Comedian, best-selling author and star of BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing, Pamela Stephenson-Connolly, joins forces with TV star and West End musical choreographer Arlene Phillips and Australian producer Harley Medcalf, founder of the sensational Burn the Floor, to stage Brazouka, a true story from the toughest streets of Brazil.

“I’m so excited to bring Brazouka to South Africa,” says producer Harley Medcalf. “I have been to the greatest heights as the Producer of Burn the Floor. I did not ever think I could better that feeling of high emotion. With Brazouka I definitely have! It will move you, excite you and simply astound you. The talent and production is breath-taking. I wanted to share it with you, live on stage!”

Brazouka is a journey of intense passion, pulsing music and explosive energy, with Brazil’s most thrilling new dance company featuring Braz dos Santos himself.

“It’s late at night on the aptly named Beat Beach in Porto Seguro, Brazil, and by the light of the beach fires, a parade of ridiculously beautiful people is heading to an evocatively lit, enclosed outdoor space with a bar, swimming pool and two dance floors,“ relates Stephenson-Connolly. “Braz dos Santos begins to clap out the beat. What follows is thrilling, passionate, life-affirming – without a doubt the most sensual improvised dance I have ever come across. And I was began to formulate a plan to bring both the dances and the exponents to the grand international stages. Brazouka the show was born at that moment.”

This unique dance-drama is performed by Brazil’s most thrilling new troupe, who introduce the sensational dance language of Lambazouk and other authentic Afro-Brazilian dances in a stunning variety of styles that will have you on your feet, captivated by the intoxicating rhythms.

Dos Santos is widely acknowledged to be the very best freestyle Lambazouk dancer in the world. It is his personal story of a struggle to scramble onto the world’s stage from the toughest streets of Brazil that has inspired Brazouka. From modest beginnings as teenage fishermen, Dos Santos and his brother Didi witnessed the birth of the lambada dance form by peeking through the door of the local bordello.

Discovered dancing in flip flops in a beach bar, Dos Santos and his brother were asked to come to Paris (a place they had never heard of) to dance the lambada, which had become known as the ‘Forbidden Dance’. The boys’ father, a shaman in the Candomblé religion, forbade them but the choice for Dos Santos was clear; with truly precarious fishing the only other option, it was a case of ‘dance or die…’

Gorgeous bodies, supreme athleticism, breath-taking energy, gripping spontaneity, stunning sensuality and an infectious sense of fun are the qualities that impress everyone who witnesses the Brazouka cast of extraordinary dancers: Braz dos Santos, Adriana Coutinho, Anderson Mendes, Bebé, Brenda Oliviera de Carvalho, Carlos de Silva, Fernanda de Silva, Gilson Damasco, Josta Ruby, Josy Borges, Natasha Terekhina, Rodrigo Oliviera, Romina Hidalgo, Sarita Piotrowski, Wellington Santos and Zulu.

Brazouka director Arlene Phillips is a highly celebrated choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, TV presenter, TV judge and former dancer, who found success in many fields of entertainment. She is a most noted choreographer of numerous West End and Broadway musicals, films and television shows, and has since achieved mainstream fame as a judge on television talent shows including Strictly Come Dancing and So You Think You Can Dance.

“It’s such a great compliment to South Africa and Joburg Theatre particularly that the producers have chosen our venue for the beginning of the long global journey for Brazouka,” says Bernard Jay, executive producer for Joburg Theatre. “We get to host the original company members and witness the birth of what is already sure to be – like Harley Medcalf’s Burn the Floor – an award-winning sensation of a show.”

Brazouka is on the stage of The Mandela at Joburg Theatre from 3 to Saturday, 18 October. Tickets are priced from R180 and are on sale via www.joburgtheatre.com or by phoning 0861 670 670.

Popular discounted ticket rates for groups of 10 or more are available by phoning 011 877 6853.