and in the North, from Salvador da Bahia, Samba-Reggae, a fusion of Brazilian and Jamaican rhythms, and Axé, which combines Samba, Rock, and Soul influences. After a quick caipirinha, Brazil's national drink of rum, sugar, and lime, revelers will want to get back on the dance floor to experience the Lambada-influenced carnival music from Porto Seguro and, from Recife, Olinda and other cities in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco, the feverish pace of Frevo and the pomp of Maracatú. Carnival finery is not mandatory, but certainly encouraged. The Brazilian Carnaval experience awaits: Book your tickets now!