Each visitor can take home a specially-commissioned artwork by Brazilian artist Bruno 9Li (whose work is pictured above) and take part in a samba flash mob in the Grand Entrance, with dancers from the Paraíso School of Samba. London-based collective Braziliality will produce a telenovela soap opera entitled The Adventures of Vitoria & Alberto in Brasil which will star visitors as its cast and will be transmitted live in the Museum.

Brazilian design studio Flour will create a giant table football game where visitors can compete for prizes and Rio de Janerio-based practice Super Uber will be at the Museum with their digital installation game which takes inspiration from Pelé. Curitiba-born, London-based illustrator Clayton Junior will host a workshop in which visitors can stencil their own ‘Brazilian Modernist’ designs on to canvas bags to take home. Further highlights include screenings of Jared Levy’s Grafitti Fine Art a film exploring the street art of Sao Paulo and Waste Land, an award-winning documentary about communities living at the world’s largest land-fill in Rio de Janeiro, by Lucy Walker.

Stuart Baker, author and founder of London record label Soul Jazz, will present a selection of Brazilian album covers, discussing the stories behind them. There will also be specially-commissioned installations around the Museum, panel discussions, caipirinhas, food and music from DJ, musician, and producer João Brasil.

27th January 18.30 – 22.00, Admission Free
V&A Friday Late: Hot Brazil
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Tel. +44 (0)20 7942 2000
vam.ac.uk/fridaylate

Originally created by Todd Twala and Thembi Nyandeni as a way of a reminding a new generation of South Africans of their heritage, UMOJA, meaning ‘togetherness’ in Zulu, has won critical plaudits and collected multiple awards since its premiere in 2000. From the potent rhythms of tribal music to the joy of gospel and the pounding energy of contemporary kwaito, UMOJA unites 30 singers, dancers, drummers, marimba players and musicians, who represent the best of South Africa’s young performers.

Tuesday 31 January – Sunday 19 February (Performances: Tue-Sun 7.30pm, Sat & Sun mats at 2.30pm)
UMOJA
Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street
Holborn
WC2

Tickets: £15 – £42
Ticket Office: 0844 412 4322
sadlerswells.com

Mojo reunites Theatre-Rites Artistic Director Sue Buckmaster with choreographer Arthur Pita, winners of the 2008 TMA Achievement in Dance Award for Mischief. Co-produced by the Barbican and the Salzburg Festival, Mojo is performed in the Silk Street Theatre and runs from Friday 16th December until Saturday 31st December.

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Friday 16th – Saturday 31st December, 12pm, 7pm (7pm only on 16 and 21 Dec, 12pm only on 31 Dec)
Theatre-Rites’ Mojo
Barbican
Silk Street Theatre
London EC2Y 8DS

Age: 5+
Tickets: £15
Children under 16 come half price
Groups of 10 or more save 20%

barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=12503

Paso Pa’lante seek to represent a new generation of cross-culture flamenco artists who are at the forefront of breaking the prejudices against foreign flamenco artists that still exist in Spain today. They seek to explore the the influences on flamenco from Moorish, Jewish and Gypsy cultures. Paso Pa’lante demonstrates that flamenco is an all-inclusive language powerful enough to bridge the divides of cultures and reach people of all backgrounds. The company’s work deals with universal themes of love, death, poverty and celebration.

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15th & 16th November, 7.30pm, £12/10
Adentros: Paso Pa’lante
Rosemary Branch Theatre
2 Shepperton Road,
London N1 3DT
Tel: 020 7704 6665
rosemarybranch.co.uk

Tickets and more info:branchingoutfestival.com/#/adentros/4556065764

The event is being referred to as:

A night of delight with Umbela Arts, bringing Afro-Brazilian music and dance from Brazil to the heart of London, with top bands, DJ’s and dance performances.

The event will be held at Rich Mix and will be split into two parts. The London-based groups Maracatu Estrela do Norte and Bloco-Afro ERI OKAN will lead students (in open rehearsals) through workshops in Maracatu drumming dance before giving performances of their own. The event will form part of their preparations for Notting Hill Carnival 2012.

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Sunday 30th October, 1-5pm (Workshops), 6pm (Free Concert)
Festa Umbela
Rich Mix
35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road,
London,
E1 6LA
richmix.org.uk

Here’s how the line-ups look:

Drumming:
1pm-3pm Maracatu drumming
3.30pm-5.30pm Samba Reggae drumming

Dance:
1pm-2.30pm Maracatu dance
3.30pm-5pm Afro Brazilian dance

Classes are £6 each (£10 for two, if also participating in another class on the same day).

Festa Umbela is part of LIFEM 2011.

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Monday 10th October, 7.30pm, £15-250
Venezuela Viva
London Palladium
Argyle Stret
seetickets.com/reallyuseful/calendar.asp?e|artist=VENEZUELA+VIVA&filler1=reallyuseful&venaudit=palladium

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Sunday 25th September, 7:30 – 9pm
flamingofeather curate an evening of theatre, dance and music
Chisenhale Dance Space
64-84 Chisenhale Road
London
E3 5QZ
Tel: 020 8981 6617

More infomarion: agonyart.tumblr.com

Here’s how the press releases describes these two pieces:

Ímã is inspired by the scientific law of magnetism whereby particles either repel or attract one another. Set to an experimental soundtrack by Brazilian trio +2, the dancers engage in a constant game of union and dispersion, while Freusa Zechmeister’s costumes and Paulo Pederneiras’ lighting work in harmony to create an explosion of colour on stage.

Onqotô tackles the origins of the universe through the surprising setting of a football match in Rio de Janeiro. A score of Latin-inflected funk by Caetano Veloso and José Miguel Wisnik accompanies the 21 dancers, with lighting by Paulo Pederneiras.

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Tues 13th – Fri 16th September 2011
Grupo Corpo: Ímã & Onqotô
Sadler’s Wells
Rosebery Avenue,
London,
EC1R
sadlerswells.com/show/Grupo-Corpo-Ima-and-Onqoto

Performances: Tue – Fri at 7.30pm
Tickets: £10 – £38
Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300
sadlerswells.com

Here’s a clip from Ímã:

Here’s the press release to tell you a bit more:

Havana Rakatan tells the story of over 500 years of dancing in the Caribbean island renowned for its party spirit. The impressive array of dance styles include ancient African rituals in which the dancers appear as African Gods and Goddesses, giving way to modern forms such as the mamba that caused scandal in the 1940’s, and the cha-cha-cha that defines the glamour and elegance of the Cuban woman in the 1950’s. This all culminates in the salsa, a spectacularly contagious mixture of all these forms.

Music in the show is provided by Turquino, masters of the Cuban dance music Son.

Dancing is from Ballet Rakatan, a talented group of dancers from Cuba, founded by Nilda Guerra.

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Tues 13th Sept – Sun 9th Oct
Havana Rakatan
Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street
Holborn
WC2
sadlerswells.com/show/Havana-Rakatan-2011

Performances Tue – Sun at 7.30pm, Sat & Sun at 2.30pm
No performance Saturday 1 October
Tickets: £15 – £42
Ticket office: 0844 412 4322
sadlerswells.com

Plus, on Tuesdays there will be free salsa classes after the show!

Here’s all those details in full:

Thursday August 25th
Special Event: Movida Corona DJ Competition

The Movida Corona DJ Competition sees a series of high profile DJ’s competing for a spot in the finals in order to get European Recognition. 2009’s Winner & Guanabara Resident DJ Limao is spinning on the decks, keeping the crowd warmed up as the new talents showcase what they’re made of!

Friday August 26th
Favela Blocparty Presents London vs Rio
FREE before 9pm, £10 After

Exploring the dancefloor-focused connection between London and Rio in a journey through old school funk, R ‘n’ B and commercial rhythms to Brazilian house and party beats, with a live set from Balanco Tropical and DJs Limao and Larissa on the decks.

Saturday August 27th
Brazil Rocks
FREE before 8pm, £10 After

Guanabara and Brazil Rocks bring the vibrant, exciting and dynamic culture of contemporary Brazil to the heart of Central London. The world’s best Capoeira, Brazilian circus performers, live music from Paraisso and DJ D Vyzor ont he decks makes for a pretty good-looking Saturday night.

Sunday August 28th
Forró until 4am
FREE before 8pm, £5 After

Come down and party till 4am with a special guest DJ on the decks playing Brazilian chart music all night long! Early in the night, join in the forro lessons and test your moves with DJ Andre playing traditional forro ‘pe-de-serra’ and LIVE Ban, Zeu Azevedo and Forrodaki! Traditional dishes and drinks at Happy Sunday prices, with beer from £2.50!

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August 25th – 28th
Carnival Weekend
Guanabara
Parker Street (Corner of Drury Lane)
Covent Garden,
London WC2B 5PW
Tel: 020 7242 8600
guanabara.co.uk

Open from 5pm – 2.30am Mon-Sat
Sunday from 5pm – Midnight
Happy Hour: Monday- Saturday – 5:00pm-7:00pm* 50% off all drinks incl. champagne.
Happy Sundays: House Beer £2.50 * Caipirinha £3.50 All Night
***Please note that HAPPY HOUR times are subject to change)