Tracy shares this latest news on behalf of the New Carnival Company. Ed
Last month, six representatives from the Island’s New Carnival Company (NCC) and Viva Carnival Club brought its incredible Alegria Samba School project to a close in Brazil.
A group comprising of disabled and non-disabled members first visited project partners and most inclusive carnival organisation in the world, Embaixadores da Alegria, in 2017. They returned in November, having successfully integrated Brazilian carnival style into UK and European events.
The Alegria project
The Alegria project, funded by Unlimited to support the development of disabled artists, has changed the face of integrated and disability-led carnival in the UK. Using Embaixadores da Alegria’s model, NCC and Viva created a fully inclusive Brazilian-style samba school encompassing drum, dance, costume, theatre, song and workshops.
Click on image to see larger version
Over the last year, Alegria has been presented at IW Mardi Gras, Luton Carnival, the Southbank Centre and Newham International Carnival in London and Viarregio, Italy.
Showcasing their work
While in Rio, the group went to Paraiso Do Tuiuti, one of Brazil’s top Samba schools to share the results of Alegria to an audience including its director and president.
They were also special guests at the Olympic sports centre Miécimo da Silva, where they ran a headdress workshop and gave a presentation to more than 200 disabled and non-disabled guests, performers and dancers.
Elkins: “Finding a way to include everyone in Carnival Arts”
Yetta Elkins, project co-ordinator said,
“The whole Alegria project has been an amazing experience and we were so proud to be able to showcase our work in Rio, where it all started. This project was all about finding a way to include everyone in Carnival Arts, despite the many barriers there can be, especially for disabled people.
“During the past year we have seen noticeable changes to many of our artists and performers in terms of confidence, and they’ve developed a ‘can do’ attitude. We are very grateful to Unlimited for making this all possible.”
