Motumbaxé
Featuring 28 powerful dancers, 8 extraordinary musicians and 2 incredible singers with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Viver Brasil parades onto the stage in a Bahian Carnival spectacle featuring original bloco afro choreography, thunderous sounds, steps and rhythms in stunning costumes by internationally acclaimed Brazilian artist, J. Cunha.
Viver Brasil Dance Company, Linda Yudin and Luiz Badaró, Artistic Directors
Motumbaxé celebrates the resistance and resilience brought to the Bahian Carnaval by the Blocos Afro (Afro-Brazilian parading groups) in 1970s, using the street as its stage for protest to affirm blackness, social justice and equity through the thunderous beats of bloco afro dance and the rhythms of samba reggae and samba afro.
Costume Design Maria de Lourdes Silvestre dos Santos aka Mainha da Bahia
Fabric Design J. Cunha
Special Guests Katia Moraes and Marco “Gibi” Dos Santos
Hollywood Bowl show artistic team
Vera Passos, Choreographer
Rachel Hernandez, Rehearsal Director
Nagode Simpson, Dance Captain
Simon Carroll and Kahlil Music, Musical Directors
Exclusive fabric design, J. Cunha
Costume designers, Maria de Lourdes Silvestre dos Santos and Rosalba Gamma
Costume construction assistance, Angelica Flores
Paula Santos, Project Manager for fabric construction with Alberto Pitta
Choreography Vera Passos
Dancers: Laila Abdullah, Adebola Afolabi, Anita Akhavan, Ashley Blanchard, Chandra
Chase, Samantha Goodman, Samad Raheem Guerra, Analecia Guthrie, Myeshia Hall, Rachel Hernandez, Marina Magalhães, Julie Malinksy, Sarah Marsh, Laura McMillan, Natali Micciche, Bianca Medina, Ajah Muhammad, Vera Passos, Nicolea Pettis, Joseph Reynolds, Jade Schuster, Emeka Simmons, Nagode Simpson, Haniyyah Tahirah, Rosalie Tucker, Jordyn Wheeler, Shelby Williams-Gonzalez, Rachael Wong
Music Arrangement by Simon Carroll
Songs O Mais Belo dos Belos by Daniela Mercury, Elegibo by Margareth Menezes and Dança de Yaô by Tatau
Musicians: Luiz Badaró, Simon Carroll, Kahlil Cummings, Bobby Easton, Bryant Evangelista, Drew Love, Marco “Gibi” dos Santos, Fabio Santana de Souza
Singers: Katia Moraes , Kana Shimanuki , Emina Shimanuki & Felicia “Onyi”Richards
