Batucada Blog

Batucada beginners’ dance course starts 27 August 2017

Learn to dance samba with Wellington Batucada!

Our next Batucada beginners’ dance course begins 27 August 2017.

Dance course dates

Our beginners’ dance classes will be held every Sunday for 6 weeks from 2pm to 4pm as follows:

Week	Date	Time	Venue
Week 1	Sunday 27 August	2-4pm	Thistle Hall
Week 2	Sunday 3 September	2-4pm	Thistle Hall
Week 3	Sunday 10 September	2-4pm	Thistle Hall
NO CLASS	Sunday 17 September	The band will be away at the Hastings Blossom Festival
Week 4	Sunday 24 September	2-4pm	Whitireia Performing Arts Centre – Studio 1 on Level 2
Week 5	Sunday 1 October	2-4pm	Whitireia Performing Arts Centre – Studio 1 on Level 2
Week 6	Sunday 8 October	2-4pm	Whitireia Performing Arts Centre – Studio 1 on Level 2

Lions Tour, July 2017 – All Blacks game

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Oh the excitement and the heartache

In addition to our gig on Tuesday night for the Hurricanes game, we were also asked to double down for the All Blacks game on Saturday with a total of five gigs, spread throughout the day and into the evening. Of course we said yes.

Wellington Batucada perform for the Lions Tour – playing Samba. Video by John Bosomworth.

Whereas the weather for the ‘Canes game had been really quite friendly for a winter’s evening – cold but not too cold, no wind, no rain (fantastic!) It was an altogether different story on Saturday night. Wellington served up a hefty dose of seriously crappy weather – cold, windy, and rather a lot of rain. Oh joy!

Batucada beginners’ drumming course starts 2 July 2017

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Learn samba drumming with Wellington Batucada!

Our next Batucada beginners’ drumming course begins 2 July 2017.

It will be held on Sundays from 1pm to 3pm at our rehearsal space, Whitireia Performing Arts Centre – 25-27 Vivian Street – Studio T1, Level 3.

The course runs for 6 weeks, dates as follows: Sunday 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 July and Sunday 6 August.

Please make sure you arrive at least 15 minutes early on the first day (2 July) so that we have time to register you.

Fee is $80 for all 6 sessions if paid in advance, or $18 per session.

Existing Batucada members are welcome to come and help or try out a new instrument, $20 Batmember special price for the full course.

PLEASE NOTE that we are asking you to pay for at least the first session in advance in order to secure your place.

Here’s the info:

Make a deposit into the Wellington Batucada bank account ($18 if paying for individual sessions, or $80 for the whole 6 week course).

Account no. 38-9012-0348830-00
Please put your name and “Beginner” in the payment detail fields

We are a community group that rely on the income from the beginners course, so you can cancel up until 2 weeks before the start, but no refunds after 18th June.

We are looking forward to sharing our music and rhythms with you. SEE YOU THERE!

If you’d like to register your interest, and receive more info about the beginner’s course, please visit our Join page and fill in the online form.

Mary Potter Hospice street appeal 2017

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Warming up Cuba Street for a good cause

On a freezing cold day in May, Batucada drummers and dances warmed up Cuba Street with our rhythms and beats. We were taking part in the Mary Potter Hospice street appeal once again, and a great time was had by all.

A week or so later we received this lovely message from the Mary Potter Hospice:

Thank you so very much for volunteering your time for our Mary Potter Hospice Street Collection. … You will be happy to hear we raised $84,762 over the two days of our Street Collection. We really couldn’t do it without this support – so thank you!!

Race Relations Day 2017

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Celebrating Wellington’s cultural diversity

We began Race Relations Day with a short performance on Wellington’s beautiful waterfront to warm us all up. We gathered quite a crowd, which was brilliant because the point of the exercise was to lead them into Shed 6 where the event was taking place.

After the formal speeches and welcomes, the festival had organised for Wellington performance groups from a whole range of different cultural backgrounds to each do a short performance on the main stage.

Wellington Batucada was one of the first groups on-stage, and we had a wonderful time. Thanks heaps to the organisers for inviting us to this inaugural event – may you have many more!

Island Bay Festival parade 2017

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What a lovely day for a parade!

Our second gig of the year so far, and quite a reasonable turn-out, including some lovely faces who we haven’t seen for a while – hello Shelly and Kat! It’s good to see you again!

The sun shone, and the wind did not make an appearance (which was quite fabulous, considering that this summer has been, so far, The Worst Summer Ever, weather-wise).

Tim C did the honours with the directing, and challenged us with (I think) our first live performance of Timbalada, which went pretty well.

Batucada beginners dance workshops coming soon!

Time to get your groove on for summer

Batucada dancers performing at the Newtown Fair, 2016 – photo by Paul Taylor

Join the Wellington Batucada this summer and dance your heart out at the CubaDupa festival!

A six week block of samba workshops designed to get you festival ready*.

Level – beginner to intermediate samba, previous dance experience a bonus but not essential.

Dates for the 2017 summer workshops are as follows:

Date	Venue	Address
Sunday 29 January 2017	Toi Poneke	61-69 Able Smith Street
Mon 6 February (Waitangi weekend)	Thistle Hall	293 Cuba St
Sunday 12 February	Thistle Hall	293 Cuba St
Sunday 19 February	Thistle Hall	293 Cuba St
Sunday 26 February	Thistle Hall	293 Cuba St
Saturday 4 March	Te Whaea (Drama 3)	11 Hutchison Rd

Time: 2.00pm – 3.45pm
Cost: $60 for the block of six classes or $15 casual rate per class

* Participation in CupaDupa and other festivals is encouraged but you’re free attend the dance workshops without performing. Please note the dates, as most are on Sundays with the exception of Monday 6 February and Saturday 4 March.

Bring – Drink bottle, soft shoes/sneakers and exercise wear or loose clothing.

For more information please contact: wellingtonbatucada@gmail.com or call us on 027 253 7288.

CubaDupa Day 1 – dancers and band onstage – photo by Alan Shuker

Time to renew your membership

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Membership subs are due now for 2017 beginners

Wellington Batucada relies on membership fees to cover many of our ongoing costs such as instrument purchases and rehearsal hall hire costs – your annual $35 membership fee is what keeps us going.

Membership benefits include:

The use of the Wellington Batucada practice venue
The use of Wellington Batucada owned instruments
Receiving the weekly Wellington Batucada BATMAIL
Getting your hands on the Batucada patterns PDF so you can practice at home
Ongoing access to the members-only section of the website

And, you need to be a member of Wellington Batucada to:

Attend rehearsals
Perform at gigs once you’ve been signed-off
Attend the AGM
Vote on Wellington Batucada matters and for the committee

Please complete the form and and pay your fees as soon as you can.

Note: If you have just joined in the recent beginners uptake, your payment will roll-over till next September.

Thanks heaps!

Long weekend dance workshops with Josiane Santos

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22-24 October 2016 (Labour Weekend) – come and join us!

Wellington Batucada is excited to introduce this series of dance workshops to the capital.

Teacher Josiane Santos is an exuberant force, igniting her classes with the warmth and passion she holds for her culture. The talented Brazilian has danced and performed since her childhood, and from 2002 began researching Brazilian Folk Dances as choreographic material for the production of her dance shows.

Josi has taught Afro-Dance and Samba de Gafieira workshops since 2009, and has produced and directed shows seen across Brazil, USA and Sweden. She currently resides in Byron Bay, Australia where she co-founded the Brazilian Bay Company with her partner, promoting Brazilian culture and performing arts within the community. Their inclusive and empowering approach brings joy and a great sense of achievement to those participating.

More info about the weekend’s activities can be found on our Dance workshops with Josiane Santos page.

Cost is $120 for the full three days, or payable on a per workshop basis if you prefer.

This weekend has been set up in lieu of Sambanui and is open to all samba groups in New Zealand and the wider dance community.

The workshops will take place in Wellington over 22-24 October 2016 (Labour Weekend)

Feel free to rock on up to any of the workshops and register in person. You can come to one, all or some of the workshops over the long weekend – you choose!

100 Days to the Paralympics

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Wellington Batucada teaches paralympians how to samba

A small and select group from Wellington Batucada helped celebrate 100 Days to the Paralympics at Te Papa. Great fun was had by all.

We started filtering through the doors of Te Papa around 11:30 and waited for the rest of the band to arrive. As we waited, the Brazilian Embassy delegation arrived and, as always, Eduardo (the ambassador) showed his charm and general cool dude tendencies by stopping by to say hello to his adopted community samba group. Continue reading

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