The first New Zealand Festival of Latin Rhythm and Dance was held in Taupo in Easter Weekend 2003 and involved three days of percussion and dance workshops and performance, over 80 workshops in all.
Carlos Ferreira of the Melbourne Samba School was our headline teacher for Samba percussion.
Carlos taught workshops in all levels of Samba during the festival, including vocal improvisation, managing to convey the truly Brazilian sound into the performance of his students.
Carlos’s energy and teaching style were a highlight of the festival for many of the students, his transformation of the Wellington Samba School, after only two hours of training with them, was inspirational.
We have invited Carlos back to be a part of Jambalaya next year, his professionalism and the knowledge he has to share will have a lasting effect on the standard of Samba percussion in New Zealand. We very much look forward to working with him again in the future.
Heidi Hughes
Director
Jambalaya
New Zealand Festival of Latin Rhythm and Dance.