So if you don’t know already: when our Musical Director, Mat Fox and Kinetika Artistic Director, Ali Pretty started the Kinetika Bloco movement they were inspired by the Brazilian samba bands. Having spent some time with Bloco’s including Cortejo Afro (Bloco means block and is generally what you call a Brazilian samba band) of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, they were touched by the brilliant music, dance and spirit of celebration and community.

So if you don’t know already: when our Musical Director, Mat Fox and Kinetika Artistic Director, Ali Pretty started the Kinetika Bloco movement they were inspired by the Brazilian samba bands. Having spent some time with Bloco’s including Cortejo Afro (Bloco means block and is generally what you call a Brazilian samba band) of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, they were touched by the brilliant music, dance and spirit of celebration and community.

So when we got offered the chance by Southbank Centre to work with members of Brazilian samba band, AfroReggae, we snapped it right up! It was a great opportunity for the Kinetika Bloco to get a taste of the culture of the ‘Carnival’ band, that Mat and Ali had experienced! We also got to share the experience with BiggaFish’s samba band!

It was a monster of an event!! Two workshops and the AfroReggae explosion held at Southbank Centre saw the Kinetika Bloco performing Brazilian style. Fast paced, intense funky sounds, intricate rhythms and loads of laughter made this collaboration absolutely, unbelievably, unequivocally exciting.

For more videos of AfroReggae, Biggafish and us, check out our youtube page, including some fun battles at Charles Edward Brooke