SambAsia Beijing

SambAsia Beijing is a community-based music and dance ensemble. Our escola de samba or samba school blends together music and dance traditions from Brazil to bridge across cultural, economic and generational lines. Classes in Percussion and Dance are offered as month-long intensives with classes daily at South Gate Space in the Dashanzi Art District. All levels of participation are welcome and no prior experience is necessary. Most Instruments are provided free of charge, and participants donate a sliding-scale instruction fee based on ability to donate.

Escola de SambAsia is modeled after the samba school community ensembles of Rio de Janeiro. SambAsia’s theme of One World Awareness, Building Cultural Bridges is a result of teacher Jimmy Biala and Pentatonic Workshop’s observations of the separation that continues to exist between different communities in Beijing and the limited access to culture and art in different sectors of our city. We hope to convey a spirit of cultural togetherness while expressing the need for more communication and contact with each other as human beings, the acknowledgment of all possibilities.

PW will utilize SambAsia Beijing as an opportunity for the public to cultivate positive relationships within their community and exposure to the arts as a vehicle for self-expression; thus, resulting in meaningful relationships that improves quality of life and foster a sense of belonging.

SambAsia Beijing serves adult, children and youth participants from 10 years of age and up. Programs take place on weekday evenings and weekend days to train up to 50 participants per week on-site at South Gate Space in order to go on and serve as teachers to be placed in programs serving youth and children of disadvantaged communities.

SambAsia Beijing gives every participants an equal opportunity to learn a truly peoples’ music, a music where everyone plays an integral part of which, the sum of the parts equals an infectious musical tradition.

Members of SambAsia Beijing have performed at many occasions, including the Dashanzi International Art Festival and Midi Music Festival.