Known as 'Batucada do Leste' ('Drummers of the East'), the East Bay Community Samba School is an exciting and talented community based samba group in the East Bay. The group is comprised of men and women of all musical skill levels, under the direction of Samuel Daffner. We proudly present our 2008 Enredo "Futuro na Mao" (Future in Our Hands).

Our goals are to learn about Samba music, become proficient in its performance, and ultimately to perform in the Carnival Festival and other venues. We are committed to BIG FUN playing drum music in a positive, family-friendly environment.

Batucada do Leste features the talented performance and teaching of Artistic Director Nives Wetzel de Cediel!!! Nives brings with her a positive and kid-friendly approach as well as a wealth of experience, and is currently teaching a contingent of talented high school students from Emeryville High School whose 'ala' is known as 'Pasaro de Fogo' (Firebird/Phoenix).

Last but not least, we are grateful to Sonia Russell for taking on the substantial and important duties of Logisitics and Support. We're building the Carnaval Day support team, if you know folks who would like to get involved, please have them e-mail samba@byosmosis.com.

We have begun rehearsals with drummers, musicians and dancers together every SUNDAY 12 - 3:30pm at Emeryville High School located at 1100 47th Street in Emeryville, CA. We are rehearsing in the gym, which is about half way down 47th Street from San Pablo.

2008 looks to be a banner year for the School, we're taking SF by storm this year and entering the Carnaval Parade for the second year...stay tuned for more Carnaval details. Keep your eye on Batucada do Leste, release your inner vision — "Futuro na Mao" — the future is in our hands!!!!

Energia do Samba was founded in 2000 by Maisa Duke, the director and choreographer of the group. Maisa was borned in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil.

What distinguishes Energia do Samba from other Brazilian performance groups in the United States, in the strong influence of Bahia. Most people are familiar with the Rio (from Rio de Janeiro) style samba.

Due to the proliferation of samba schools throughout the world, it is rare to see Bahia-style samba outside Brazil. Bahia-style samba is characteristically more playful and joyful, as compared to the Rio style, which is often accompanied by lyrics that tend to be serious social commentary.

Grupo Samba Rio was founded in 2004 by artistic and musical director Jorge Alabe, the world-class Brazilian percussionist now residing in the Bay Area.

Samba comes from the poor neighborhoods in the hills of Rio, the favelas. The culture of samba in Rio has grown from humble beginnings to the fantastic, spectacular samba school parade extravaganzas that now occur in the Sambadromo each year at Carnaval time. Grupo Samba Rio represents authentic samba from Rio de Janeiro and bring that spirit to the streets of San Francisco.

The group offers percussion classes every Sunday at Capoeira Angola, 2513 Magnolia Street in West Oakland:

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Beginning Samba Drum Class
6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Advanced Bateria Class

and dance classes with Director Cevie Toure every Sunday at Capoeira Angola, 2513 Magnolia Street in West Oakland:

6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Dance Class (all levels)

To contact Grupo Samba Rio for events and classes, call  Deborah at 510-601-7244, or email dlcogan@earthlink.com.

For dance classes please email cevietoure@gmail.com or call Cevie Toure @ 415-871-5590.

The Lions of Batucada were founded in 1996 by Director, Brian Davis along with co-founder Derek Reith and major assistance from Andrew Hartzell.

The group has studied with, among others - Mestre Jorge Alabe (Godfather of the Lions), Boca Rum, Bruno Moraes, Michael Spiro, Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, Mark Lamson, Alex Rangel, Marcio Peeter, and Curtis Pierre. 

Our dancers have studied with, among others - Rosangela Silvestre, Paula Reis, Anna Laidley, and Tanya Rodriques. 

A majority of the group has traveled in Brazil, both for educational opportunities with the most famous escolas and blocos, as well as participation in and/or enjoyment of Carnaval.

Over the past ten years, the Lions have performed for an enormous variety of audiences - from opening act engagements with David Byrne and Sean Lennon, at Rose Festival Parades and World Cup Soccer matches, combining with acts as diverse as Fishbone and the Portland Summer Symphony with Michael Harrison, to collaborations with Pink Martini along with the Oregon Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, including appearances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, and in a recent concert with famed rock group, Aerosmith.

The Lions offer weekly classes in samba music and dance, have sponsored numerous dance and music workshops featuring international artists, conducted team building seminars for corporations, founded and direct the Ainsworth Elementary School 130 member Jr. Escola, and provide samba based residencies, lectures, and demonstrations for various regional schools and universities.

Samba Olywa (based in OLYmpia, WAshington) is an amateur percussion and dance group dedicated to building community through the learning and sharing of Samba and other rhythms. We provide the opportunity for anyone, regardless of experience, to join us as we take our spirited and joyous energy to the streets and to the stage.

It all started in 1995 as part of the Procession of the Species Celebration, The Olympia community's honoring of our natural world through the public making and sharing of art, music and dance. At first the group formed just for the Procession; little by little there were invitations to play for other events. About 1998 the group began practicing and gigging year round.

Samba Olywa performs several times a year throughout the Puget Sound region.  Our performances range from small performances at private functions, to large community celebrations throughout the Sound.  Visit our Photos and Clips pages for photos and clips of previous gigs. 

Super Sonic Samba School plays traditional samba rhythms of Brazil, featuring live percussionists, singers and dancers. The school was founded in 1990 and since that time it has become a fixture in Southern California and Northern Baja, performing at parades, festivals, weddings, clubs, grassroots demonstrations, corporate mixers, schools, parties and special events.

The school performs a range of styles: from the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval marching drums of samba enredo to the jamming samba reggae of Northeastern Brazil.

The school is based on the traditional samba schools of Brazil - social groups that meet to learn and perform samba and other rhythms of their culture. These groups serve to pass down these cultural roots from one generation to the next, with the main goal of performing in the world's largest Carnaval performance in Rio de Janeiro just before lent. Super Sonic was founded with these ideas in mind.

Tudo Beleza is a Seattle dance company that brings the creativity, energy and infectious enthusiasm of Brazil to the stage. Tudo Beleza is dedicated to bringing an authentic slice of Brazilian culture to Pacific Northwest audiences, with vibrant performances and colorful dancing that invoke the spirit of Carnaval. Tudo Beleza's dancers have studied both in Brazil and the United States and are seasoned performers.

Tudo Beleza is a colloquial Brazilian Portuguese phrase that means "everything's great" or "everything's cool." Literally translated as "all beauty," it captures the Brazilian spirit of joy, optimism and the appreciation of beauty in all its forms - in music, dance and life.