Swept up by samba spirit
by CLIFFORD BISHOP for the Sunday Times

The tango, from the brothels of Buenos Aires, and the salsa, from the slums of colonial Havana, have swept through western Europe, leaving millions addicted to their rhythms and exhilarating sense of hard-won freedom. The next big craze will come from Brazil: the samba, with its direct line of descent from the possession dances of the Congo, taps more directly than any other into our need to let something else take over our bodies while we let ourselves go.

published: July 16, 2006

Strictly come samba
by SANJOY ROY for the Guardian

Segovia is an unlikely person to tell the history of samba - after all, he is from Argentina. And yet, the 72-year-old director says he has been in love with Brazilian music and dance ever since he was a boy. To research the show, he spent four years travelling in Brazil, gathering material and meeting dancers; with it, he says, he is "trying to bring an old dream of mine to life".

published: July 27, 2006

Brasil Brasileiro
by JUDITH MACKRELL for the Guardian

More or less starting from the beginning, Segovia stages the evolution of samba from its origins as an African seduction ritual through to its current, high-stepping ballroom sophistication. And if that sounds dully programmatic, the range of dance and music which has historically fed the samba, gives the material a powerful, often unpredictable, kick.

published: August 3, 2006