A whirlwind of Brazilian action

BRASIL BRASILEIRO
Saddler’s Wells

HOW many lives can a woman have?
Take, for instance, the alluring samba queen of Brazil, Elza Soares,
She became a mother at 13, was widowed at 19 with five children in tow, and then began a world-acclaimed career as a singer.
She is 70 now, but I would never have known it as her svelte figure floated across the stage, huskily singing cabaret-style numbers that gripped me by the throat.
Two other singers in their late 60s, Alaide Costa and Jair Rodrigues, added more and more to what is the most exuberant, pulsating show I have seen in London for ages.
As I fell under their spell, I couldn’t help contrasting their natural star quality with all our crusty rock stars who so palpably fail to hold back the years.
The show sets out to chart the story of Brazilian popular music which emerged from a wonderful mixture of music from the indigenous Brazilians, European colonisers and African slaves.
But you don’t need to think about the history of this infectious music to enjoy the show.
It begins with a batuque whose ancient African beat resounds through the theatre as the dancers, all dressed in white, beat out a rhythm on the stage with their hands.
But after that relatively calm opening comes the storm – a storm of such fast moving gymnastics, dancing and singing that you wonder where this incredible whirligig of movement will stop.
The more than 30 song and dance numbers melt into such an unforgettable show that it’s hard to pick out any single one of them, but maybe I should mention the beguiling shadow dance of one of the male dancers, all in white, the sheer crazy quick-fire back flips of the gymnasts, and then the three silky women dancers, jitterbugging, bumping and grinding their way across the stage, as a backing to Elza Soares. What an evening!

Until August 20
CNJ booking line: 0870 040 0070

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