Manchester School of Samba is Anthony Watt t/a Manchester School of Samba (MSS) as well as a collective of Carnivalists using four different disciples (music, dance, costume, and puppetry) to create a spectacle.
Drawing on the traditions of Carnival in Brazil, MSS was initiated in 1995 to produce everything from large-scale street parades and performances to smaller excerpts for more intimate occasions they use a costumed brass section, drummers and dancers as well as giant puppets.
From their humble beginnings in Sankey’s Soap through to being the centre of 1,800 performers at the turn of the millennium in Castlefield, MSS have been entertaining crowds at stadiums and on parades both within Manchester and beyond since March 1995. The costumes were made for the Manchester Day Parades where they performed with both a brass section and giant puppets and they have been to Germany, The Irish Republic, The Netherlands and France as well as various carnivals around the UK.
Venue scale required: Medium
Minimum performance space required: Processional 5m wide along route ideally. Static 120 square m
Number of people on tour: 15 to 60 perfromers
Availability for touring: Negotiable mostly March to December
