Later this year students from London and Rio de Janeiro will take part in an exchange designed to explore ways in which the culture of samba has a positive impact on people?s lives and the communities in which they live. Jon Nicholls explains
Henrique da Silva, president of Paraiso School of Samba, grew up in Rio and belongs to a samba family: ?Samba is more than dance, drumming and carnival. It is a culture and a way of life. It?s a way in which people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds get together and are involved ? dancing, drumming, teaching, learning, organising and helping in any number of ways. It provides a real and fascinating focus in people?s lives.? His passion and knowledge, and the support of other talented artists from Paraiso School of Samba, have been instrumental in the success of Samba Zona Sul, the South Greenwich Community Samba Band. Now almost three years old and consisting of drummers and dancers, the group has performed at numerous events across London, from local carnivals to The Mayor?s Thames Festival. Staff, students and members of the local community have benefited from weekly workshops in Afro-Brazilian dance and samba percussion from acknowledged masters of the samba art form. But we have also benefited from the spirit that samba generates, a sense of belonging and a real connection between creativity and community. I have seen people grow in confidence, become more aware of their own and others? cultures and gain a huge sense of self-worth from performing in public and representing themselves positively. Alicja Piotrowska, 18 and a member of Samba Zona Sul, has expressed this most clearly: ?Samba has awakened a passion for music, rhythm, dance, culture, tradition and creativity more forcefully and more consciously than any of my other interests because it captures everything that I believe is wonderful and important? Boundaries in life need to be broken ? it is so important for people to find their passion and to work for something greater than money, for a certain kind of freedom.?
As Henrique explained in more detail the way in which samba is a real force for change in his home community in Rio, I began to wonder what it might be like for young people in Kidbrooke, itself undergoing a massive urban regeneration, to witness it all first hand. Over the next eight years the Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke, a byword for urban decay, will be re-built, as will Thomas Tallis School. And if it were possible to take people to Rio, how much better would it be to enter into a real exchange of cultures with Brazilian youngsters? What impact could an adventure like this have on our thinking about the future of our community in Kidbrooke? Suddenly, the prospect that the exchange could support and inform the re-generation of our homes and workplaces began to seem possible. We are already working closely with the local Community Events Group and have formed a relationship with Taru Brazil, a local arts company who have created a project that culminated in a joint performance by Samba Zona Sul and ?The Scrap Kingdom Party? at The Ferrier International Feast Day in July 2004. Rosa Goncalves, a member of the Community Events Group and a Greenwich Community Network representative, will be accompanying us on the journey to Rio. We hope that the lessons we learn together will have a positive and long-reaching impact on the development of a new community in Kidbrooke, encouraging local people to become active participants in community development ? Rio style.
Jon Nicholls is a Co-ordinator with Creative Partnerships London South and Arts College Manager at Thomas Tallis School, as well as Leader of Samba Zona Sul. A short film about Samba Xchange can be seen online at http://www.sambaxchange.org/video