SAMBA GROUPS:A SNAPSHOT
The author has kindly given permission to present his work here.

NATIONAL CARNIVAL POLICY CONSULTATION DOCUMENT.

A report commissioned by Pax Nindi of the Arts Council of England Drama Department (April – September 2002) written by Daniel Bernstein in consultation with practitioners in the art form.

Note on author: Daniel Bernstein is the co-ordinator of Carnival Collective and a freelance Arts Manager specialising in participatory arts. For further information or to receive a copy of this report please contact him at dan@uksamba.org.

CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION
This reports aims to give an overview of the current activities and practise of “samba bands” in England, and how they have developed into the carnival street drumming explosion that is occurring around Britain and Northern Europe. The nature of the art form is such that it crosses country divides, so the report will not avoid the development in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The report attempts to: -

1. Define terms so a common language can be used thereby minimising misunderstanding and controversy.

2. Place the art form in a geographical, sociological and historical context.

3. Describe some case studies to show the diversity of the groups.

4. Describe some of the regional activities occurring around Britain and Ireland.

5. Set out the developmental needs of the art form as agreed by a gathering of practitioners in Brighton in May 2002.

6. Describe training, educational links and other employment issues.

7. Conclude by giving recommendations to aid its development in the future.

1.1 DEFINITIONS
Due to the lack of written documentation charting the development of samba bands in Britain, there is a lack of a distinct language in English. Instead Brazilian terms are used loosely. This can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. It is important to define the terms and expressions used, and for the practitioners of the art form (percussionists, dancers and artists) to evolve a common vocabulary. In order to avoid confusion within this report, below are set out the terms that are used: -

Samba:
The term samba describes a particular dance form and a type of music from Brazil.

Samba music:
An evolving musical form from Brazil incorporating percussion, song and musical accompaniment (often a cavaquinho – a small ukulele style instrument) with a particular rhythmic pattern.

School of Samba:
British derivation of Escola de Samba which is the name given to the huge organisations that participate in Brazilian carnival. In Brazil, Escola de Samba follows guidelines and incorporates specific groups of percussionists, dancers and visual elements. In Britain, some Schools of Samba do not try to closely follow this tradition, whilst others do. Most groups in Britain cannot really claim to be Schools of Samba.

Bloco:
Originally Northern Brazilian group, in the UK it has come to mean a step below a samba school, usually mixing percussion and dancers.

Bateria:
A group that only has percussionists.

Sambista:
A person who plays percussion in a samba band, dances samba, or is otherwise an active participant in the world of samba.

Samba band:
An ensemble playing percussion music on traditional Brazilian instruments. This is a British term to describe (somewhat confusingly) the 300 or so bands that have formed since 1984 in Britain. They have evolved organically and many do not play samba music. The term "band" often feels exclusive of dancers.

Samba group:
A more inclusive term to describe a group of percussionists, dancers and visual artists and performers.

Carnival Street Drumming:
An activity that describes well how the samba bands are developing around Europe. An umbrella term to describe the different range of groups playing Brazilian inspired percussion. First used by Lee Higgins in his seminal paper “Carnival Street Drumming: the development and survival of community percussion ensembles in the U.K.” However it focuses on the music, possibly ignoring the dance and costume sides of the art form.

Mestre:
The musical leader/conductor of the group. In Brazil, "Mestre" means true master and is a title of great respect. In the UK it is applied to anyone leading a bateria.

For lack of a better description, and the purposes of this report, the term "samba group" is used, even though the group in question may not play much, if any, authentic samba music.
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1.2 SIZE
It is a relatively new art form in this country (not quite 20 years old) and has not been well documented or supported by funding bodies. Nevertheless it is significant. There are currently 180 samba groups listed on the UK’s web pages . This has grown from 79 in 1997. However there are dozens more who are recently formed who do not appear on the list, putting a realistic estimate of 300. We can also assume that each of these groups contains 25 regular attendees. From this we can conclude that there are around 7,500 sambistas in the country. If each group gives workshops to 100 new people per year, another 30,000 try participating in the art form each year. Add to this the 20,000 or so attendees of corporate workshops and another 20,000 children who are introduced to the musical form (see section 6) some 70,000 new people try carnival street drumming each year.

As for spectators, by its nature of being a street performance art, it is notoriously difficult to calculate audience numbers. If each group performs 20 times per year, to a conservative 1,000 people per performance (often as part of a street parade) then each group performs to 20,000 people every year. Multiplied by 300 groups would lead to a conservative estimate of 6 million people seeing a carnival drumming group every year. If audiences at carnivals such as Notting Hill, Leeds and Luton (all of which attract more and more samba activity) are included, then audience sizes could run into the tens of millions.
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1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF SAMBA GROUPS
Carnival as an art form has received precious little media coverage in the UK except in connection with violence. “Carnival has moved from being a story about culture to one about crime and race.” (Guardian 2002). Samba groups have received little to no attention in mainstream media, hence the general public often incorrectly referring to it as “salsa!”

A typical samba group might have the following characteristics: -

· A group of 15-50 people will meet weekly to play music based on Brazilian instrumentation. Many groups also encourage dancers to come too.

· The individuals playing music are mainly people who would not have necessarily called themselves musicians prior to their involvement in the group.

· Most members of the group would describe themselves as white, and British born.

· One or two more experienced players will be the musical leaders of the group (mestre). They are likely to have formed the group and/or come from another group previously.

· Anyone can join the group, although there are usually levels of membership and/or skill to reach before performing publicly with the group.

· The group will usually perform a number of outdoor gigs during the year: anything from 10 – 50 performances. These performances are usually organised by others (parades, festivals, community events, town celebrations).

· Many of the groups also play a significant number of indoor gigs each year: at concerts, in bars or clubs.

· The groups are financed to break even. Members pay weekly/monthly subscriptions and performance revenues supplement income.

· A few groups have received RALP or other funding from Arts sources. A number of them have been set up with the help of a local Arts Development Officer.

· Most groups would fall into the unincorporated association category, although many might not know it! In other words they are informal groups of people who have come together to play music and dance. Some have constitutions and bank accounts: others are one-person organisations. Few bother with issues such as Public Liability insurance.

· The focus of these groups is a balance between social (a drink after rehearsal is as important as the actual rehearsal); fun (an interesting hobby) and performing group (where improvements in performing ability are key). A few are becoming more professional organisations, and beginning to employ administrators and arts mangers.

· The teaching methods are oral/aural. Very little is written down by either teacher or student. However a number of written materials are being made available for teaching purposes.

“Samba schools are as much about socialising and having fun, as they are about the business of dancing and playing music. Our Sunday workshops are a great way of meeting people who have a shared interest in music and performance” (London School of Samba website)
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2.0 HISTORY AND CONTEXT
Since this is the first time a report about the art form has been commissioned by the Arts Council of England, it is important to spend a little time exploring the history of the art form in Brazil, as well as the short history of it in Britain. This report does not claim to be the definitive history, but an attempt to develop a written account of the phenomena.
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2.1 AFRO-BRAZILIAN MUSIC
Brazil’s music history has evolved from the meeting of different cultures. People from West and Central African were forcibly taken to many parts of Brazil by European colonialists (mainly Portuguese) where they encountered the native Amerindian population.

This meeting of cultures during the past 400 years has evolved many different musical styles. Some have existed for centuries, whilst others have emerged fairly recently. Many emerged out of groups of African people illicitly practising their religious beliefs, known as Candomble. Often the music would be played after a religious ceremony. For example in the Pernambuco region (Northeast Brazil) Maracatu style emerged 100 years ago out of the European style marching band, but with an African twist.

“The buzz roll effect of the snares and the accents in the syncopation of the bass drums gives this rhythm a particular character.” (Jayasuriya 2000)

In Salvador, a port used extensively for slave and other trading in Bahia, a more recent musical form grew out of existing "Afoxé"/"afro" music. During the 1970’s and 80’s samba reggae evolved. With the rise of black cultural awareness around the world, reggae was incorporated into the styles the groups were playing. Thus Blocos Afros formed playing slow tempo rhythms with the accent on the offbeat. Some of these groups gained reputations all over the world (e.g. Olodum, Ile Aiye) and are still in existence today acting as cultural and community hubs.
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2.2 SAMBA MUSIC AND CARNIVAL IN BRAZIL
It is impossible to trace the origins of the music without also tracing the origins of carnival as the two are intertwined in Brazil.

There is an irony about the concept of taking carnival traditions from Brazil and building upon them in Europe, as this is precisely the reverse of what has happened over the past 150 years. Through the colonization of Brazil, Europeans introduced pre-Lent festivities in February/March into the calendar. In the early European celebrations there had always been elements of inversion of hierarchy: slaves became masters; lower ranks within the Church were allowed to run free to mock the nobility and high priests. Instead of burning incense they were allowed to “burn excrement and old shoes”.

With the abolition of slavery, people of African descent were allowed for the first time to join in the annual Carnival. It was a time of lavish consumption and often mask wearing, so that forbidden fruits could be discreetly consumed. This allowed the previously enslaved to practice and perform their traditions publicly for the first time.

The roots of samba music can be traced back to West Africa via Bahia. It has its roots in the Congo-Angola round dance known as Samba de Roda. It is a musical form that has evolved over the past 200 years reflecting both the changes in people’s fortunes and the environments in which it is played. It has therefore never been a static musical form (are any?) but there is a rhythmic flavour that can be identified.

With the abolition of slavery in 1888, many black migrants from Bahia moved to Rio. At the turn of the century it developed within the poor favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Slowly, during carnival in Rio, these groups would hold parties, and samba was born: a particular drumming and dancing style that spread like wildfire amongst all the population of Brazil. Police tried to crackdown on it (a common problem with carnival) but it was too late. Groups of musicians gathered in houses improvising songs over the top of percussive beats. New musical venues opened around the city, allowing white audiences to see the music performed for the first time. (Thompson and Avario 1999). In 1917 “Samba Telefone” became a huge hit at carnival time, and was the first recorded samba tune. By 1929, a samba carnival group called Deixa Falar (from the district of Estacio de Sa) paraded through the streets of Rio. This inspired many others. The following year 19 other groups did the same. A competition was formed judging an assortment of artistic elements. These included:-

· Music of the group (bateria, singers, guitarists and originally horns).

· The flag bearer ('Porta Bandeira')

· The theme chosen (“enredo”)

· The costume ("fantasia")

· The dancing.

Since then many styles, at different speeds, played in large or small ensembles have evolved. However there is a common rhythmic element, and for carnival in Rio and Escola de Samba must incorporate the above elements.
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2.3 HISTORY OF SAMBA IN BRITAIN.
Although there were isolated enthusiasts, and Brazilians playing samba music in Britain prior to 1984, the first group to establish themselves, and play publicly, were the London School of Samba (LSS) in 1984. Again this was a meeting of cultures, this time Brazilian and British. Bosco De Oliveira, Pato Fuentes , Alan Hayman and others musicians started the group trying to replicate the sounds of samba from Brazil. Other non-musicians joined and were encouraged to join in and were trained in the various percussion instruments.

LSS played in festivals and parades around the country. They also recorded their work. Notting Hill and WOMAD were two events that inspired many other individuals. Colin Sedden who later went on to form Inner Sense Percussion witnessed an early performance at WOMAD. The seeds were sown: without tracing every group’s history it is possible to say that almost all of them have either LSS or Inner Sense as ancestors.

However there is a lack of tradition within most of the British groups to write a history of their group. Most sambistas only have a sketchy knowledge of the history of their own group, yet alone the history of the activity in Britain or Brazil. This needs to change if an accurate record of the artform is to be kept.

In a period of 16 years it is perhaps surprising how deeply carnival street drumming is engrained into the celebratory fabric of Britain. Take a close look at the Millennium celebrations New Years Eve 1999/2000. Most groups were involved in their town's/city's New Years Eve Celebrations, including London (when L.S.S. played as a climax to the opening of the Dome), Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Southampton, Brighton to name a few. Although only a teenager as an art form, it has achieved much already.
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2.4 EVOLUTION OF THE MUSICAL FORM
As we have seen in Brazil, musical traditions from Africa mixed with European traditions to form different styles. This has happened in the Britain too. An early (and still current) discussion amongst sambistas is whether “pure” samba should be played (i.e. the style which has developed in Rio), or whether other Brazilian styles should be adopted (e.g. Maracatu, Samba Reggae). Further removed still, since the majority groups in Britain are predominantly organised by, and made up of non-Brazilians, there are some groups who are now adopting other forms of music (e.g. punk, drum ’n bass, break beat, bangra, ska) and incorporating the style into their musical arrangements.

“The musical structure is very flexible, essentially a large ensemble playing a range of percussion instruments, a back-beat, layered rhythmic cells, a stop, a start, and a set of musical events called breaks. This flexibility is an invitation to develop new musical hybrids.” (Higgins 1997)

Jimmy Rodrigues joined L.S.S. as a dancer from Brazil in 1989. He later went on to form G.R.E.S. Quilombo de Samba in 1991. This London based group tries to stay true to the Rio style samba. In his opinion, the music currently being played by groups in Britain should be divided into three: -

1. Samba from Rio (as played on parade by Quilombo; L.S.S. and more recently by Paraiso and The Edinburgh School of samba)

2. Samba from Northeast Brazil e.g. samba reggae; Maracatu (as played by Manchester School of Samba)

3. Music based on Brazilian percussion (as developed by Bloco Vomit; Samba Galez; Carnival Collective, Sambangra)

However most groups around the UK actually play a combination of all of the above in their repertoire. Very few restrict themselves to one type. There seems to be greater confidence within groups to play what they like. Some stick to the original samba form, whilst others are attempting to evolve it to encompass and reflect the musical and artistic interests of the group.
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3.0 CASE STUDIES
Since this is a relatively new art form, and it changes daily, it is difficult to present a definitive list of groups or practitioners. In appendix 1 there is a list of groups currently (September 2002) listed on the Britain and Ireland section of the world of samba Website.

In the following paragraphs I will write about a few case studies, not because they are necessarily the biggest or the best, but because they are good examples of the art form which help to describe the development and the diversity of it’s practise.
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3.1 G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres / LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (London) L.S.S is a limited company and registered charity (patron: Evelyn Glennie). The following is taken from the L.S.S. website:-

“The L.S.S. was formed in 1984 by a group of South American and European musicians who shared a love of Brazilian music and carnival tradition. Since then they have pursued their aim of teaching, performing and promoting these traditional arts and offering affordable access to percussion and dance classes in London. The London School of Samba sets out to popularise these traditional carnival arts through tuition and performance. The school is run by a committee, who are elected for a two year period at the Annual General Meeting held in November.”

The main focus of LSS is for the annual Notting Hill Carnival which last year (2001) saw the highest ever placing (2nd) in the competition. No mean feat for a Caribbean inspired carnival. L.S.S. welcomes, accommodates and instructs sambistas from around 10 different samba groups from across the British Isles and continental Europe The L.S.S. thus provides a meeting point and valuable experience to numerous other groups. It also provides publicity to Greenpeace and Survival International.

Other recent highlights of their performance calendar include performance tours to Coburg and Stockholm plus performances at Wembley Stadium, the London Marathon and The Royal Albert Hall.
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3.2 PARAISO SCHOOL OF SAMBA (London)

Paraiso are a very new addition to the community of groups in Britain. Started in 2002 by a creative team from L.S.S., led by Esteves and Henrique Da Silva who were brought up in the samba schools of Rio. They have stormed onto the samba scene as one of the highlights of Notting Hill 2002. “It was the Paraiso Samba School which stole the show with its gorgeously plumed costumes, confetti explosions, and sheer numbers” (Guardian 2002). Paraiso are attempting to follow very closely the set-up and organisation used by schools of samba in Brazil, due to the thorough experience that Paraiso's leaders have of this model.
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3.3 CARNIVAL COLLECTIVE (Brighton)

Started in 1994 following a number of people from Brighton going to the L.S.S. rehearsals. It grew informally, taking on people with music, dance and organisational skills. It is run collectively, with a Board of Members; 2 office employees and freelance workshop leaders.

It has developed both the performance side (with live break-beat, mixed with brass, visuals and dancers) and also with workshop provision. Carnival Collective is now the main samba provider for Rhythmix – the YMAZ for the southeast (see section 6).

CC applied for an Awards 4 All grant in 1997 – successfully putting on Fat Monday (a live club event written about by Lee Higgins). It has also organised large-scale events including Beating Time in 2000 (see section 4.5) and the Brighton Samba Encounter (2002). Carnival Collective is a closed band (in that it is not open to members of the public to turn up and join in) but does run regular open access workshops. At 50 members and a turnover for 2001/2002 in excess of £100,000 it is one of the larger organisations in the country.
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3.4 SAMBANDO (Leicestershire)

Sambando began in 1998 as a community music project led by North West Leicestershire District Council Arts Development working in partnership with Charnwood Arts and Mantle Community Arts. Following successful early workshops in North West Leicestershire and Charnwood, and the rapid development of a core group of members, Sambando constituted itself as the Leicestershire School of Samba and has been run and managed independently since January 1999. It has recently been awarded a three-year Regional Arts Lottery Programme award managed by East Midlands Arts for an Organisation Development Programme from 2002 - 2005. Sambando aims to develop complementary dance and visual carnival development project areas that work together to create visual carnival performance and spectacle.
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3.5 RHYTHMS OF RESISTANCE (London)

Formed in 2000 as "Slinky Pinkies", through their sister band Barking Bateria. Rhythms of Resistance are set up for different ideological reasons. Forming as a direct result of “anti-capitalist” movement of the late nineties. According to their Website: -

“Rhythms of Resistance formed as part of the Earth First action against the IMF in September 2000. A pink and silver carnival bloc, focused around a 55 piece band, detached itself from a march of 67,000 and outmaneuvered police resources defending the IMF annual summit.”

Clearly this is a very different objective to playing for fun or as a performing group: their aim is to bring protest and carnival together. They practice weekly (in a park in the summer) and are keen to encourage other band members to mestre. They meet after each practice for an hour to discuss strategy for the protests and also have a big meeting twice a year to discuss ethics, issues, and direction. It is self-funded. It's free to practice; anyone can come along. The safety of the band is also a consideration. Rhythms of Resistance takes as its inspiration the Afro Bloco movement emerging from Salvador, Bahia: -

“Whilst people often refer to us as a “samba band” we actually have more affinity with the Afro Bloc parading bands…formed as a political expression of black awareness, resisting economic exclusion.”

However Rhythms of Resistance are not alone in parading for political change. A group calling themselves Batucada Mandela played at the notorious Poll Tax demonstration in 1990. Most political protests and parades now have an accompanying musical soundtrack – of carnival street percussion.
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3.6 BEATROOTS BATERIA (Reading)

Started in 1995 from community work when an arts officer (Gavin Lombos) organised taster workshops and then set up a band. The band grew over the next few of years. For the last two they’ve been working with WOMAD and Reading council doing the procession at the Festival. According to Gavin “Lots want to join around May, just before the festival!” Initially the band was a partnership, but one individual now runs it. Larger events such as WOMAD and a performance at the Millennium River of Fire gig have helped it grow from 16 to 60-70 people. It was commissioned by Reading Borough Council to put a Millennium show together. It is also involved in the Thames Festival in 2002.
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3.7 SAMBANGRA (Manchester)

Sambangra formed in 1997 as part of a BBC Music Live event. A specific fusion project to join samba music with bangra: Latin America meets Asia in Manchester! Under the tutelage of Ian Holmes-Lewis the group have continued to evolve and are innovative in their fusion of samba and bangra traditions. They have recently been active in Manchester during the Commonwealth Games.
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3.8 SILVER SOUNDS (Brighton)
A relative newcomer to the world of samba, Silver Sounds was formed jointly by Brighton and Hove Council, and a local community music organisation (Red Zebra) in 2001. It is an older peoples group that evolved out of a wish by the council to encourage older people to be more active in the community.

It has had remarkable success performing in Italy, Blackpool and festivals and conferences around the country. Its founder Paul Martin has plans to develop more older peoples groups in Brighton and Hove, as well as encourage other councils to do the same.
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3.9 COSTUME, VISUALS AND DANCE
One of the obvious areas of difference between an observer going to Rio to see Carnival, and watching a carnival street drumming group in England would be the development of the dance and visual strands. Most groups in England wear uniform T-shirts and white trousers. They have not developed the spectacular costumes and floats which are synonymous with carnival groups in Rio or Trinidad.

Two visual artists working in the field are Charles Beauchamp and Julieta Rubio. They have been working exclusively with carnival drumming groups for the past 2 years, mainly with Quilombo, the Thames Festival and Paraiso. They have taken their visual inspiration from Brazil, but realize that it needs to be adapted for the UK. “The budgets are low but it’s not going to stop us!” As an artist, Charles is passionate about the importance of the carnival street drumming movement, as the groups perform live music on the streets, rather than sound systems being used. He believes the core ingredients of the visual, performance and live music are crucial to the success and development of the art form. “As an artist, the idea of just painting on canvas now seems redundant.”

As with costume, dance is an area that has not been developed as strongly as the music side for most carnival street drumming groups in Britain. Some groups are accompanied by two or three dancers wearing a Brazilian style costume: a bit cold and revealing for most parades in Britain. Very few groups view the dance as intrinsic as the sound of the group.

The exception to this seems to be the groups in London that have been formed by, or in collaboration with, Brazilians (L.S.S, Quilombo, Paraiso). These groups, following the model laid down in Rio, have dancers performing with the drummers, and a strong emphasis on costume.

Other groups (Carnival Collective amongst others) do not try to copy the guidelines coming from Brazil, but instead use the opportunity to bring other dance styles and performance skills to their parades and performances.

So why are the dance and visual sides of the art form undeveloped in comparison to the music? Are they more difficult to achieve good results quickly? Are they expensive to develop? Do they not appeal to the British participant as much as the music? In the future will we see adaptations of the dancing styles from Brazil, with a British twist? Both the dance and the visual areas of the art form seem in need of attention and development.
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4.0 REGIONAL CARNIVAL ACTIVITIES
Has the art form evolved in some areas and not so much in other? What are some of the key ingredients for success?
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4.1 LONDON
As the city with the largest population of Brazilians, London was the natural focus for samba activity originally. As previously mentioned the London School of Samba was the first, and is still perhaps the best known of groups in the UK and possibly Europe.

Other groups include Quilombo De Samba; Paraiso and Rhythms of Resistance, Rhythms of the City, although there are others within the capital.

The main event which most groups build towards is the Notting Hill Carnival. Other more recent events include Thames Festival, as well as a host of smaller events and parades in the capital. During carnival in Brazil (February/March) the groups are also busy often playing at carnival parties.

We can conclude that as a result of having a large Brazilian population, and the largest carnival in Europe, London has evolved a tradition for samba groups that follow closely the traditions of that country. However there are other cities and regions, which have developed with a larger number of samba groups per capita than the capital.
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4.2 MANCHESTER
As previously described, Inner Sense was one of the grandparents of the samba movement in Britain. It was also a very fertile ancestor that has spawned children, who have in turn have given birth to bands, activities and projects which have put Manchester at the heart of the samba scene in Britain over the past 5 years.

A brief summary of how this has developed is as follows. Having seen L.S.S. perform at WOMAD, Colin Sedden, based in Manchester, invited some musician friends to join him and formed Inner Sense Percussion Workshops (later to become Inner Sense). The group played and toured extensively between 1985 and 2000. Although they did not achieve mainstream commercial success (in terms of record sales), tens of thousands of people from islands in the North of Scotland to Cornwall were inspired by their performances, which were often accompanied by workshops. Out of Inner Sense a number of educators have evolved including:

Eddie Sherwood and Jan Dzaran (Inner Sense); Tony Watt: (Manchester School of Samba); Ian Holmes-Lewis (Sambangra); Ravin Jayasuriya (One Voice Music); Leon Patel (Bang Drum).
(For a fuller list and contact details see Appendix 2)

There have also been projects developed that have showcased the artform to a huge audience, therefore encouraging more to take part, and the funding authorities to see it’s potential. These include:-

1. Manchester 5000 (1995 – 2001): an event devised by Dave Moutrey and Tony Watt in 1995 which involved master classes and a performance in the Streets Ahead Festival. This event grew in numbers annually until 1,200 drummers and dancers took to the streets in 1999.

2. Big Drum 2001 and Big Drum Too: an event involving Trans Express, Manchester International Arts, Ecodecor and Ian Holmes-Lewis which lead to performances in Street Ahead Festival, Manchester Commonwealth Games (2002) and Paris New Years Eve (2001).

However there are other elements that are crucial to the success and development of the artform in Manchester.

1. Manchester International Arts and the Streets Ahead Festival: the encouragement of an arts production company, and a Street Arts Festival of national significance, gave a stage for large-scale samba performances. The partnership with an organisation that understands street art; large-scale performance work; fundraising; arts management and administration should not be underestimated. This is also true in Brighton through the help of Zap Productions

2. Dave Moutrey: most people attracted to the samba scene in Britain are inspired by the music. Some happen to be animateurs – people who can make things happen by forming partnerships. This is crucial to the region’s success and Dave Moutrey made it happen in Manchester even though in his view “organising sambistas in like herding cats!”

3. Ecodecor (now called IDC Ltd): this educational establishment delivers meaningful accredited training programmes, with community arts being a cornerstone of their activity. Their help in funding (through education) lead to the financial viability of the projects.
Interestingly neither North West Arts, the Arts Council of England or Manchester City Council have been the main catalysts of these activities.

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4.3 BRIGHTON
Brighton has seen an explosion in Carnival Street drumming activity over the past 3 years. There are now 7 groups in and around Brighton and Hove (Carnival Collective; Brincadeira; Silver Sounds; Barulho; Beach Bateria; Samba Sensational; Varndean Samba Band). All of these stem from the activities of Carnival Collective, many of them formed through workshops the group gave to members of the community for a project in 2000 called Beating Time. During the annual Children’s Parade at the Festival, 20-30 of the schools feature carnival street drumming groups. Samba has now been weaved into the fabric of the city. How has this happened?

It is no coincidence that like Manchester, Brighton has a very strong street arts culture. Recognition of the potential that carnival street drumming has in encouraging participation in celebratory activities has been nurtured by Zap Productions (organiser of the annual National Street Arts Festival). Other factors include:-

1. An enthusiastic council who value arts activity as a cornerstone of the development of the city.

2. A prominent and supportive annual Festival. The Brighton Festival is the largest arts festival in England.

3. An understanding of the art form, and an officer with Street Arts in their remit within Southeast Arts (now SSEA).

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4.4 SCOTLAND
There seems to be an abundance of groups in Scotland. Many remote islands have their own groups. It seems that the art form is successful in bringing a small community together too. Inner Sense are certainly partly responsible as they toured extensively in Scotland during the 1990s. The Edinburgh School of Samba has recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a spectacular parade at the Edinburgh Cavalcade (the opening event of the Edinburgh Festival). It acts as a focal point for many of the Scottish sambistas to gather each year, as well as attracting other sambistas from around the country. The school has recently developed a homegrown enredo section with Scottish people singing in Portuguese, and playing cavaquinho. Another Festival that is growing in popularity (and attention from authorities) is the annual Beltane (May 1st) Festival. It could be said that the Beltane drums as a community/participatory artform are currently very much a result of (at least influenced by) the development of samba in Edinburgh.
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4.5 EASTERN BLOCO
The samba bands in the East of England have set up a communication network to inform each other of gigs, events and workshops happening in their region. The Suffolk School of Samba, along with groups from Cambridge, Ipswich, Luton, Norfolk, Kings-Lyn and Peterborough communicate with each other through e-mail. Many sambistas come together for the Luton Carnival (May), the Beford River Festival, as well as other carnivals in the region. The Eastern Bloco has not as yet organised events themselves, but may do so in the future.
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4.6 DROGHEDA FESTIVAL – IRELAND
The following is an extract form the festival website (www.droghedasambarestival.com):-

“Drogheda Samba Festival first took place in 1994 as part of the Drogheda 800 celebrations, held to mark the 800 anniversary of the town's charter. The focus of the festival is very much on samba music, dance and costume but it is gradually broadening to include other forms of Latin music, percussion from other continents and street performance”

It has grown to be one of Europe's leading annual samba festivals, along with Coburg (Germany) and Helsinki (Finland).
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5.0 DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
In May 2002 Carnival Collective organised a conference in Brighton. The 60 participants from 40 samba groups met to discuss some issues that were facing them, what their developmental needs were, and what kind of organisation might represent this blossoming art form. The discussion can be seen as representative of the needs of the groups around the UK.
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5.1 CURRENT ISSUES
Some of the issues and dilemmas facing samba groups, whatever their size include:-

· Achieving a balance between community, fun, involvement and professionalism.

· When can people join? At set points? Anytime?

· How big should groups get?

· Costume: how should the group look?

· Who makes decisions and controls the group? Some groups run by committee, some dictated to. Both have advantages and issues associated with them.

· What happens when some people want to break off and do something different?

· Managing growth: not knowing how to develop large projects e.g. carnival, and how to cope with the legacy that might result from them.

· Communication with the group.

· Managing conflict and artistic tension.

· Reliance on a few individuals.

· What are the appropriate structures, constitution and ways to organise the groups?

· Developing publicity materials.

· Health and safety issues around noise levels.

· Education and resources: professional development resources, networks, training and support for community bands.

Many issues were raised in Brighton, and informally many solutions were offered. There is still a lack of sources of information to tackle many of the organisational issues.
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5.2 SETTING UP A SAMBA GROUP: BEST PRACTISE?
Madeline Hutchins, a freelance arts trainer with a wealth of experience in the development of arts organisations drew some conclusions from the issues raised. These could be seen as an attempt at defining how best to set up a carnival street drumming group:-

1. Choose an identity. Decide why you are getting together: is it for social, musical, political reasons or just for fun?

2. Evolve your membership, through workshops and performance.

3. Set up as a legal entity with a constitution (you can't get funding without one, and it helps clarify to you and others who you are), but don't let your constitution run your group.

4. Set up a solid organisational structure. This can act as a protective layer as your band develops. It should underpin what you do (make and perform music) not get in the way of it. People will be happier funding you if they know who's who in your band, and how you organise yourselves.(e.g. decide who organises gigs, who deals with the finances, who is responsible for publicity etc)

5. Decide/create/evolve the style of the group. Keep some flexibility.

6. Agree how decisions are to be made, and how internal communication will work (e-mail, telephone,rehearsals, meetings etc)

7. Market yourself externally.

Two areas for development which were identified by Madelaine were:-

1. Advise on the requirements for legal structure: unincorporated association (simplest and most likely); sole trader (individual legal responsibility); partnership (in effect, two or more sole traders who are jointly and severally liable. More developed is being “incorporated” (the organisation is a 'legal person': its own legal identity. "It" can enter into contracts, employee people, and go bust).

2. Insurance advise: whatever the structure a group performing in public and giving workshops needs public liability insurance.

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5.3 NATIONAL NETWORKING ASSOCIATION
For the final two hours the group split up again to discuss what needs samba bands had on a national level. The following were mentioned and the 60 individuals present were almost unanimous in agreement for their need:

1. Develop a UK-wide network: some e-mail based, some through Website and some face to face.

2. Develop the samba group Website with links to others.

3. Apply for initial funding to establish an ongoing membership organisation to help the development of samba in the UK (not just England)

The organisation would: -

· Facilitate the network of sambistas.

· Be an information resource including sign-posting for help. Most of this would be web based.

· Organise an annual get-together (not just playing music).

· Organise an annual showcase.

· Use national and international experience of how best to operate.

· Develop and share expertise and resources.

· Offer training.

· Exchange information between groups.

· Develop the profile and collective voice of samba groups with press, bookers, funders and the public.

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6.0 EMPLOYMENT; TRAINING and LINKS WITH INSTITUTIONS
As a relatively new art form there are few people working full time within it, yet alone working within an employment structure. As Jermyn wrote in her report on Street arts and Circus: “As in other cultural sectors, a variety of different working models exist.” (Jermyn, 2001)

The vast majority of people involved in the art form see it as a hobby, which at best does not cost them to participate in. Most pay a small annual subscription to be trained and be part of the samba school. The group also raises funds through playing paid gigs and busking. This pays for travel to gigs; hire of rehearsal space; maintenance of instruments; costume making and maintenance; payment for a tutor to lead the group and other expenses that occur. The charges which many groups set are significantly under the rates set by Musician's Union.

However there is an increase in the demand for Carnival Street drumming workshops. This can be seen in three major areas. The first of these areas is in schools. Government policy towards music tuition is steering towards greater opportunity for participation in music making opportunities. Carnival Street drumming workshops fulfils this policy by offering large numbers of children an opportunity to play in an ensemble setting in a relatively short period of time. Some of the leading organisations involved with this include: Youth Music Action Zones (including Rhythmix; More Music Morecombe and Soundhouse); Sambawamba; Carnival Collective.

A list (not complete) of musical, dance and visual workshop leaders who make a significant proportion of their income from samba related activities are in Appendix 2.

The second area is in the development of Carnival Street drumming workshops in a corporate setting. With an increase in focus on the need for creativity in industry, more and more business trainers are looking towards arts practise for inspiration. Arts & Business are leaders in the field of developing this practise. Catalyst Events are the country’s leading provider of Carnival Street drumming workshops to companies in the UK and Europe.

The third area is training the mestres: as more samba groups evolve, and as more groups are asked to provide workshops for schools and businesses, there is a growing demand from the mestres of groups for further development. The main providers and promoters of this are One Voice Music; Dudu Tuci; Barak Schmool.

Those who are working within the art form tend to be self-employed and have a variety of sources of income. The majority of their samba-derived income would come from giving workshops to schools, businesses and other community groups.

Some of the institutions and organisations most involved in training are:-

Dudu Tucci is a Master Percussionist who was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Dudu has been living and teaching in Berlin since 1982. Since 1986 he has been spreading his knowledge through Germany, which has lead to the emergence of over 100 groups there. He also regularly visits the UK to teach groups.

One Voice Music was established in 1996 by Ravin Jayasuriya to “promote the teaching and performance of Afro Brazilian and Afro Cuban music in the UK.” OVM organises workshops over the period of a weekend, or more advanced residential courses over a period of a year, including learning trips to Cuba. Ravin trains many of the “mestres” (musical conductors) of the samba bands around the country.

Barak Schmool is a World Music specialist at the Royal Academy of Music. He teaches music teachers to draw upon other musical traditions, drawing inspiration from “rhythmic art”. Barak is interested in establishing courses on best practise for teaching.

Ecodecor / IDC Institute: runs accredited training programmes for a number of clients mainly in the field of widening participation in the arts. They have been instrumental in the developing Manchester scene, and have produced teaching materials for use in schools and other community settings, in collaboration with OVM.

Youth Music Action Zones: 20 centres have been established around the country for the development of music teaching to young people, out of school hours. Most have offered some carnival street percussion style music projects to young people. One (Rhythmix in the Southeast) has samba as a core part of it’s offering.

More Music Morecombe has become the centre for community music in the North of England. A company Limited by guarantee with charitable status, it organises weekends of samba tuition (amongst other activities). It is also the country’s first Youth Music Action Zone.

Soundhouse, based in Plymouth, is an educational college housing performing groups including Weapons of Sound, Real Steel and Jamsamba. Recent projects have included the Golden Jubilee procession in London, as well as the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

Sambawamba are based in Nottingham. A break-off from the Nottingham School of Samba, Matt Anderson has secured capital funding to develop a participatory music technology apparatus. In his own words Matt is “using the sense of collective music making, and working that into new musical forms.”

Sound Sense: is a national organisation promoting good practise within community music. One of its directors is Lee Higgins who was one of the first to document the evolution of Carnival Street Drumming. It also commissions research into current issues within music education.

Catalyst Events are based in Cumbria. One of the creative options they offer company employees is called “Beatswork” which involved Carnival Street drumming for groups of people between 35 and 1,200. They own 1,200 samba instruments, and put an estimated 15,000 business people through workshops each year.

It is apparent from some of the above examples that on a regional level, there are numerous examples of Carnival Street drumming being applied in diverse educational settings.

A recent report commissioned by Sound Sense makes important reading for the samba group community. “Tuning Up” looks at the “rationales behind various types of agency providing music services, and attempts to develop an overview within which different ways of working can be accommodated.” (Peggie, 2002). The report highlights how samba, and other World Popular Styles (e.g. bhangra, steel pan, gospel) are interesting to educators as they have a high “joining in” factor. Peggie argues that it is important for education and funding bodies to recognise this, but also to ensure that there is a progression from joining in to develop continuing opportunities for music making, perhaps even to making a career in music.
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7. THE FUTURE
The report so far seems to highlight a flourishing of activity. A new inspiring art form has developed and is blossoming all over the country. What need is there to do anything to nurture it? How will it look in 10 years time?

In 1997, Higgins thought that we had reached a plateau in the formation of new bands. This has not been the case: there are more and more forming each week. He also asks whether carnival street drumming will develop into “a new kind of music that has a wide appeal and ensures a longevity beyond the community musician’s expectations?” This report seems to indicate that this is well on the way to happening. However whilst some groups focus on the traditions of the art form (samba) others are exploring new forms (e.g.breakbeat). Similarly the education system is beginning to recognise and encourage the infectious nature of the art form.

In 2012 will most schools have samba groups? Will every carnival in Britain have samba groups parading through the streets? Will some of the innovative and established groups record their work and achieve commercial sales success? Will the art form change the very nature of how Britain comes together to celebrate? Difficult to predict but we can draw some conclusions and make recommendations about how to develop the art form.
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7.1 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

· Defining a common language will help avoid confusion.

· The art form is large and growing rapidly with approximately 300 groups; gives workshops to an estimated 70,000 people each year; performs to an estimated 6 million people each year.

· Samba groups are as much social groups as they are arts organisations.

· Samba groups could be described as at an elementary level of organisation.

· Little is written about the history of the art form in Britain; more has been written about it in Brazil.

· The musical form is constantly evolving with many groups in Britain pioneering new fusions.

· Some of the key ingredients for success in developing the art form in a region or city include:-

i. The presence of a Brazilian population.
ii. A high profile carnival or festival in the area.
iii. The encouragement of an arts production company.
iv. An enthusiastic animateur to form partnerships.
v. Linking-up with an educational partner.
vi. Enthusiastic local council.
vii. Support from Regional Arts Board.

· Practitioners of the art form have come together and clearly stated what the issues are and what their development needs are.

· Whilst the musical form is the most developed in this country, the dance and visual elements as important and are too often overlooked by the groups.

· The employment structure within the art form are basic to non-existent

· There are a number of established educational organisations that have grown out of the art form and understand it well.

· There is much anecdotal but little documentation on the health benefits of participation in regular percussion ensemble playing.

· There has been little research, but growing fear amongst sambistas of the possible detrimental effect of the art form. This might be due to the volume and repetitive strain of drumming.

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7.2 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

· Utilise the existing fabric of communication within the art form. This includes:-

Samba in Britain and Ireland website: www.sambistas.org.uk
UK sambistas mailing list: sambistas_list_uk@yahoogroups.com
International sambistas mailing list: sambistas@tardis.ed.ac.uk

· Sambistas should come together and set up an association of samba groups. Apart from lessons they can learn from each other, an association can be funded and can therefore support the networking infrastructure (e.g. mailing lists; website; meetings etc).

· The funding and development of the association, and the samba groups within it, could come from education and health sources, as well as arts funding.

· Samba groups should ensure their correct details are on the Britain and Ireland World of Samba Website, and that one member of the group is on the UK sambistas mailing list. This way they can truly network together.

· The Arts Council should:-

i. Recognise the importance of the art form (which it is doing by attending events and commissioning the writing of this report)
ii. Encourage the forming of the association.
iii. Fund the association when it is formed.
iv. Help educate the Regional Arts Boards and ensure there is someone in each area that has carnival arts (including samba groups) in their remit.

· There should be greater focus on the development of dance and costume: if the artistic lessons of carnival inspiration from Brazil are to be followed then there needs to be more attention to the dance and visual elements of the performing groups. The musical side of most groups’ performances is polished: however they look dull. The groups who do not look dull have gone to considerable time and expense.

· The music education system needs to understand the benefits of the “joining-in” advantages that the musical form has over European Classical traditions. This is beginning to happen.

· Educators in the field need to understand the relationship between joining-in and how it can evolve through training into sustained musical progress. Some of the educators and organisations involved in percussion ensembles.

· Similarly within the dance and visual areas, stimulation to get large numbers of people to join-in could be the key to developing these aspects of the art form. Similarly whilst the music is inspired from Brazilian samba, groups are unafraid to evolve it: dance and visual aspects can embrace this concept.

· More research and education is needed into the potential dangers of the art form. The most obvious danger is the exposure to loud music by thousands of children and sambistas during rehearsal, performance and workshops. The association could do this research.

Participating actively in community carnival events is potentially a key to unlock many of the social problems that exist in today’s towns and cities across Britain. If the recommendations set out above come into fruition, there is no reason to doubt that a celebratory, participative, vibrant carnival tradition will continue to evolve in Britain.
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9.1 APPENDIX 1
Below is a list of samba groups currently listed on the Britain and Ireland section of the world of samba Website. For full details, please refer to the Website www.sambistas.org.uk

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9.2 APPENDIX 2
Below is a list of tutors and practitioners who currently make a significant proportion of their income from samba activities:-
(Ask webmestre for contact information)

The following organisations are also mentioned in the report:-

Sound Sense
Sambawamba
Soundhouse
Catalyst Events