More About Us
União da Mocidade (Union of the Youth) is a Brazilian music and dance project for 12-25 year olds, which brings together students from all over London to rehearse and perform. Our focus is on Samba, the traditional carnival music and dance of Rio de Janeiro.
União da Mocidade, otherwise known as UDMSamba delivers monthly workshops free of charge to students who attend the ongoing weekly percussion classes delivered in their schools. We are currently mostly active in the London Boroughs of Westminster and Harrow, but we have links to many boroughs including Hackney, Southwark and Lambeth.
Our dedicated performing group has taken part in carnivals and festivals both inside and outside London. Now in our nineteenth year, performance credits include the British Summertime Festival, Lambeth Country Show, Thames Festival, Fruitstock, Rhythmsticks Festival and Ealing Jazz Festival as well as carnivals in Oxford, Brighton and Luton.
We are currently working with students from the following schools:
Pimlico School, London Borough of Westminster
Whitmore High School, London Borough of Harrow
Past schools have included:
Hatch End High School, London Borough of Harrow
The Petchey Academy, London Borough of Hackney
Copland Community School, London Borough of Brent
Haydon School, London Borough of Hillingdon
Highgate School, London Borough of Haringey
Mossbourne Community Academy, London Borough of Hackney
Drumming
The União da Mocidade bateria (bat-er-EE-ya) or percussion band plays authentic Rio-style samba as played by the samba schools (Escolas de Samba) in the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our members train intensively during the school year to develop the techniques and understanding necessary to play this challenging style of music.
Learning and performing samba is a fantastic way to:
- Develop co-ordination, memory, rhythm and many musical and performance skills
- Develop a range of transferable skills such as concentration, discipline, teamwork and leadership
- Maintain a greater sense of self-confidence, self-awareness, responsibility and self-esteem and raise levels of achievement
- Meet peers from across London with similar interests and appreciation for other cultures
- Build community
- De-stress and have fun!
To learn more about the instruments of the samba batería click here.
Dance
Samba dance is a rhythmic and energetic dance derived from the Angolan Semba. It is characterised by fast foot and hip movements.
The young people who dance with União da Mocidade learn special routines suited to parades and stage shows combines with a bit of funk/street dance alongside learning the traditional samba step Samba no Pe. The dance is very aerobic and great for stamina and fitness.
We are now seeking to develop on-going dance activities in schools which take place weekly on a long-term basis, and feed into as dedicated a pan-London performing and rehearsing dance group as currently exists in the UDM batería (percussion band).
If you would like to initiate a dance project in partnership with UDM we would be thrilled to contribute to the cultural life of your school and would be happy to tailor our classes to suit your requirements. Please contact us.
Click here to read a bit more about samba dance.
History
The group was formed in 2004 when a group of like minded musicians and teachers decided to expand the work they were doing individually in schools to provide a new and exciting experience for their students.
União da Mocidade is now in its sixteenth year, and its performance credits include following events:
Who's Who
