Jambalaya Teachers
Rodrigo Delano & Adriana Coutinho: Zouk
We are very excited to have two of the world’s leading Zouk dancers direct From Brazil at Jambalaya 2012, Adriana is current world Zouk champion, and also took out the title in 2010 with her previous dance partner. (See clip below)
Adriana is now dancing with the world famous Zouk master, Rodrigo Delano. Rodrigo has a prestigious dance school in the province of Belo Horizonte, he is known internationally as one of the creators of new Zouk in Brazil, which originated from the Caribbean. The continuity, fluidity and head movements of the woman are the strong unique features of the Brazilian Zouk style, which defines this exciting and rapidly growing dance style.
Adrian and Rodrigo will teach an immersion course as well as performing in the Saturday night international dance showcase.
Mestre Fred: Samba percussion
Mestre Fred (Fred Turuka), currently the Mestre de Batería of the London School of Samba (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres) and has been the director of many UK based samba groups in over his career in samba.
Now focusing on Rio-style Samba, Fred has been noted for teaching various Samba Funk rhythms in the UK over the last ten years. Fred has experience playing in Rio samba schools and blocos including Monobloco and Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel and now focuses on Rio samba as well as investigating aspects of Samba Fusion to energize new ritimistas into the samba scene with a potentially a little familiarity.
Stephen Taberner: Choir Leader
Stephen
Taberner is a singer, songwriter, double bass player, composer and choirleader
based in Melbourne and most notorious as the musical director of the Spooky
Men's Chorale.
As well as traveling to festivals and learning songs from
Bulgarians, Georgians, South Africans and Tanzanians, he discovered a
love for teaching singing which led to the establishment of his first
community choir in 1993. In 1996 and 1998 Stephen was co-director of the
Choral Sea, a singing event at Sydney's Town Hall with over 700 participants,
and since he has become a highly sought-after choir and workshop leader,
facilitating workshops throughout Australasia.
Stephen draws on nearly 20 years of experience to offer insights into blending, arranging, performing skills, different uses of the voice, rhythmic components and the use of humour through a dizzying range of songs from almost everywhere in the world! He has taught choirs in NZ to rave reviews.
Tony Backhouse: Vocal Arranger, Choir Director
Tony Backhouse founded Australia’s foremost a cappella gospel choir Café of the Gate of Salvation in 1986, and directed it for 21 years.
He arranged and composed the bulk of their repertoire and still writes music regularly for them. He founded a cappella choir the Honeybees and has directed and sung with reclusive male a cappella trio Heavenly Lights since 1996.
Roi Colbert, New Zealand ListenerBackhouse is Australasia's premier arranger and teacher of a cappella gospel. Tim Finn says he is quite simply the finest vocal arranger he knows and Sam Neill reckons he's a national treasure.
Martin Wesley-Smith, composerTony Backhouse has been, and continues to be, a major influence on music in Sydney and beyond. The a cappella revival is almost entirely due to him.
Yaw Boeteng: African drum and dance
Yaw Boateng is an accomplished experienced musician and dancer from Ghana, born into Royal family, where music and dance was an integral part of everyday life.
From his childhood and through continuous study of traditional Ghanaian music, Yaw has become a master drummer, dancer and composer.
Yaw is the lead singer, composer and inspiration behind Zoh Zoh and will also teach an African dance workshop with live percussion. Not to be missed!
Budi: Samba Percussion
Budi is a drummer / percussionist / vocalist / composer / producer / teacher who is also the frontman of Wicked Aura, a 12 piece band that plays, for lack of a better term, a hybrid of Samba, Punk and Funk and all else in between. The 90's saw him fronting and writing songs for the now defunct rock band, Crack Healer and drumming stints in local indie bands like Etc and The Padres. His career have also seen him playing percussions with countless local and international DJs like Chris Ho, Aldrin and Basement Jaxx, to name a few.
His ongoing sonic adventures with Wicked Aura has seen him collaborating and sharing festival bills with the likes of Chico Cesar, Cut Copy, The Dhol Foundation, The Beastie Boys, Robert Plant, Femi Kuti, Billy Cobham and many more artists from a wide spectrum of genres.
On the flipside, Budi has been active in the education field since the late 90s. He started Project Stomptroopers, a performing group of young special needs children who combine elements of dance, theatre and percussion. He also started and still currently directs the Singapore Management University, Samba Masala, an Afro-Brazilian percussion ensemble that fuses Asian ethnic rhythms, in 2003. Samba Masala's achievements include collaborations and performances in UCLA (USA), the Drogheda Samba Festival (Ireland) and the Coburg Samba Festival in Germany.
Fabio Robles & Ana Andre: Tango
Fabio Robles and Ana Andre are the 2005 and 2006 consecutive Australian Tango Champions in the stage category, and were semi finalists at the 2006 World Championship held in Buenos Aires.
When Fabio arrived in Australia at the age of 14, he had already been awarded with the qualification of Maestro Superior de Danzas Folkloricas and was a registered dance teacher in Argentina. Recognized internationally as a virtuoso dancer of Malambo, Fabio pioneered Latin American Dance in Australia. He has danced, choreographed and directed many tango shows, and recently appeared on 'Dancing with the Stars' in Australia.
Ana has a background in modern dance, martial arts, Portugese Fado singing, acting and modelling.
Fabio Robles and Ana Andre have been dancing Tango together since 2002, and teach and manage Back To Back Australia Latin American Performing Arts Studio in Melbourne. Fabio and Ana are popular teachers in New Zealand, their first rate showmanship on stage is backed up by a fun teaching style based on a rock solid grasp of tango fundamentals and up to date knowledge of modern style and technique.
Taupuhi Toki: Breakdance/Hip Hop
Taupuhi Toki has been teaching Breakdance for over 10 years and is a member of Bboy Crew Instance Movement and Odyssey Hip Hop Crew, who competed at the world Hip Hop Champs in Las Vegas 2009.
Toki is also the Lead Choreographer for New Native Dance, and will be performing with them in The Jambalaya Dance Show.
Matt Gibbons: Breakdance, Body popping
Matt Gibbons is a freelance professional dancer and award winning choreographer. He has trained in many forms of dance and theatre since studying 15 years ago at the Wellington Performing Arts Center.
Matt has danced and choreographed for companies such as Touch Compass, the Vivid performance group and Jambalaya. These shows have regularly taken Matt on national and international tours, opening his eyes to many kinds of dance and theatre. He has made a number of full-length theatre shows, one of which was awarded best dance in the 2004 NZ Fringe Festival. In 2009 he was invited to be on the panel of Tempo, the Auckland dance festival. He has performed for 6 years in the largest New Zealand theatre show, the Montana World of Wearable arts.
Popping workshop
Popping is a dance form that has been developing globally since beginning in the late 70's in the U.S.A. People have many names for styles of popping such as Boogaloo, The Robot, Liquid or The Moonwalk. It is commonly danced to Funk or Electro music.
Matt has a keen interest in the technical and illusionary art of popping. Since enjoying 'Bopping' as a young boy in the early 80's he has travelled for dance and been lucky to meet some of the originators and developers of the form.
The body isolations, muscle flexes, footwork and fluid wave motions of body popping will be explored in this workshop.
Currently Matt runs a weekly breakdance open floor night and is in production on his first feature film, 'Floyd'.
Joko Susilo: Shadow Puppets and Gamelan
Joko was born in 1963 at family home in the village of Mojopuro in Central Java, Indonesia. His four sisters and himself were taught how to play the gamelan instruments and Javanese dance. His father, having come from a dalang family, began performing at the age of twelve years and studied shadow puppetry at the Kraton Kasunanan, Solo in 1952.
When Joko was three years old his father began to take him to his performances and he began to develop a knowledge of the wayang stories, wayang characters and gamelan melodies. At ten years of age he performed his first all-night wayang kulit play.
In 1982 he graduated from high school and enrolled at the tertiary institution of Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (STSI) in Solo to study the art of shadow puppetry. He graduated in 1986 and became a lecturer in the pedalangan department at STSI in 1987. He continued to perform all-night wayang kulit plays and lecture at STSI until he travelled to New Zealand in 1993 to live in Dunedin with his NZ wife and children. He finished his doctorate at Otago University in 2000.
Natasha and Simon: Swing dance
Natasha and Simon found swing five years ago and have been hooked ever since. They have travelled extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand, learning from some of the best local and international teachers they could get their hands on.
With amazing passion and drive to share their knowledge and skills with anyone they meet, they started teaching as a way to pass on what they have learnt, learn more about the dance, and help grow New Zealand's enthusiastic swing scene.
In 2010 they placed first in the Strictly Lindy and Jack and Jill sections of the '100% Pure Swing' competition here in Auckland. In 2011 they were invited back as judges. 2011 also marked the launch of Swing Out Central with 3 swing venues around Auckland. Known for their fun and friendly classes with a strong emphasis on good technique and interesting lead and follow based moves, they create a wonderfully warm and welcoming atmosphere wherever they teach.
Mal Webb: Beatbox/Vocal Percussion
Around the world and into your gob, vocal explorer and songwriter Mal Webb takes you on a lip to lung journey through the physics, physiology and phrivolity of all the sounds a face can make.
Sideways yodelling, beatbox/mouthdrums/vocal percussion, harmonics/throat singing, mic technique, uvular fluttering, advanced clapping, vocal distortion (without hurting) and Inuit panting (way beyond Rolf Harris) are all explored on the way to being a band with your voice and the lead singer too.
Max Maxwell: Ukelele
Max has had a love of music from the time he took piano lessons as a young lad in Scotland. He is well known as a community choir leader, having led the Heaven Bent Gospel Choir for 7 years and run singing workshops throughout NZ. He currently leads the 80 strong "Sing For Joy" Choir which he founded in 2008.
Max’s musical interests are wide and varied and include playing traditional Zimbabwean music with the Mhara Marimba Band and leading the
Uke N Sing ukulele group and running ukulele classes and working with groups.
His mixed vocal and instrumental background and arranging experience prompted him to offer the
“Beyond the Tab – Creating Arrangements” workshop in this year’s program.
Learn some basic chords and strumming techniques through applying them to songs, come out with a few new songs at the end!
First session “Beginner Ukulele” “This is a fun introduction to the joys of ukulele playing. Suitable for beginners.”.
Second session “Ukulele: adding spice to songs” “In this workshop we will take some basic songs and explore ways to add interest through fingerpicking, strumming variations etc. Suitable for people who have at least basic playing experience."
Bring own Ukulele there will also be some to borrow
Junior: Capoeira
Fernando Leite Junior was born in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
He was first introduced to Capoeira in 1988 by his father Mestre Pop, a greatly respected Capoeira Master. After 7 years of training and obtaining a required graduation level he became an instructor and was authorized by his Master to teach Capoeira in his city.
While in Brazil he worked in several academies, gyms and clubs teaching Capoeira and he has dedicated himself to teaching students of all ages and backgrounds, not only the fundamentals of capoeira, but his philosophy of respect and integrity.
He was awarded a graduated student status and then achieved Professor Certification in 2002, immigrating to New Zealand in the following year with the duty of teaching Capoeira to New Zealanders.
Junior started to teach in July 2004 at Auckland University and has been instructing the Auckland University Students Association (AUSA) Capoeira Club and the Recreation Programme run by the Recreation Centre for the past 3 years, with a large amount of success.
Schirin Diba: Belly dance
Schirin is a belly dancer from the heart! From an early age she was exposed to Middle Eastern/Central Asian dance and music due to her Persian heritage. From an early age on she has studies classical ballett, jazz/contemporary dance, various ethnic dances, yoga and eventually began her love affair with belly dance in 2003. She has had the honour to study with many great teachers around the globe. In 2011 she was living a three month dance immersion in California, studying belly dance, fusion and world dances.
Schirin gets great fullfillment from teaching and sharing the art of belly dance with the community. She loves to bridge the physical and spiritual benefits of dance. Schirin revels in the connections made between people across cultures and traditions through dance and music.
Peter Miles Kartu: International music educator
Peter Kartu BA(mus) is a multi-instrumentalist and international music educator, who has for the last 10 years, been bringing the playing and teaching of Cuban music to Sydney and now the world, through his music school,
TresMambo.
He is a gifted teacher who has many different ways of getting through to different types of students. Many of his graduates are now part of the Sydney salsa band scene.
In 2010-11 he was invited on a cultural exchange mission to Cuba, workshopping and performing with bands all across the country. In the spirit of exchange, he volunteered his “free time” to repair instruments found Cuban schools and in the hands of Cuban musicians.
Travels to Spain, Malta and Africa in 2011 have lead to the TresMambo Latin Music School going international and now workshops are planned for many territories in 2012-13.
Pete has been learning, performing and teaching world flavored music for 30 years. He graduated with a double degree in Composition and Music Technology from the Universty of Western Sydney in 1995.
Band Credits have included: Havana Siete: (Spain) All-In-Jazz: (Spain) TresMambo Big Band: Timba Partida: 2-5-1 duo: El Zumo Salsa: Café Sur: Jive Kayana: Music Liberates Feet, Melodius Thunk: Nahbenzi and numerous jazz ensembles.
Though trumpet and bass are his favorite instruments he plays just about anything that can make a sound. This diversity has helped him develop a real powerhouse teaching style that carries students to places they never thought they would reach.
Graziela: Samba dance
Everyone can see in Graziela a fiery passion for dance that seems almost inbuilt. She has proved to have a special sparkle while on stage that she says comes from many years of practice, dedication and love. Graziela started dancing ballet at the age of 3 and never stopped. Ballet both classical and contemporary were her passion until a trip to Australia to learn English in 2001 and an invitation from Latin Dance Australia to teach salsa and samba. She has performed for various Australian TV shows and several events around the world.
Carolyne Taplin: Nia dance
Carolyne a born teacher and joyful dancer, began her dancing life at the age of age five, learning Classical Ballet and adding Modern dance and Tai Chi as a teenager.
Carolyne began her Nia journey in 2009, she trained to become a Nia instructor in 2010 and then a 5 Stages Apprentice in 2011. She loves sharing the freedom within the form and the yin-yang balance of this incredible blend of creative wisdom, martial arts, precision and dance arts, expression and healing arts.
Carolyne is a professionally certified Adult Educator making education her life’s work. Through her classes, workshops, website and blog she encourages everyBody to become body literate Carolyne personifies exuberance for LIFE as a learning journey. She invites you to celebrate your body and increase the pleasure of living in it at one of her classes.
Soufiane Karim: Hip Hop dance
"Old School to the New School "
2 workshops to share the passion of a culture actively alive and in constant evolution...
Old school Funkstyle as Lockin' / Poppin' Boogaloo are his favourite style in Hip Hop, but Soufiane knows about all different kind of Hip Hop styles...and he will make you discovering his own style and feeling about his dance passion... From old school style to new school and house... Soufiane will make you discovering his way of learning Soufiane Karim and re-discovering your body in different dance o moving situations to built knowledge for being conscious of your skills and develop your own style!
The both workshops can be taken separately but the both gives you complete idea of his work..."
Amo Ieriko: Pacific drum & dance
"With over ten years experience as a Coordinator, Performer and Youth Leader, Amo is cultured in Faa-Samoa, with a good understanding of protocols in neighboring Island nations and Tikanga Maori
He is trained in the various drumming styles throughout Polynesia. He uses his drumming skills to choreograph dance and music performance and teach others."
"Polynesian Sasa Percussion Workshop & Sasa Movement Workshop Tutors: Amo Ieriko & Maile Giffin Sasa Percussion Workshop (45mins)
Drums have there own language and soul, it comes not through listening but feeling its vibes. Learn the different rhythms and tones of Polynesian drumming in a hands-on environment. Learn how to make certain rhythm speak different moods. You are welcome to bring your own drum or any method of producing percussion language. All drummers are invited to drum for the Sasa Movement Workshop
Sasa Movement Workshop (45mins) Majority of Polynesian dance motifs speaks or describes everyday life chores or stories. The Samoan Sasa is no different. A mostly seated dance, we will draw from a favorite Kiwi past time i.e. sun bathing on the beach to form a routine with lost of hand movements, body slapping, legs shaking and loud Polynesian vocals. Be prepared to sweat! Wear something comfortable."
Jaime Jesus: Salsa dance
Jaime Jesus: Professional Dancer, Dance Instructor, MC and Event organizer
Australian Salsa Champion: 2002, 2004 & 2006 3rd Place World Salsa Championships, Los Angeles Club Mayan
JAIME JESUS is the man behind LDA, Australia's largest dance school, Sydney Latin Festival, one of the largest Latin Dance festivals in the world, a renowned performer, judge from ABC's Strictly Come Dancing, consecutive Australian Salsa Champion, Choreographed for 'Dancing With The Stars', Mr Jaime Jesus!! Known as one of the most knowledgeable and personable MCs in the Latin Industry, Jaime MC's international festivals around Australia and the world!
- Ambassador of www.latinlover.com.au
- Director of www.latindance.com.au
- Director of www.sydneylatinfestival.com.au
As a performer Jaime has turned himself into one of the most sought after dancer’s world wide. His original style and trade mark choreographies have taken audiences by storm and landed him international offers to perform in
swingFX: West Coast Swing
swingFX have been teaching West Coast Swing in Auckland, New Zealand for the last 5.5 years. The dance style originated out of the west coast of America and is currently exploding around the world with countries like the UK, France, Russia, Singapore, South America and Australia to name just a few!
This partner dance has so much to offer, there is some fabulous technique involved, the opportunity for amazing musicality and the chance to just have a great time having a conversation with your partner & the music.
Tina has been dancing for 20 years learning west coast swing, ballroom, latin, lindy, modern jive, salsa, night club two step, country two step & many more. She has been competing and placing at WCS events in Australia, New Zealand & USA, winning at the Texas Classic in 2011. She has been teaching WCS for over 6 years.
Workshop: An introduction to West Coast Swing (WCS), a fun partner dance danced to popular music. The workshop will cover the fundamentals of WCS using several of the basic patterns to get you dancing a sequence by the end of the workshop.
Vivio: Rueda Salsa
Vivio teaches, performs and choreographs under the name The Cuban Groove.
A highly accredited Cuban dancer, with more than 35 years experience in the dance world, he bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to New Zealand dancers and audiences.
Whether you join a class, or witness a live performance, you'll be captivated by his magical presence on the dance floor, and fun loving approach to teaching.
He has been performing and teaching in Auckland and nationwide since arriving here in 2002, sharing the hot, sexy and sublime rhythms of Cuba and the Caribbean!
Rueda de Casino description
The Rueda (meaning wheel) originated in Cuba and is a really popular way to dance the famous Cuban Salsa known as Casino! Couples dance in a circle, with one leader calling a move, which all dancers execute. Most moves finish by changing partners in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.
Irina Kapeli: Tango
Irina Kapeli, the owner of the Dance Pro Studios began her dance career with Rhythmics Gymnastics and Ballet in Moscow at the age of 6. Since then she has also picked up Salsa, Argentine Tango, Russian Folk, Gypsy and has explored Modern Dance and Contemporary, Hip Hop, Modern Jive, Burlesque and others.
She has completed Polestar Pilates and Zumba/ Zumba Toning Courses. Irina has performed Nationally and Internationally, she has choreographed and produced her own dance shows, taught all over New Zealand and has been involved in numerous National events as an organizer and lately also as a judge.
Those include: New Zealand Salsa Championships 2011, Kiwi Classic 2011( judge), Le Bop Open Modern Jive Championship 2010. Irina and her teams have won numerous placings in competitions for all sorts of dance styles. Her latest achievement is first place in the 2011 NZ Ceroc Championships Advanced
This workshop will be an introduction to forward and backwards volcadas that will help you decorate your Argentine Tango freestyle and stage work
Jorge (Coco) Sequeiros : Bachata
Jorge (Coco) Sequeiros was born in Peru, South America and has been living in New Zealand since November 1991 and dancing Salsa for as long as he can remember.
Salsa being a passion for him wasn’t enough so it also became his way of life, a way of life which he is trying to share with New Zealanders so that they also will know the passion of the dancing, music, food and culture of his homeland.
Coco considers his Salsa style to be a Kiwi style originally derived from a combination of the Salsa of Peru and the Salsa danced in New Zealand.
In December 2006 Coco represented New Zealand with the Latin Dance Troupe Salsamba in the teams event at the 2nd World Salsa Championships held in Las Vegas, including performing in the semi-finals round.
In January 2007 Coco represented New Zealand, also with the Latin Dance Troupe Salsamba, at the 2007 Sydney Salsa Congress.
Coco also performs and conducts dance lessons for free for charities such as the Migrant Support Services and Amnesty International on an ongoing basis.
As well as teaching dancing, since 1991 Coco has been playing percussion and singing in one of New Zealand’s most successful Latin Bands – Banda Latina.
Bachata sensual Open level. Bachata sexy moves for social dance, all levels welcome
Tais Derbasova: Belly Dance
Belly Dance from Head to Toes!
Tais Derbasova is an award winning professional Belly Dancer, teacher and choreographer based in Auckland, New Zealand. In August 2010 she was the winner of the "Dina's Choice" Prize in the Australian Belly Dance Star Awards in Sydney. Tais was also crowned winner in the Solo and Best choreography categories of the National Oriental Dance Competition in Russia organized by the International Association of Artists in Egypt in 2007.
She has studied under the renowned Egyptian, Syrian, British and Russian teachers and choreographers of Oriental Dance. Tais used to do gymnastics and classical ballet and today incorporates the fluid motion and natural rhythm into her performances and choreographies.
Since moving to New Zealand from Russia she has started up her own Belly Dance School "TAIS BELLY DANCE" based in Auckland.
Tais has performed in numerous Belly Dance shows and festivals internationally, including Egypt. She regularly travels around New Zealand and overseas with workshops and performances sharing her extensive knowledge and passion with Belly Dance with others.
A perfect workshop for those who want to try/learn Belly Dancing if you’ve never done it before.
It is also suitable for those who want to polish/correct/refine your skills if you already have an experience. We’ll work on the upper and lower body isolations, focus on the arms work and go through the common belly dance moves and steps. We are going to have lots of fun dancing to the beautiful Arabic music expressing your true and graceful self through the dance. Be also prepared to shake heaps of calories off during the workshop, your body will love it!
Bianca Hyslop: Atamira Dance
Bianca first began dancing with ‘Auckland Academy of Dance’ where after eight years she completed the Jazz Dance New Zealand syllabus, gaining honours with distinction in the final Advanced Certificate. She then went on to complete a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts at Auckland Unitec, majoring in Contemporary Dance. She is now a member of the ‘Atamira Dance Company’. Atamira is New Zealand’s leading Maori Contemporary dance company and comprises New Zealand’s top Maori dancers and choreographers.
Bianca has been a Vodafone Warriors Cheerleader, modelled for a feature spread in ‘Her Success and Independence Magazine’ 2009, has been a live model for several body art functions ‘winner of 2008 New Zealand Body Art Award’s; Ta Moko Section’ and has had Stunt work doubling for Cynthia Addai-Robinson who played “Naevia"" on the American TV series Spartacus. Bianca has most recently just completed Charles Royal's project, Te Whare Tapere, dancing in Te Karohirohi which she has been involved in since 2010.
"This class is open to all levels and abilities to come experience a taste of Contemporary Dance." The class will draw from various contemporary styles to form a fun and energetic session offering something for everyone.
Kani: Kapa Haka
Kani’s story begins with his whakapapa or geneology. He comes from a strong line of kapa haka experts. His tupuna(forebears) and wider whanau (family unit) were central members of Waihirere Maori Club dating back to 1952. Kapa haka is a natural environment for Kani with his parents performing in Te Waka Huia.
In 2005 & 2007, Kani performed at Te Matatini (National Kapa Haka Competitions) in Palmeston North against the best teams from around the country. In 2008, he performed at the 40th year Celebration for Te Atairangi Kaahu(Maori Queen) at Turangawaewae and later with Waihirere at another Koroneihana or Coronation. His talents were recognised by gaining scholarships to two prominent mainstream dance schools in New Zealand and Australia which opened his eyes to new and different ways to express his being.
Kani’s teaching ability is very accommodating to people of all levels. People warm to his personality and his ability to make people feel at ease in his presence and enhance their learning. Kani’s enthusiasm motivates him to explore new dance opportunities which have led to the privilege of performing dance with renowned artists such as Whirimako Black, Toni Huata, Tiki Taane.
He continues to improve his knowledge and talents and has loves to share with others.
Tamashii Taiko: Taiko Drumming
Tamashii-taiko is a contemporary Japanese taiko drumming troupe based in Auckland, New Zealand.
The team trains constantly, both to perfect musical and performance skills, and to maintain the physical stamina demands that are unique to taiko drumming.
Many of Tamashii’s performers have been studying music and martial arts over the past 15 years. These passions were fused together in 2007 when Tamashii made its debut as a performing troupe.
All of Tamashii’s drums were designed and built by their equipment manager Brian Grove -- including their 2.6m tall giant drum “The O-daiko”. The group has appeared on TV1, TV3, WorldTV, and SkySports several times, and collaborates often with international artists. Tamashii also composes and choreographs most of its music, with 8 original songs.
Jitterbugs: Swing Dance
Michelle Stoupe has been swing dancing since 1995. Having learnt her craft in London while on her OE, Michelle brought swing dance to New Zealand in 1998 when she started Jitterbugs. Since then she has taught in events across Australia and New Zealand and organises New Zealand’s longest running lindy exchange. Her passion for swing dance is infectious and passed onto her students.
Shane Pope started swing dancing back in 2002. He has learnt from some of the best teachers in New Zealand, Australia, America and Europe. His classes focus on partner connection and getting that "swing" feel, while learning simple moves and having loads of fun!
Shane and Michelle have taught off and on since 2005. Their classes are fun and accessible with a focus on technique and style that is easily learned. The aim is to get their students engaged in the fun of swing dance and walking away with a smile on their faces!
Wagner & Helena: Forró Dance
Forró is a kind of North-Eastern Brazilian dance as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Forro is commonly danced during Festa Junina (June Festival), a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some Catholic saints. Traditionally, forro music uses only three instruments (accordion, zabumba and a metal triangle).
There are three rhythms of forró, xote (a slower-paced rhythm), baião (the original forró) and arrasta-pé (the fastest of the three). Forró is danced in pairs, usually very close together. In later years, forró achieved popularity throughout Brazil, in the form of a slower genre known as xote, that has been influenced by pop-rock music to become more acceptable by Brazilian youth throughout the country.
The Xote is the style that is going to be taught at the Jambalaya, including two basics, lady spins and man spins, providing a basic and fun repertoire for forro beginners.
Burundi BPI Drummers: Burundi Drumming
Originally from Burundi, East Central Africa, BPI are based
In Auckland and have been playing around festivals for the last 12 years.
Burundian drumming is iconic and unique to burundian culture. It has been around since the kingdom of Burundi and was mainly played at the Kingdom palace and for official celebrations around the country.
One drumming group may have between 12 and 20 people with a drum each. BPI Drummers have 9 active drummers.
Workshop one – Learn the main rhythms of Burundi drumming.
Workshop two – Combine three rhythms and be part of a performance by this dynamic and engaging group
Kimberley James: Burlesque dance
Kimberley is one of NZs most experienced and popular dance instructors. Teaching Burlesque for 5 years, Hiphop for 10, and spear-heading hugely successful Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Duets/Step Up & Hiphop Heels classes for Vibe One Dance, she has choreographed and run successful shows since 2003, including RISE - an annual dance showcase raising money for CanTeen NZ.
Kimberley has choreographed performances for a number of clients including Telecom, America Express (APX), The Cancer Society, Sovereign Insurance, The Radio Network, Paper Plus & Sony Pictures. She is the Creative Director of Vibe One Dance, teachers for Vibe One, Viva Latino & the University of Auckland & it is her first appearance at Jambalaya.