Pamela Stephenson and Arlene Phillips bring 'Brazilliant Dance Company' to Edinburgh Fringe

Pamela Stephenson Connolly and Arlene Philips are collaborating with 'The Brazilliant Dance Company' at this year's Edinburgh Fringe with new dance-drama, Brazouka.

Running at the Assembly Hall from 31 July to 26 August, the production and formation of the company was done in collaboration with the Dos Santos brothers and Pamela Stephenson Connolly. The inaugural show is produced by one of the Burn the Floor founders Harley Medcalf.

Now one of the most celebrated lambazouk dancers in the world, Braz Dos Santos first witnessed the birth of a Brazilian style of dance called lambada with his brother Didi on the streets of Brazil as they peeked through the door of a local bordello.

Pamela Stephenson Connolly, the inspiration behind Brazouka, returned to dance when she was a finalist in Strictly Come Dancing, where she thereafter began a journey to discover the real passion in dance, an endeavor which led her to Brazil. There sparked a desire to share with the rest of the world some of the best Brazilian dancers, creating a platform for Brazouka.

Working alongside Connolly is director Arlene Phillips, a widely acknowledged choreographer and theatre director. Her credits include choreographing music videos for Elton John, Whitney Houston and Queen, and working on productions including The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance. Phillips is also renowned for her choreography of musicals including The Wizard of Oz, Flashdance, and The Sound of Music.

Lead producer Harley Medcalf has an expansive forty-year career, working with artists such as Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John. He has produced shows for Barry Humphries, Dame Edna including Look at Me When I Am Talking to You (1984), Remember You’re Out (2000), and Back to My Root’s (2004). Medcalf is most famous for creating and producing the hit Latin and Ballroom dance show, Burn the Floor which has since been produced in over 30 countries.

After an opening season at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe, Brazouka will go worldwide, running in the Mandela Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 3 to 19 October 2014. The show will then embark on a tour of Australia which is set to travel to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Dates for the upcoming tour will be announced in May 2015.