Liverpudlians are known for dazzling outfits, love of music and fabulous parties so it should be no surprise that three talented Scouse dancers took to the colourful streets of Rio De Janeiro to win the “world’s biggest carnival”.
Simone Reeves and two dancing pals jetted off to Brazil at the beginning of March to perform in the parade with one of the oldest and most famous samba schools in the huge city.
The week long festival is one of the biggest in the world - with two million people celebrating on Rio’s streets each day, all singing, dancing, drinking and enjoying the festivities that have been a tradition in Brazil for centuries.
Dressed in bright tribe-inspired costumes Liverpool's samba dancers joined the Mangueira float and danced their way to the top for a second time, after last entering in 2016.
Simone said: "There was lots of emotion. There were lots of people singing at the top of their lungs to all of our music, it was amazing!"
Simone was also asked to star as a ‘highlight’ on the ‘Abre Alas’ - the very first float - with another school.
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It left her with the difficult task of sprinting from the finishing point of the parade to the start. She made it just in time for her second performance with Mangueira.
Simone said: "It was busy, there were people everywhere drinking and I had to run from the back of the parade to the front in my bra and thong.
"I looked crazy."
Despite dancing for an hour straight before the mad dash, Simone said she enjoyed every minute.
She said: "I was excited. It was the adrenaline and I was full of excitement, it was amazing!
"I got the costume off, I gave it to my friend to hold who was already waiting at the end. Then I went to dance with Mangueira."
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Simone, who was born in the south of Brazil but now lives in Southport, has been teaching Samba in the North West for 13 years.
She was joined by Abbi Cooper and Adrianna Czachorowska, two of her Samba class students, both from Liverpool.
The dancers performed in the Sambadrome, in Rio De Janeiro, on March 4 at 4am in front of 70,000 spectators, then again on the March 9 for the winner’s parade.
Now that their Rio adventure is over, the girls have returned to Merseyside with their carnival costumes in tow. They plan to use them in future events in Liverpool and the surrounding areas.
http://www.viva-brasil.co.uk
