LOS ANGELES (June 23, 2010) – Featuring six guest artists from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, acclaimed dance company Viver Brasil returns for its 8th straight season at the Ford Amphitheatre with the company’s signature styling of high-energy Afro-Bahian rhythms, elegant dancers, original music, exuberant colors, and costumes in “Alaafia/Harmony” on July 31 at 8:30 p.m. This engaging performance is the follow-up to Viver Brasil’s Lester Horton Dance Award-winning 2009 production of “Feet on the Ground/Aiyê,” recently recognized for “Best Achievement in World Dance.”

“Alaafia/Harmony” will feature six acclaimed Bahian guests who are visiting thanks to the support of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations and the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles: young virtuoso dancers Vera Passos (formerly of Balé Folclorico da Bahia), Nildinha Fonseca (currently of Balé Folclorico da Bahia), along with composer Jose Ricardo Sousa (musical director of Balé Folclorico da Bahia), and Vania Amaral (singer and Candomble’ devotee). Revered Candomble’ elders, Maria de Lourdes, Silvestre dos Santos (AKA Iyalorixa Mainha da Bahia), and Nancy de Souza e Silva (AKA Dona Cici) will also enrich the performance with authentic movement and song drawn from their deep understanding of the spiritual foundation of contemporary Afro-Brazilian culture.

“Alaafia/Harmony” will showcase Viver Brasil’s awe-inspiring movement vocabularies of traditional and contemporary Afro-Brazilian dance and history, culture and music, while embodying the Yoruba concept of peace: totality of well-being, the fullness of life here and hereafter, the sum total of all that humankind may desire– harmony in life. The performance will be based upon the complex stories of the orixas, Yoruba deities from the family of Obatala, the orixa of peace. Ideas informed by the afoxês (Afro-Bahian parading groups) will also be a part of the evening’s mix.

Highlights for “Alaafia/Harmony” include contemporary Afro-Brazilian choreography by renowned masters, including Rosangela Silvestre and Luiz Badaró. The uplifting original music is composed by Silvestre, Badaró, Mario Pallais and Jose Ricardo Sousa. The music will serve as a sonic backdrop to the amazing pageantry, spectacle and excitement of this dance extravaganza.

“Alaafia/Harmony” is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation. Additional funding provided by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs/Cultural Exchange International, Wild Oats Café, Soul Brasil Magazine, pelourinho.com, setemagazine.com, the Los Angeles Sister Cities Program, the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations, the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles.